With the publication of his brilliant first novel The Naked and the Dead (1948), Norman Mailer established himself as the next important writer of his age; and indeed, over the next five decades, he has fulfilled that promise many times over. Mailer's literary output has been extraordinary—over 30 volumes of fiction and nonfiction; his prolificness, in fact, is matched only by the prodigiousness of his public persona. But his work has consistently aroused controversy and elicited as much scorn as acclaim. Even today—after garnering numerous literary awards, including the National Book Award and two Pulitzer Prizes, and after being repeatedly mentioned as a contender for the Nobel Prize—Mailer is as relentlessly criticized by detractors for his views on sex, violence, and politics as he is applauded by admirers for his bold experimentation. Yet the essential Mailer remains elusive, a kind of curiosity to...