Much attention has been given to Joyce's life in Dublin and Paris, but his productive years in Trieste have not received the same attention. In a thoroughly documented account, Hartshorn presents a clear, accessible study of Joyce's love/hate relationship with the city, the work he produced there, and the influence of Trieste on his writing.

The book begins with a brief overview of Trieste's history prior to Joyce's arrival in 1904, and follows Joyce's life there until World War I, a period in which he completed DEGREESIDubliners DEGREESR and DEGREESIA Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man DEGREESR, and began DEGREESIUlysses DEGREESR. Joyce then departed for the safety of Zurich and the book concludes with his brief return of eight months to Trieste in 1919. Hartshorn has drawn from many previously untapped sources, providing a fascinating look at Joyce's Trieste years that no other Joyce biographer has yet to reveal.

In 1901, Lincoln Steffens, an internationally known and respected political insider, went rogue to work for McClure's Magazine. Credited as the proverbial father of muckraking reporting, Steffens quickly rose to the top of McClure's team of investigative journalists, earning him the attention of many powerful politicians who utilized his knack for tireless probing to battle government corruption and greedy politicians. A mentor of Walter Lippmann, friend of Theodore Roosevelt, and advisor of Woodrow Wilson, Steffens is best known for bringing to light the Mexican Revolution, the 1910 bombing of the Los Angeles Times, and the Versailles peace talks.
Now, with print journalism and investigative reporters on the decline, Lincoln Steffens' biography serves as a necessary call to arms for the newspaper industry. Hartshorn's extensive research captures each detail of Steffens' life--from his private letters to friends to his long and colorful career--and delves into the ongoing internal struggle between his personal life and his overpowering devotion to the cause.