“Peace Is a Shy Thing: The Life and Art of Tim O'Brien,” by Alex Vernon (ASIN: B0DCHKZ1BJ), Publication date 27 May 2025, earns three stars.

Clearly this work represents a prodigious effort, filled with historical details, reminiscences, and contextual detail. However, the author was not of Ernest Hemingway’s or Stephen Crane’s level, as was hopefully advertised. Before reading it, and based on that advertising alone, I had great hopes for the biography, but I was ultimately dissatisfied with the telling. On one hand, I laud the research effort needed and admire the persistence necessary to craft the narrative. Like most lives examined, O’Brien’s life complicated, but also quite interesting. However, the story seemed to be presented more as a stream of consciousness, which I do not find appealing either conversationally or in writing. That affected the chronology and narrative flow of the story of O’Brien’s life and broader work. The good news is this book stimulated me to read Tim O’Brien’s own words…and I do look forward to that.

Sincere thanks to the author and St. Martin's Press for granting the reader the opportunity to read this Advance Reader Copy (ARC), and thanks to NetGalley for helping to make that possible.

Anything by or about Tim O’Brien and I am on board. His books….his stories…I tread them and taught them. The Things…stayed with me for years…and my students. This is an informative, well written story of a dynamic author. Thanks Netgalley…

If you are looking for a very in depth biography of Tim O’Brien then this is your book. Such an insightful book with a ton of insights into his writings and such. Overall the book read almost like an academic biography, not a bad thing at all. Very well written and would definitely recommend!

I received a free advanced copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Finally ! A worthy biography of one of the most impactful writers of the late twentieth century. The text is particularly concerned with the impact of the Vietnam War on O'Brien's life and writing. While this is a great companion piece to "The Things They Carried" or "Going After Caciatto" I would have liked a bit more discussion of other lesser known writing. Still a fascinating look at a sensitive chronicler of one of America's greatest tragedies.