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Kevin Mims

Kevin Mims is a freelance writer living in Sacramento, CA. His work has appeared in the New York Times, National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, Salon, and others.

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62 Posts

Michael J. Fox in Bright Lights, Big City, in a suit, at a restaurant, talking to an older man, holding wine.

‘Bright Lights, Big City’ at Forty

Jay McInerney’s debut novel was the first work of fiction to explore yuppie culture, and its success changed American publishing.

Kevin Mims

6 Nov 2024 · 16 min read

Sonny Side Up

Sonny Side Up

Al Pacino’s personal life has been a bit of a train wreck, but his new memoir leaves no doubt that acting has been the most important thing in his life.

Kevin Mims

28 Oct 2024 · 21 min read

John Travolta at a lectern, speaking.

America’s Last Great Political Novel

In anticipation of the Democrats’ Convention in Chicago, a look back at Joe Klein’s splendid 1996 novel ‘Primary Colors’—a fascinating snapshot of Democratic Party politics at the end of the 20th century.

Kevin Mims

6 Aug 2024 · 22 min read

Vincent Price in a black and white film still, holding a wooden object, with a dining table in the background

Abiding Legends

Richard Matheson, George R. Stewart, and the birth of the Calipocalypse.

Kevin Mims

9 Jul 2024 · 23 min read

A still from The Chocolate War. 4 boys in coats stand on the roadside.

Too Much Chocolate

Fifty years of Robert Cormier’s “classic” young-adult novel is more than enough.

Kevin Mims

13 Jun 2024 · 9 min read

Tom Wolfe in 1990. Alamy

Less Than Half ‘A Man in Full’

One of US television’s most experienced and talented writers has made a mess of Tom Wolfe’s second novel.

Kevin Mims

13 May 2024 · 24 min read

93 Years of Shatner

93 Years of Shatner

A tribute to an irrepressible TV star’s ability to live long and prosper.

Kevin Mims

22 Mar 2024 · 21 min read

The Amityville Horror—A 50-Year Old Lie That Won’t Die

The Amityville Horror—A 50-Year Old Lie That Won’t Die

Jay Anson’s haunted-house yarn was a highly lucrative hoax, but it struck a popular chord amid the financial precarity of 1970s America.

Kevin Mims

7 Mar 2024 · 26 min read

Motorpsycho Nightmare

Motorpsycho Nightmare

Robert Pirsig’s insufferable cult novel about philosophy and bike maintenance turns 50.

Kevin Mims

20 Feb 2024 · 18 min read

Here Comes the Bite

Here Comes the Bite

Peter Benchley’s ‘Jaws’ turns 50.

Kevin Mims

31 Jan 2024 · 24 min read

In Memoriam, 2023

In Memoriam, 2023

A tribute to three pop-fiction authors who passed away this year.

Kevin Mims

19 Dec 2023 · 14 min read

The Greatest American Western Novel of All

The Greatest American Western Novel of All

Elmer Kelton’s ‘The Time It Never Rained’ is an overlooked classic.

Kevin Mims

23 Nov 2023 · 13 min read

Man Out of Time

Man Out of Time

A look back at the career of Avery Corman, who found popular success with ‘Kramer versus Kramer’ before running afoul of feminism.

Kevin Mims

6 Oct 2023 · 19 min read

Remembering ‘Exodus’

Remembering ‘Exodus’

A perennially controversial bestseller turns 65.

Kevin Mims

4 Sep 2023 · 18 min read

On Marriage and Happiness

On Marriage and Happiness

It is easy for a successful writer to advise that career success isn’t that important. Would a failed writer agree?

Kevin Mims

26 Aug 2023 · 9 min read