Norman Mailer: Works and Days

Up the Family Tree

Mailer's review of Norman Podhoretz's memoir Making It and his most extensive comment on Partisan Review and 'the Family'; the review ended his friendship with Podhoretz.

A review of Making It, Norman Podhoretz’s 1967 memoir, that foreshadows Mailer’s own use of the third-person personal in 68.2 and later nonfiction. Mailer’s most extensive comment on Partisan Review and “the Family” that wrote for it; the review destroyed his friendship with Podhoretz. Rpt: with the added title “One Literary Critique” in 72.7, 82.19.

First published: 1968
Form: essay
Lennon & Lennon: 68.4
Cite as: /works/1968-up-the-family-tree
Last updated: 2026-05-30