"In this literary biography, acclaimed poet, critic, and novelist James Sallis explores Himes's life as no other writer has attempted before. Combining the public facts with fresh interviews with the people who knew him best, including his second wife, Lesley, Sallis casts light onto the contradictions, self-interrogations, and misdirections that make Himes such an enigmatic and elusive subject.".

"Chester Himes: A Life is a definitive study not only of the lie of a major African-American man of letters, but of his writing and its relationship to the man himself, drawing a remarkable, deeply affecting portrait of a too often misunderstood and neglected writer. This is a work of high scholarship and of penetrating and passionate insight, a rare conjoining of two fine writers - and as much a work of literature as any of their novels."--BOOK JACKET.