This work investigates the psychological and professional pressures that led to the tragic decline of two prominent mid-century American authors, Ross Lockridge Jr. and Thomas Heggen. John C. Leggett, a former editor and writer, utilizes his personal familiarity with the publishing industry to examine the intersection of sudden commercial success and personal instability. By analyzing the lives of the creators of Raintree County and Mister Roberts, Leggett constructs a framework that links the volatile nature of fame in the 1940s to the eventual self-destruction of these two gifted individuals.

Critics often cite this book as a poignant and cautionary study of the literary life in post-war America. Readers frequently note the balance Leggett maintains between intimate biographical detail and broader cultural observation regarding the fragility of artistic success.