This comprehensive volume brings together essays by one of the most influential literary, cultural and intellectual voices of our time: Arthur Miller.

Arranged chronologically from 1944 to 2000, these writings take the reader on a whirlwind tour of modern history alongside offering a remarkable record of Miller's views on theater. They give eloquent expression to his belief in 'the theater as a serious business, one that makes or should make man more human, which is to say, less alone'. Published with the essays are articles that Miller had written and in-depth interviews he has given.

This collection features material from two earlier publications: Echoes Down the Corridor and The Theater Essays of Arthur Miller. It is edited and features a new introduction by Matthew Roudane, Regents Professor of American Drama at Georgia State University.

'Arthur Miller understands that serious writing is a social act as well as an aesthetic one, that political involvement comes with the territory. A writer's work and his actions should be of the same cloth, after all. His plays and his conscience are a cold burning force.' Edward Albee

In 1983 Arthur Miller was invited to direct Death of a Salesman at the Beijing People's Theatre, with Chinese actors. This was an entirely new experience for Miller and for the Chinese company, most of whom had never even heard of 'life insurance' or 'installment payments'. Miller had forty-eight days of rehearsals in which to direct his play and, while there, he kept a diary.
This book tells the fascinating story of Miller's time in China and the paradoxes of directing a tragedy about American capitalism in a Communist country, and features photographs throughout by Inge Morath.

In this edition, Miller's diary is given a contemporary context as the production and process is investigated against the backdrop of twenty-first century China and its theatre, through a new introduction by Claire Conceison, Professor of Theatre Studies at Duke University.