Ghost Editor

A. Scott Berg has almost single-handedly rescued Maxwell Perkins from the anonymity he desired. Berg’s 1978 biography, “Max Perkins: Editor of Genius,” was a masterly look at a reticent Yankee who buried himself in manuscripts, wore a fedora everywhere, and deplored innovations—even as he discovered and published Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Wolfe. The glamour of these figures prompted a Hollywood studio to option the book. Then, Berg recalled hearing, “the head of Universal got to page 3 of the script and said, ‘This is about a book editor?’ ”