WRITER

James Frey

1969 - Today

James Frey

James Christopher Frey (born September 12, 1969) is an American writer and businessman. His first two books, A Million Little Pieces (2003) and My Friend Leonard (2005), were bestsellers marketed as memoirs. Large parts of the stories were later found to be exaggerated or fabricated, sparking a media controversy. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of James Frey has received more than 1,647,237 page views. Her biography is available in 18 different languages on Wikipedia. James Frey is the 7,151st most popular writer (down from 6,366th in 2019), the 17,199th most popular biography from United States (down from 15,525th in 2019) and the 1,164th most popular American Writer.

Memorability Metrics

1.6M
Page Views (PV)
31.46
Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
18
Languages Editions (L)
1.70
Effective Languages (L*)
3.70
Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Survey research by telephone

Telephone surveys, Social sciences, Research

1983

A million little pieces

Drug addicts, Toxicomanes, Biographies

"The most lacerating tale of drug addiction since William S. Burroughs' Junky." --The Boston Globe"Again and again, the book delivers recollections that leave the reader winded and unsteady. James Frey's staggering recovery memoir could well be seen as the final word on the topic."--San Francisco Chronicle"A brutal, beautifully written memoir."--The Denver Post"Gripping . . . A great story . . . You can't help but cheer his victory." --Los Angeles Times Book ReviewFrom the Trade Paperback edition.

2003

My Friend Leonard

Male friendship, Ex-convicts, Recovering addicts

This father-son story pulls you into a relationship as unusual as it is inspiring. The "father" is Leonard, the high-living, recovering coke addict mobster who helped to keep Frey clean in his previous book, A Million Little Pieces. The "son" is James, damaged perhaps beyond repair by years of addiction and by cruel tricks of fate. James embarks on his post-rehab existence emotionally devastated and afraid to get close to other people. But then Leonard comes back into his life, and everything changes. Leonard offers lucrative--if illegal and slightly dangerous--employment. He teaches James to enjoy life, sober, for the first time. He instructs him in the art of "living boldly," pushes him to pursue his writing, and provides watchful and supportive protection. Both Leonard's and James's careers flourish--but then Leonard vanishes. When the reasons are revealed, the book opens up in unexpected emotional ways.--From publisher description

2005

Gambling

Gambling, Casinos, Law and legislation

1984

Bright shiny morning

Fiction, Literature

One of the most celebrated and controversial authors in America delivers his first novel—a sweeping chronicle of contemporary Los Angeles that is bold, exhilarating, and utterly original.Dozens of characters pass across the reader's sight lines—some never to be seen again—but James Frey lingers on a handful of LA's lost souls and captures the dramatic narrative of their lives: a bright, ambitious young Mexican-American woman who allows her future to be undone by a moment of searing humiliation; a supremely narcissistic action-movie star whose passion for the unattainable object of his affection nearly destroys him; a couple, both nineteen years old, who flee their suffocating hometown and struggle to survive on the fringes of the great city; and an aging Venice Beach alcoholic whose life is turned upside down when a meth-addled teenage girl shows up half-dead outside the restroom he calls home.Throughout this strikingly powerful novel there is the relentless drumbeat of the millions of other stories that, taken as a whole, describe a city, a culture, and an age. A dazzling tour de force, Bright Shiny Morning illuminates the joys, horrors, and unexpected fortunes of life and death in Los Angeles.

2008

The Key

Fiction, Myth in literature, Technique

Myths, says James N. Frey, are the basis of all storytelling, and their structures and motifs are as powerful for contemporary writers as they were for Homer. In The Key, novelist and fiction-writing coach Frey applies his popular "Damn Good" approach to Joseph Campbell's insights into the universal structure of myths, providing a practical guide for fiction writers and screenwriters who want to shape their ideas into a powerful mythic story.

2000

Page views of James Freys by language

Over the past year James Frey has had the most page views in the English wikipedia edition with 146,273 views, followed by German (3,554), and French (3,263). In terms of yearly growth of page views the top 3 wikpedia editions are Armenian (79.21%), Egyptian Arabic (71.56%), and Persian (43.81%)