Arthur Miller's plays have held the world's stages for almost half a century. Among them are Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, and All My Sons, which have been read and performed countless times across the world. His memoir, Timebends, shows that the life of the man is as compelling as his plays.

With passion, wit and candour, Miller recalls his childhood in Harlem and Brooklyn in the 1920s and the Depression; his successes and failures in the theatre and in Hollywood; the formation of his political beliefs that, two decades later, brought him into confrontations with the House Committee of Un-American Activities; and his later work on behalf of human rights as the president of PEN International.

He writes with astonishing perception and tenderness of Marilyn Monroe, his second wife, as well as the host of famous and infamous that have intersected with his adventurous life. Timebends is Miller's love letter to the 20th century: its energy, its humour, its chaos and moral struggles.