In this work Jack Beeson, the composer of ten operas, recounts his search for subjects and the writing of five of their librettos, his collaboration with the librettists of the other five (William Saroyan, Richard Plant, Kenward Elmslie, and Sheldon Harnick), and the varied and tangled events leading to their premieres in theatres and on television here and abroad. This book contains eighteen black and white photographs.