E.L. Doctorow is most famous for his classic novel, Ragtime, but to define him by that one masterful work would be to miss one of the most fascinating figures in American literary life. “To appreciate Doctorow, maybe you need to do what he did: Seek the astringency of distance, move to the furthermost edge and let the entirety blossom beneath your gaze. That’s perhaps the only sure way to grasp his achievement, to stretch your mind across it–until, like the author himself, you attain the clarifying perspective of withdrawal.”