Pulitzer Prize-winning critic writer Hilton Als brings together a remarkable collection of essays that move between memoir, cultural criticism, biography and literary analysis. In White Girls, Als examines the ways identity is constructed and performed across race, gender, sexuality and class, drawing unexpected connections between an eclectic cast of artists, writers, musicians and public figures. Taking its title from Als' provocative exploration of "whiteness" as both a social category and cultural performance, the collection ranges from intimate reflections on his own life to incisive studies of figures including Truman Capote, Louise Brooks, Richard Pryor, Malcolm X, Flannery O'Connor and Michael Jackson.