Irving Stone was born on July 14, 1903 in San Francisco, CA. His birth name was Irving
Tennenbaum, which he legally changed to his stepfather's name when he was a senior
in high school. He was a teacher, philanthropist, and author of biographical novels and
nonfiction. He has written more than 15 books.
Lust for Life was published in 1934. It is a novel that tells the story of the life of Vincent
Van Gogh, the famous, groundbreaking Dutch impressionist painter who lived from 1853
to 1890. The book was a critical success and has been a multimillion-copy best seller.
The blog The Arts & Geeks Movement wrote that "it is possible that Van Gogh and his
work would still be famous without Lust for Life, but the book certainly helped propel
him to 'legendary tragic artist' status. When you read his actual letters, you can see that
he truly did have a lust for life (albeit an uneven and tormented one), and it is
undeniable that Stone masterfully captured that feeling."