This book might have been called "Max and His Writers." 
 Because ho boy, did I learn a lot about them. 
 There's as much time devoted to Fitzgerald's binge-drinking, neurotic insecurities, problems with his wife's mental health, and habitual self-doubt; Hemingway's massive ego, insulting letters to all his contemporaries, preoccupation with 'inappropriate' things in his books; and Thomas Wolfe's abundant genius and declining mental health as there is about Max Perkins' place as a solid editor. 
 The writing is honest. It doesn't obscure the material. It flat out states that as an editor, Max started to slip as he got older. Overall, a great book if you're curious about a man who "saw even in a poor novel the potential for greatness." A bit too detailed / monotonous for me in certain chapters, tho.