The man behind some of the most memorable lyrics in the great American songbook emerges from his brother’s shadow.

The Pulitzer Prize–winning American lyricist Ira Gershwin (1896–1983) has been hailed as one of the masters of the Great American Songbook—songs written largely for Broadway and Hollywood from the 1920s to the 1950s. Now, in the first full-length biography devoted to his life, Ira Gershwin steps out at last from the long shadow cast by his younger and more famous brother George.

It’s a life with a sharp dividing line; we witness Ira’s transformation by George’s death at thirty-eight. From carefree dreamer and successful lyricist, he becomes guardian of his brother’s legacy and manager of complex family dynamics, even while continuing to practice his craft with composers like Harold Arlen and Jerome Kern.

Drawing on extensive archival sources and often using Ira’s own words, Michael Owen offers a rich portrait of the modest man who penned the words to many of America’s best-loved songs.