I bought this book because it is the only one I've been able to find that discusses two sub-genres of Creative Nonfiction (CNF), that primarily interest me: Biography and History, and The Nonfiction Novel. After two decades of writing nonfiction and historical fiction, I'm writing a new book based on a true story, about a woman who escaped the slums of St. Louis in 1900 with her two young sons and a feeble younger brother to forte a better life for themselves by homesteading in eastern Montana. the information on her is sparse, so I have to fill in with imagined material that places her in her era (1890-1920). Up to now nonfiction (history) and historical fiction have been clearly defined in my mind and in my writing practice, but for this work, I've been baffled by trying to define it. This book, "Shadow Boxing," is the first of the 50 or so that I've read, to clarify for me where my new book resides on the continuum of fiction - creative nonfiction - nonfiction (straight). Frankly, it doesn't matter to me what its category is, but it matters a heck of a lot after the book is written because companies such this present bookseller demand a slot to put it in. I highly recommend Shadow Boxing if you want clear descriptions of the CNF sub-genres.