The myth surrounding the man -- The early Jackson Pollock -- His Western childhood -- The raucous teenage years -- His move to New York -- Pollock's idols and therapists -- Personal problems -- Enter Lee Krasner, artist then wife -- Hello Peggy Guggenheim, dealer and patron -- The myth begins -- Lee and Jackson move to the Hamptons -- Betty Parsons takes on Pollock -- Drip painting is born -- Special: Titles of Pollock's paintings--and museum labels -- Abstract Expressionism enters the vocabulary of art -- Fame paralyzes the man, brings on the booze -- Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock -- After the Drip, the Pour -- Then, Black and White -- The blues: Pollock leaves Parsons for Sidney Janis -- Finally, color returns, just as all goes black.

For readers who are short on time, long on curiosity, and turned off by art-world jargon, Abrams presents a series of hip, entertaining books on artists and pop culture.

* A fascinating account of the artist's life and work

* Fresh anecdotes, both professional and personal

* Concise sidebars on major players and cultural and social movements that shaped the artist's work

* Superb, full-color reproductions