This early work by Alexander Woollcott was originally published in 1925 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The Story of Irving Berlin' is the first biography of this great American composer, published when Berlin was only 36. Alexander Humphreys Woollcott was born on the 19th January, 1887 in New Jersey, America and was a critic and commentator for The New Yorker magazine. One of New York's most prolific drama critics, Woollcott was an owlish character whose caustic wit either joyously attracted or vehemently repelled the artistic communities of 1920s Manhattan.