Hidden Treasures Come Late for Biographers

As a film historian and author, I can sympathize with D.J. Taylor’s lament, “Biographer’s Curse: the Tardy Nugget” (Commentary, June 30), about information that emerges only after a book has gone to print. A fellow film writer once told me, “The best way to start researching a book is to have it published.” Then, all the hidden treasures come out of the woodwork.

Although I’m frankly proud of my new book, “Heaven and Hell to Play With: The Filming of ‘The Night of the Hunter,’ ” about the only film Charles Laughton directed, I can’t wait for some future edition that can incorporate all the knowledge that has come to my attention in the months immediately after its publication. History never seems to end.

Preston Neal Jones

Hollywood