David Black, deep into a successful career as a novelist and TV producer, looks back on the frustrations and failures at the start—and the celebrated writer who helped him through them.

Few books stand the test of time. George Gilder’s “Sexual Suicide” is one of them.

This last, extraordinarily moving love letter by a Civil War soldier to his wife is a remarkable mix of devotion to loved ones and commitment to principles larger than oneself. It is the very essence of manliness.