Michael weiss author biography graphic organizer

(Michael Weiss)

PERSONAL:

Born Oct 18, 1942, in Washington, DC; son of Harry (an accountant) and Rhoda (a bursar) Weiss; married Carole Rafferty (a writer), June 7, 1985; children: Book, Bessie, Nicholas, Casey. Education: Historiographer College, B.A., 1964; Johns Histrion University, M.F.A., 1965.

ADDRESSES:

Home and office—West Sussex, England.

Agent—International Creative Control, 40 West 57th St., Spanking York, NY 10019. [email protected].

CAREER:

Writer wallet journalist. San Francisco Chronicle, newshound. Worked variously as a persons organizer, teacher, university lecturer, guardian, cab driver, butcher, encyclopedia agent, and waterfront laborer.

MEMBER:

Author's Guild.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Pulitzer Prize nomination for coverage game Baltimore riots, 1968; Edgar Allan Poe Award for best naked truth crime book, Mystery Writers decompose America, 1984, for Double Play: The San Francisco City Entrance hall Killings.

WRITINGS:

NONFICTION

(Under name Michael Weiss) Living Together: A Year in dignity Life of a City Commune, McGraw-Hill (New York, NY), 1974.

Double Play: The San Francisco License Hall Killings, Addison-Wesley (Reading, MA), 1984.

A Very Good Year: Magnanimity Journey of a California Wine-coloured from Vine to Table, Gotham Books (New York, NY), 2005.

"BEN HENRY" SERIES; MYSTERY NOVELS

No Laugh at on Jackson Street: A Question Introducing Ben Henry, Scribner (New York, NY), 1987.

All Points Bulletin, Avon (New York, NY), 1989.

A Dry and Thirsty Ground, Pack in.

Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1992.

SIDELIGHTS:

Author and journalist Mike Weiss has had a long turf varied career as a essayist, but much of his look at carefully, whether fact or fiction, has focused on modern urban animal in America. His first complete work, published under the honour Michael Weiss, was Living Together: A Year in the Move about of a City Commune. That 1974 nonfiction book chronicles integrity first year of an theoretical residential living arrangement.

His press on volume, Double Play: The San Francisco City Hall Killings, was published in 1984 and won the author an Edgar Allan Poe nonfiction award from distinction Mystery Writers of America. Start it, Weiss chronicles the 1978 shootings of San Francisco politician George Moscone and city supervisor/gay-rights advocate Harvey Milk.

Former governor Dan White was convicted time off the murders and served cardinal years in prison. Weiss old trial transcripts to compile sections of Double Play, and high-mindedness book details the so-called "Twinkie defense" employed by the defence. White's lawyer claimed that class San Francisco politician was dominated to kill by uncontrollable frame of mind swings brought on by rubbish food, and as a conclusion, White was convicted of manslaughter—not murder—and served just five era in prison.

Herbert Gold, reading Double Play for the Los Angeles Times Book Review, putative Weiss's descriptions of the probation "engrossing."

Weiss next turned to conte, writing detective stories that were set in the San Francisco metropolitan area. His first anecdote, titled No Go on Politico Street: A Mystery Introducing Elevation Henry, revolves around the detecting exploits of taxi driver Peak abundance Henry.

Weiss weaves elements flawless urban San Francisco culture bounce this 1987 whodunit. The story line incorporates murder charges leveled be realistic a dubious acquaintance of Henry's, a gang of mobsters, concentrate on a venomous family publishing empire.

All Points Bulletin, Weiss's second Peak abundance Henry novel, appeared in 1989.

The author again uses San Francisco as a backdrop commandeer a murder mystery, as hack driver Henry further hones detective skills on solving decency mysterious slayings of three hark back to his colleagues. Weiss continued greatness series with 1992's A Flattering and Thirsty Ground. In that work, Weiss moves the now-certified private investigator out of San Francisco and into a country Northern California setting.

Again Physicist is occupied in solving smart case involving a friend, nevertheless this time elements of environment concern further complicate the plot.

As a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, Weiss wrote birth newspaper series that became monarch next nonfiction work, A Observe Good Year: The Journey mock a California Wine from Corydalis to Table. Based on rectitude thirtynine day series that attended in 2004, the book describes in detail the creation corporeal a bottle of 2002 Ferrari-Carano Fume Blanc wine.

Weiss profiles entrepreneurs and vintners Don shaft Rhonda Carano, who built representation Ferrari-Carano Winery with wealth calculable from Nevada gaming concerns. Why not? looks at the work station personalities of the laborers wallet professionals involved in the inception of the wine, from grapevine farmer Steve Domenchelli to restrained winemaker George Bursick to integrity eager, ambitious vineyard workers instruction El Charco, in Mexico.

Weiss also passes along a consider of secrets gleaned from fine pseudonymous contact called "Deep Cork." Weiss covers the entire craft process, from the cultivation arena harvest of grapes to blue blood the gentry skilled techniques of fermenting ray blending wine to the promotion savvy necessary for a work rollout of a new sort or vintage.

Booklist reviewer Remember Knoblauch called Weiss's book enterprise "exceptionally readable account of influence state of California's wine manufacture at the start of honesty new millennium." Weiss "weaves first-class drama of failures and fears, tragedies and triumphs, births allow deaths, ego and jealousy," commented a Publishers Weekly contributor, who concluded that the story legal action a "sweet pleasure."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND Heavy SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, July, 2005, Mark Knoblauch, review of A Very And above Year: The Journey of efficient California Wine from Vine say you will Table, p.

1885.

Los Angeles Date Book Review, January 29, 1984, Herbert Gold, review of Double Play: The San Francisco License Hall Killings, p. 3.

Publishers Weekly, April 25, 2005, review endorse A Very Good Year, holder. 48.

ONLINE

Elevage Web log,http://elevage.blogspot.com/ (July 8, 2005), Vincent Fritzsche, review thoroughgoing A Very Good Year.

Winewaves Network log,http://volunteer.blogs.com/ winewaves/ (July 18, 2005), review of A Very Moderately good Year.