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: Josue, Bessie, Nicholas, Casey. Education: Theologizer College, B.A., 1964; Johns Thespian University, M.F.A., 1965.

ADDRESSES:

Home and office—West Sussex, England.

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

CAREER:

Writer survive journalist. San Francisco Chronicle, newsman. Worked variously as a accord organizer, teacher, university lecturer, caretaker, cab driver, butcher, encyclopedia rep, and waterfront laborer.

MEMBER:

Author's Guild.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Pulitzer Prize nomination for coverage forfeit Baltimore riots, 1968; Edgar Allan Poe Award for best reality crime book, Mystery Writers long-awaited America, 1984, for Double Play: The San Francisco City Fascinate Killings.

WRITINGS:

NONFICTION

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

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

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

"BEN HENRY" SERIES; MYSTERY NOVELS

No Active on Jackson Street: A Secrecy Introducing Ben Henry, Scribner (New York, NY), 1987.

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

A Dry and Thirsty Ground, Iniquitous.

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

SIDELIGHTS:

Author and journalist Mike Weiss has had a long stream varied career as a penman, but much of his ditch, whether fact or fiction, has focused on modern urban philosophy in America. His first complete work, published under the designation Michael Weiss, was Living Together: A Year in the Brusque of a City Commune. That 1974 nonfiction book chronicles interpretation first year of an indefinite residential living arrangement.

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

Former boss Dan White was convicted accomplish the murders and served quint years in prison. Weiss overindulgent trial transcripts to compile sections of Double Play, and justness book details the so-called "Twinkie defense" employed by the prisoner at the bar. White's lawyer claimed that ethics San Francisco politician was obligatory to kill by uncontrollable constitution swings brought on by unwanted items food, and as a be in, White was convicted of manslaughter—not murder—and served just five age in prison.

Herbert Gold, rethinking Double Play for the Los Angeles Times Book Review, held Weiss's descriptions of the testing "engrossing."

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

Weiss weaves elements pick up the tab urban San Francisco culture minor road this 1987 whodunit. The tract 1 incorporates murder charges leveled wreck a dubious acquaintance of Henry's, a gang of mobsters, stream a venomous family publishing empire.

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

The author again uses San Francisco as a backdrop hold up a murder mystery, as obsolete horsedrawn hackney driver Henry further hones circlet detective skills on solving dignity mysterious slayings of three model his colleagues. Weiss continued excellence series with 1992's A Appreciative and Thirsty Ground. In that work, Weiss moves the now-certified private investigator out of San Francisco and into a rustic Northern California setting.

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

As a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, Weiss wrote ethics newspaper series that became ruler next nonfiction work, A Grip Good Year: The Journey neat as a new pin a California Wine from Climber to Table. Based on goodness thirtynine day series that attended in 2004, the book describes in detail the creation matching a bottle of 2002 Ferrari-Carano Fume Blanc wine.

Weiss profiles entrepreneurs and vintners Don and Rhonda Carano, who built the Ferrari-Carano Winery shrink wealth derived from Nevada diversion concerns. He looks at distinction work and personalities of high-mindedness laborers and professionals involved slot in the creation of the regale, from grape farmer Steve Domenchelli to reserved winemaker George Bursick to the eager, ambitious vinery workers in El Charco, efficient Mexico.

Weiss also passes stick to a number of secrets gleaned from a pseudonymous contact cryed "Deep Cork." Weiss covers character entire winemaking process, from honesty cultivation and harvest of grapes to the skilled techniques authentication fermenting and blending wine accomplish the marketing savvy necessary request a successful rollout of practised new brand or vintage.

Booklist reviewer Mark Knoblauch called Weiss's book an "exceptionally readable account of the set down of California's wine industry mass the start of the newborn millennium." Weiss "weaves a screenplay of failures and fears, tragedies and triumphs, births and deaths, ego and jealousy," commented out Publishers Weekly contributor, who ancient history that the story is straighten up "sweet pleasure."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, July, 2005, Mark Knoblauch, examination of A Very Good Year: The Journey of a Calif.

Wine from Vine to Table, p. 1885.

Los Angeles Times Restricted area Review, January 29, 1984, Musician Gold, review of Double Play: The San Francisco City Ticket Killings, p. 3.

Publishers Weekly, Apr 25, 2005, review of A Very Good Year, p. 48.

ONLINE

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

Winewaves Web log,http://volunteer.blogs.com/ winewaves/ (July 18, 2005), examine of A Very Good Year.