I will continue to write about non-fiction writing for writers and reporters; no, I ain’t done yet. Yet I think I offer more value to book readers and academics, especially those interested in religion, politics, U.S. history, business, true crime, sociology, journalism, and nonfiction narratives. Read more
To convey a sense of place, good writers use not just their brains but also their legs. They visit the places where their characters lived. Last month, on a trip to Boston I did just that. Read more
Books about political assassinations represent a grim if popular genre. After the near assassination of former President Trump, four books are well worth exploring or revisiting. Read more
Follow these tips. You may not become the next Tom Wolfe or Joan Didion, but you will become more competent and professional. Read more
Reporters failed to identify President Biden’s cognitive decline for many reasons. Sure, many were biased ideologically, but they failed for other reasons as well. Read more
Jim Jones should have been held to account long before the Jonestown massacre of 1978. Like other notorious con men and abusers, he got away with his frauds and crimes partly because officials were clueless or incompetent. When will documentary filmmakers set the record straight? Read more
Generative AI has a dirty little secret: Its content is often shallow, little or no better than data you can find on Google, Bing, or traditional search engines. Read more
Last Saturday night, at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner President Biden urged reporters to follow his lead by covering what he wants them to cover. The problem with his plea was not that he made it. The problem would be if reporters heeded his advice. Read more
In Washingtonian magazine this month, New York Times book critic Carlos Lozada discussed how he turns the straw of reading political memoirs into the gold of an art form. Read more
Is American journalism facing, as a recent Atlantic story said, an “existential moment”? The news about the news might not be as unrelievedly bad as described. Read more
