A Good American
FamilyWhat Does it Mean to be American?
About David
David Maraniss is a New York Times bestselling author and associate editor at The Washington Post. He is a three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and won a Pulitzer for National Reporting for his 1992 coverage of then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton.
“As a journalist for almost 45 years, and now author for more than 25, I’ve learned that there’s always more.”
David was also part of The Washington Post team that won a Pulitzer for their 2007 coverage of the Virginia Tech shooting. His writing has won several other notable awards, including the George Polk Award, Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, Anthony Lukas Book Prize, and Frankfurt eBook Award. He currently lives in Washington D.C. and Madison, WI with his wife Linda.
A Good American Family – The Red Scare and My Father
“Clear-eyed and empathetic, Maraniss’s engrossing portrait of a patriotic, baseball-loving red reveals the complex human motivations underneath the era’s clashing dogmas.”
Once in a Great City – A Detroit Story
“…Motown is clearly where Maraniss’s heart is, and it is where his materials—music, race, civil rights—come together most naturally… You finish Once in a Great City feeling mildly shattered, which is exactly as it should be.”
They Marched into Sunlight – War and Peace – Vietnam and America – October 1967
“My nominee for must-read nonfiction book of the year… They Marched Into Sunlight is that miraculous thing, a substantive, exhaustively researched work of history that reads like a novel.”
When Pride Still Mattered – A Life of Vince Lombardi
“Forges a near-perfect synthesis of fine writing and fascinating material. May be the best sports biography ever published.”
Featured Books
Barack Obama – The Story
“This is a revelatory book… which will certainly shape our understanding of President Obama’s strengths, weaknesses, and inscrutabilities. Every few pages Maraniss offers a factual nugget that changes or enlarges the prevailing lore.”
Clemente – The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero
“Maraniss brings imagination, energy, and even poetry to his superb biography of one of the greatest ballplayers ever to delight a stadium full of fans.”
First in His Class – A Biography of Bill Clinton
“First in His Class is a triumph of American political biography.”
Rome 1960 – The Summer Olympics that Stirred the World
“Evocative, entertaining and often suspenseful – sports history at a very high standard.”
Events
Spotlight
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A Good American Son Madison rescued the Maraniss family, but for a long time, the third child, David, didn’t know how or why — not in detail, anyway.
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A father, a son and how the Cap Times saved a family How could a job offer, any job offer, save a family? Sounds hyperbolic, but it happened. For former Cap Times editor-in-chief Elliott Maraniss, his wife, Mary, and their four children, his start at the Cap Times in 1957 rescued a family that was both beleaguered and nomadic.
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Book Deals: Week of March 11, 2019 Alice Mayhew, v-p and editorial director of Simon & Schuster, signed a deal with ICM’s Rafe Sagalyn for U.K., Canadian, and open market rights for Thorpe, a biography of Jim Thorpe by David Maraniss, the Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist
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Aretha Franklin’s last name explained her There was only one Aretha, but, in her case, the first-name recognition evoked so much more than pop celebrity.
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The Collision Sport on Trial Of the many sayings attributed to Vince Lombardi…the one that seems most relevant to football today is not about winning, the pursuit of excellence, or the importance of will and character, but rather this:“Football is not a contact sport; it is a collision sport.”
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Going Home From The Washington Post: MY BIG brother Jim and I met on Pine Street in Center City Philadelphia on a midsummer morning. He was wearing khaki shorts and a green T-shirt that featured Peter Tosh,…
