Margins
American Tabloid book cover
American Tabloid
1995
First Published
4.20
Average Rating
658
Number of Pages

Part of Series

We are behind, and below, the scenes of JFK's presidential election, the Bay of Pigs, the assassination—in the underworld that connects Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago, D.C.... Where the CIA, the Mob, J. Edgar Hoover, Howard Hughes, Jimmy Hoffa, Cuban political exiles, and various loose cannons conspire in a covert anarchy... Where the right drugs, the right amount of cash, the right murder, buys a moment of a man's loyalty... Where three renegade law-enforcement officers—a former L.A. cop and two FBI agents—are shaping events with the virulence of their greed and hatred, riding full-blast shotgun into history.... James Ellroy's trademark nothing-spared rendering of reality, blistering language, and relentless narrative pace are here in electrifying abundance, put to work in a novel as shocking and daring as anything he's written: a secret history that zeroes in on a time still shrouded in secrets and blows it wide open. Chosen by Time magazine as one of the ten best books of the year. "Hard-bitten ... ingenious ... Ellroy segues into political intrigue without missing a beat." —The New York Times "Vastly entertaining." —Los Angeles Times "One hellishly exciting ride." —Detroit Free Press "A supremely controlled work of art." —The New York Times Book Review

Avg Rating
4.20
Number of Ratings
19,345
5 STARS
46%
4 STARS
35%
3 STARS
14%
2 STARS
4%
1 STARS
2%
goodreads

Author

James Ellroy
James Ellroy
Author · 29 books

James Ellroy was born in Los Angeles in 1948. His L.A. Quartet novels—The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential, and White Jazz—were international best sellers. His novel American Tabloid was Time magazine’s Best Book (fiction) of 1995; his memoir, My Dark Places, was a Time Best Book of the Year and a New York Times Notable Book for 1996. His novel The Cold Six Thousand was a New York Times Notable Book and a Los Angeles Times Best Book for 2001. Ellroy lives in Los Angeles. Ellroy is known for a "telegraphic" writing style, which omits words other writers would consider necessary, and often features sentence fragments. His books are noted for their dark humor and depiction of American authoritarianism. Other hallmarks of his work include dense plotting and a relentlessly pessimistic worldview. Ellroy has been called the "Demon Dog of American crime fiction." See also http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0255278/

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