A veteran journalist and former member of the Los Angeles Times editorial board, Martelle also writes books primarily about overlooked people and events from history. His newest, though, takes a broader look at a seminal year in American history: 1932: FDR, Hoover, and the Dawn of a New America. Martelle's journalism and book reviews have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Sierra Magazine, Los Angeles magazine, Orange Coast magazine and other outlets.