Author Biography | Interview | Books by this Author | Read-Alikes
James Ellroy was born in Los Angeles in 1948. He is the author of the acclaimed L.A. Quartet - The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, LA Confidential and White Jazz, as well as the Underworld USA trilogy: American Tabloid, The Cold Six Thousand and Blood's a Rover. He is the author of one work of non-fiction, The Hilliker Curse: My Pursuit of Women. Ellroy lives in Los Angeles.
James Ellroy's website
This bio was last updated on 04/15/2019. In a perfect world, we would like to keep all of BookBrowse's biographies up to date, but with many thousands of lives to keep track of it's simply impossible to do. So, if the date of this bio is not recent, you may wish to do an internet search for a more current source, such as the author's website or social media presence. If you are the author or publisher and would like us to update this biography, send the complete text and we will replace the old with the new.
In the opening paragraph of American Tabloid you write that
"America was never innocent." How does this theme further evolve in The
Cold Six Thousand?
America was founded on a bedrock of land grabs, slavery, religious extremism,
colonial ambition, and genocide. The notion that America was innocent prior to
Jack Kennedy's murder is preposterous; by the rules he lived by, Jack got what
he deserved. He took aid from organized crime during the 1960 election; he
repaid the debt by siccing his kid brother Bobby on the Mob at large. He
betrayed the Cuban exiles at the Bay of Pigs. He pissed off a hot-headed troika
of mobsters, exiles and renegade CIA men involved in the Cuban cause. They
whacked him for it. His death derived from the perennial motives of money and
turf. It was a gaudy homicide that set the stage for the out-of-control America
that I portray in The Cold Six Thousand.
So you really think the Mob called the hits on JFK, Martin Luther King Jr,
and Bobby Kennedy?
I'm convinced that the Mob, in cahoots with Cuban exiles and renegade CIA
elements, whacked Jack Kennedy. That said, I'm a novelist -- and my job is the
creation of verisimilitude, not the exposition of literal truth. There is no
...
Joseph Nicholas Gores (1931-2011) was born in Rochester, Minnosota and educated at Notre Dame University and Stanford University. He also served in the US Army, where he wrote biographies of generals. After earning a master's... (more)
If you enjoyed:
The Cold Six Thousand
Try:
Spade & Archer
by Joe Gores
Walter Mosley is one of America's most celebrated and beloved writers. A Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America, he has won numerous awards, including the Anisfield-Wolf Award, a Grammy, a PEN USA's Lifetime ... (more)
If you enjoyed:
The Cold Six Thousand
Try:
Fear Itself
by Walter Mosley
We recommend 5 similar authors
The Stone Home
by Crystal Hana Kim
A moving family drama and coming-of-age story revealing a dark corner of South Korean history.
The Flower Sisters
by Michelle Collins Anderson
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
