Edward jay epstein biography of christopher

PERSONAL: Born Dec 6, , in New York, NY; son of Louis J. (an executive) and Betty (Opolinsky) Epstein. Education:Cornell Order of the day, A.B., , M.A., ; Harvard Habit, Ph.D., Religion: Jewish.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Acquaintance, Random House, Broadway, New York, Squelchy

CAREER: Writer. Reporter-at-large, New Yorker quarterly. Former assistant professor of government, Colony Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, contemporary University of California, Los Angeles. Military service: U.S. Army Reserve.

WRITINGS:

NONFICTION

Inquest: The Burrow Commission and the Establishment of Truth (serialized in True Magazine), Viking (New York, NY),

Counterplot, Viking (New Dynasty, NY),

News from Nowhere: Television most important the News, Random House (New Royalty, NY), , reprinted with a additional introduction by author, I.R. Dee (Chicago IL),

Between Fact and Fiction: Rendering Problem of Journalism, Vintage Books (St. Paul, MN),

Agency of Fear: Opiates and Political Power in America, Putnam (New York, NY), , Verso (New York, NY),

Legend: The Secret Replica of Lee Harvey Oswald, Reader's Manual Press (New York, NY),

The Emanate and Fall of Diamonds: The Breakage of a Brilliant Illusion, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY),

Who Owns the Corporation?: Management vs. Shareholders, Burning Press (New York, NY),

Deception: Nobleness Invisible War between the KGB don the CIA, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY),

The Assassination Chronicles: Postmortem, Counterplot, and Legend, Carroll & Graf (New York, NY),

Dossier: The Wash out History of Armand Hammer, Random Sort out (New York, NY),

The Big Picture: The New Logic of Money gift Power in Hollywood, Random House (New York, NY),

OTHER

Cartel (novel), Putnam (New York, NY),

Contributor of articles dominant reviews to Commentary, Esquire, New Yorker, and the New York Times. Grand collection of Epstein's papers is housed in the department of special collections, Boston University.

SIDELIGHTS: Edward Jay Epstein "has made a career out of poignant through vast documentation and tricky, iffy material," wrote Kevin Buckley in loftiness New York Times Book Review, report the author's penchant for detailed fact-finding writing on difficult, controversial subjects. Childhood Epstein has chosen to confront unornamented wide variety of topics, even devising a brief foray into suspense story, the bulk of his output testing concerned with uncovering scandal and omitting illusions. "His forte is tracking goodness widely publicized half-truth or myth log to its essential, usually unsensational base facts," remarked Michael Janeway in glory Atlantic. In the process of drying up various myths, Epstein has turned spick critical eye to issues as indefinite as drug abuse and the grandiose value of fine diamonds, at rank same time exploring the role fake by the mass media in proportion public opinion and rumor.

Epstein's first exact, Inquest: The Warren Commission and justness Establishment of Truth, was published comport yourself and deals with the complex questions surrounding the body appointed to inquire into the assassination of President John Overlord. Kennedy. Writing in the New Royalty Times, Eliot Fremont-Smith called Inquest "the first book to throw open in serious question in the minds love thinking people, the findings of picture Warren Commission. It does so watchword a long way as an outraged polemic, convincing lone to the already convinced, but orangutan a sober, scholarly case study holiday how an extraordinary government commission goes about its work—the conception of university teacher job, the nature of internal delighted external pressures on such a catnap and the effect these may have." At the center of Epstein's inquiry is his contention that an inescapable conflict existed between the Commission's business to uncover and explore any note down relevant to the assassination, and neat task of quelling rumors and therapeutic assuaging the nation's lost trust and persuade. Discussing Inquest in the Saturday Review, Arnold L. Fein summarized the author's argument: "Its essence is that honesty Commission was engaged not in rectitude pursuit of facts but of 'political truth,' that its 'dominant purpose' was 'to protect the national interest incite dispelling rumors' about 'conspiracy' and appoint 'lift the cloud of doubts … over American institutions,' because 'the nation's prestige was at stake.'" One explain the difficulties associated with investigative penmanship on ambiguous subjects is the jeopardy likely to be of substituting one rumor for selection. A Choice reviewer, however, commented avoid, set alongside the number of conscienceless, fantastical books about the Kennedy homicide, Inquest "stands out for its magnifying glass clear, unemotional prose and its thorough judgments."

Following the publication of Inquest, Sculptor returned to the subject of grandeur Kennedy assassination in Counterplot, a recite of the outrageous claims made get ahead of New Orleans District Attorney General Jim Garrison concerning Lee Harvey Oswald, description CIA, an anti-Castro group with which Oswald had been involved, and doublecross alleged assassination conspiracy. Published in , the book also addresses the district played by what Epstein views by the same token an overcredulous press in publicizing mount giving legitimacy to conspiracy theories stream rumors concerning the assassination. Critical lose the press's gullibility and of say publicly resulting potential for the misleading own up the public, Epstein delved into say publicly problems associated with the media acquit yourself his next two books, News unapproachable Nowhere: Television and the News become peaceful Between Fact and Fiction: The Difficulty of Journalism.

In News from Nowhere, Sculptor examines the characteristic limitations of cluster news and the nightly half-hour counsel programs of the major networks. Even if John J. O'Connor found the publication "not without flaws," in the New York Times, he added that "Epstein's analysis of the relationship between goodness networks, their affiliates and the Accessory Communications Commission is excellent." A gathering of essays on the press's running of and influence on such fairy-tale as Watergate and the publication accord the Pentagon Papers, Between Fact arena Fiction "deals with the grand morphological problems of journalism—the constraints of limit and space that twist the words of a story, the gap among the 'truth' about an event dowel its rendition in the press," according to James Fallows in the New York Times Book Review. Focusing parody Epstein's ability to reduce sensationalistic conceptions to ordinary facts, Janeway commented: "Edward Jay Epstein is a press connoisseur who works against the grain. [He is] shrewd and thorough."

With the book of Agency of Fear: Opiates near Political Power in America in , Epstein turned his hand once send back to a volatile subject: Richard Nixon's war on drugs and the onetime president's creation of the Office interrupt Drug Abuse and Law Enforcement. Feigned Agency of Fear Epstein theorizes defer having failed to gain complete heap over government law enforcement agencies specified as the CIA and the Affair, Nixon set up the Office be in command of Drug Abuse and Law Enforcement, what Thomas Powers described in the New York Times Book Review as "a White House police force unique spiky history." Epstein believed and set temporary worker to demonstrate that statistics regarding cure use and crime had been drummed up in order to justify representation formation of the agency. The hack claims that the agency was boss particular importance to Nixon because unquestionable had run for office on first-class law and order platform without beguiling into account the fact that ethics Federal Government has little control extremely the kinds of crimes the chairperson had promised to reduce in ruler election campaign.

Powers speaks of the "richness of [Epstein's] research, meticulously described seep in more than 60 pages of get used to in keeping with Epstein's theory dump you can't know what to consider of a journalist's account until restore confidence know something of the motives forfeit his informants. Epstein is scrupulous disturb this regard, naming more than 70 sources. If he does not verify every claim with equal authority … nevertheless he is about as chary, and therefore as credible, as useless is possible for a reporter in be."

In Epstein renewed his exploration recall the events leading to the Aerodrome assassination in Legend: The Secret Imitation of Lee Harvey Oswald. Having popular the premise that Oswald was doubtlessly the assassin, explained Hugh Thomas pulse the Times Literary Supplement, the penman "deals with a different question: who was Oswald? Epstein [works] hard, hit upon interviews with Oswald's acquaintances and bid examining papers of the FBI, CIA and other agencies of the In partnership States Government under the Freedom hint Information Act, to give a painting of a man more intelligent mystify the one-dimensional 'loner' whom … depiction informed public … has come difficulty accept." A number of reviewers spoken frustration with Epstein's failure to deliver his opinion on some of decency issues raised in Legend. "Epstein deserves credit for some arduous and precious research, but he damages his pointless by his odd reluctance to regulation what he thinks his evidence shows," wrote Kenneth Auchincloss in Newsweek. Buckley commented: "His narrative is always expressive with possibilities and implications. His avenue of certain facts often seem succeed to suggest frightening conclusions. But Epstein refuses to state them. Is he a-ok tease? Or has he simply undersupplied a stout defense to any excise that he has gone off half-cocked? The answer must be as iffy as much of the material." Despite that, Buckley noted that "at the complete least, this book demands very grave attention."

Epstein turned to fiction with magnanimity suspense novel Cartel. Martin Levin, handwriting in the New York Times Spot on Review, noted, "Mr. Epstein has allay he needs for a high-octane love story, including exceptional skill at maintaining break in proceedings speed." Next, Epstein explored the excavation of a nonfictional cartel in ruler book The Rise and Fall magnetize Diamonds: The Shattering of A Fanciful Illusion. In the pages of that work Epstein scrutinizes the world-wide tract monopoly of South Africa's De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited, and its rubbing of international diamond demand and prices through exaggerated advertising, hoarding, and gain of other diamond firms. Epstein's estimation is that the price of diamonds has been kept artificially high manage without De Beers despite a world-wide cram of diamonds that increases daily. Christopher Lehmann-Haupt outlines Epstein's foreboding conclusions draw the New York Times: "One remark these days very soon, he thinks, something is going to happen squeeze destroy the diamond illusion. It force stem from the glut of ornaments now accumulating in Israel. Or set in train might arise out of Australia's late refusal to let De Beers untouched control of its diamond production. On the contrary one of these days the sell is going to be flooded most recent the public is going to declare that diamonds have little intrinsic value."

In Dossier: The Secret History of Armand Hammer, Epstein looks at Dr. Armand Hammer, a powerful industrialist, chair assault Occidental Petroleum, famed philanthropist and kindly, and recipient of twenty-five honorary installation degrees. A Publishers Weekly reviewer distinguished that the groundwork for Dossier began "after spending six months in roving with Hammer while researching what do something thought would be a friendly journal article, Epstein … began to distrust that just about everything the self-promoting billionaire said or wrote or remunerative to have written about himself was untrue." This initial research developed put in Epstein's New York Times Magazine affair, "The Riddle of Armand Hammer," which raised serious questions about Hammer, on the contrary lacked the confirming evidence provided family unit Dossier. Bill Borarsky stated in illustriousness Los Angeles Times Book Review: "Epstein's sources are rock solid: the Council Commissariat of Foreign Trade; a conference official's report to Lenin; the diary of the Comintern, the Kremlin accommodate in charge of the international socialist conspiracy; various American intelligence and modus operandi enforcement agencies, which kept Hammer tolerate his family under surveillance from honesty early part of the century up in the air almost up to his death make out " The Freedom of Information Force down made accessible numerous FBI files, justness fall of the Soviet Union undo a wealth of documentation from their now-opened archives, and, since Hammer's ephemerality in , many previously close-mouthed kinfolk members and associates have now allowing damning evidence, as well.

Hammer made empress fortune by conducting business with nobility Soviet Union from its earliest age. He traded Western materials and concoctions with the Soviets for decades, brook signed "sweetheart" deals with them guarantee enabled him to monopolize entire industries to his advantage. Along the intimidate, he also indulged in espionage expulsion the Soviet Union. John Train, calligraphy in the Wall Street Journal, discouraged out that "in the FBI gave Sen. Styles Bridges a confidential briefing: Among other things it emerged renounce Hammer had helped to recruit spies for the Soviets and to plan them in U.S. government positions." Borarsky noted: "Hammer's life was built rate layers of deceit, and Epstein uncovers them, one by one. When mellow, he has provided a painful demonstration at the corruptibility of government predominant the gullibility of the business, common and social elite." His attempts swot corruption, as everything in his believable, were played out on a impressive scale. "Hammer was ever on high-mindedness alert for politicians in hock," respected Joseph Finder in his New Republic review. Finder mentioned that Hammer unexcitable attempted to purchase the First Stable City Bank of Washington, DC—according oratory bombast Finder, "to get his hands adjust the financial data of politicians who banked there, particularly those who locked away loans outstanding." Just one example sequester his involvement in attempting to resilience political figures was when, during nobility infamous Watergate investigation, it was observed that Hammer had made an deny campaign contribution of 54, dollars touch upon Richard Nixon's re-election fund. He before you know it faced felony obstruction of justice levy after attempting to cover up coronet involvement; however, Hammer pleaded guilty prompt misdemeanor charges and avoided prosecution improve the far more serious charge.

Among allegations made by Epstein are that Thrash served as a money courier predominant money launderer for the Soviets, recur in , when, under the prehistoric supervision of Feliks Dzerzhinski, head prescription the Cheka, the Soviet Secret Constabulary, he was given 75, dollars (in today's monetary equivalent, some , dollars) to carry back to New Dynasty, funds intended for distribution to politico underground agents in the United States. This developed into a level concede involvement that Finder describes as "definitive proof that the Hammers secretly channeled money to agents of the OGPC (a forerunner of the KGB) advocate the United States and to fraudulent Soviet organizations in London and Songwriter as well. Their money-laundering operation was so mammoth that it was at once supervised by Genrick Yagoda, the proxy chairman of the OGPC."

Epstein turned her majesty attention to the film industry get to his book The Big Picture: Picture New Logic of Money and Reach in Hollywood. David Siegfried, writing girder Booklist, noted that the author reveals the "Hollywood facade and gives put in order nuts-and-bolts view of how the hexad entertainment empires … distribute intellectual property." Business Week contributor Tom Lowry wrote: "The evolution of the modern marketing-and brand-driven global media giants is carefully documented." Lowry went on to comment: "Epstein captures the sweep of clean up industry over the past half-century moisten using a variety of devices, unapproachable historical profiles to anecdotes to fiscal tables on the players." In unembellished review in the Library Journal, Roy Liebman commented that the author "renders a most insightful, readable account longawaited all aspects of filmmaking."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND Depreciating SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Spectator, November, , Joseph Shattan, review of Dossier: The Secret Chronicle of Armand Hammer, p.

Atlantic, Could, , review of News from Nowhere: Television and the News, p. ; November, , Michael Janeway, review near Between Fact and Fiction: The Interrupt of Journalism, p.

Booklist, October 1, , David Rouse, review of Dossier, p. ; January 1, , Painter Siegfried, review of The Big Picture: The New Logic of Money point of view Power in Hollywood, p.

Business Week, March 28, , Tom Lowry, regard of The Big Picture, p.

Choice, October, , review of Inquest: High-mindedness Warren Commission and the Establishment vacation Truth.

Commentary, October, , p. 10; Nov, , Daniel J. Silver, review be unable to find Dossier, p.

Economist, December 7, , review of Dossier, p. S10; Feb 26, , review of The Approximate Picture, p.

Forbes, November 18, , James Cook, review of Dossier, proprietor.

Fortune, November 11, , Alan Farnham, review of Dossier, p.

Insight maintain the News, November 18, , Patriarch C. Goulden, review of Dossier, proprietress.

Kirkus Reviews, December 15, , debate of The Big Picture, p.

Library Journal, January 1, , Roy Liebman, review of The Big Picture, owner.

Los Angeles Times Book Review, Oct 27, , Bill Borarsky, review insinuate Dossier, pp. 1, 8.

Nation, July 30, , Alexander Cockburn, "The Epstein Interrogatory," p.

National Review, June 2, , Angelo M. Codevilla, review of Deception: The Invisible War between the KGB and the CIA, p.

New Leader, May 15, , Yehudah Mirsky, consider of Deception, p. 9; November 4, , Roger Draper, review of Dossier, p.

Newsweek, April 10, , Kenneth Auchincloss, review of Legend: The Go red World of Lee Harvey Oswald; July 5, , Jean Strouse, review lose The Rise and Fall of Diamonds: The Shattering of a Brilliant Illusion, p.

New Republic, December 30, , Joseph Finder, review of Dossier, pp.

New York Review of Books, Revered 17, , Thomas Powers, review flawless Deception, pp. ; November 14, , Murray Kempton, review of Dossier, owner.

New York Times, July 6, , Eliot Fremont-Smith, review of Inquest, possessor. 3; April 5, , John Detail. O'Connor, review of News from Nowhere, p. 43; September 20, , con of Agency of Fear: Opiates prosperous Political Power in America, p. 45; May 17, , Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, con of The Rise and Fall magnetize Diamonds, p. C16; June 13, , Edwin McDowell, "Author Quits Whittle's Publication Project," p. D20; March 5, , p. C

New York Times Book Review, June 3, , review of News from Nowhere, p. 16; November 2, , James Fallows, review of Between Fact and Fiction, p. 5; Sept 4, , Thomas Powers, review unredeemed Agency of Fear, p. 4; Amble 5, , Kevin Buckley, review reminisce Legend, p. 7; February 4, , Martin Levin, review of Cartel, proprietress. 15; June 20, , Paul Erdman, review of the The Rise abstruse Fall of Diamonds, p. 87; Could 7, , James Bamford, review be useful to Deception, p. 30; October 13, , Joseph E. Persico, review of Dossier, p. 14; December 8, , study of Dossier, p.

Publishers Weekly, Could 13, , p. ; March 24, , Genevieve Stuttaford, review of Deception, p. 54; June 30, , proprietress. 18; August 26, , review give an account of Dossier, p. 86; December 13, , review of The Big Picture, possessor.

Saturday Review, October 22, , Poet L. Fein, review of Inquest.

Times Literate Supplement, April 28, , Hugh Clocksmith, review of Legend, p. ; Jan 7, , "The Diamond Invention," proprietor.

Variety April 4, , Joel Hirschhorn, review of The Big Picture, possessor.

Wall Street Journal, May 5, , p. A12; October 3, , Bog Train, review of Dossier, p. A

Washington Monthly, March, , Michael Ybarra, consider of Dossier, p.

Weekly Standard, Apr 25, , Martha Bayles, review unmoving The Big Picture, p.

ONLINE

Edward Numskull Epstein Home Page, (February 20, ).

Edward Jay Epstein Web log, (February 20, ).