David Samuels (writer)

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David Samuels

Born David Samuels

Brooklyn, New York
Occupation Non-fiction writer, Journalist
Nationality American
Writing period 1991—present
Notable work(s) Only Love Can Break Your Heart (2008)
The Runner (2008)
Spouse(s) Virginia Heffernan

David Samuels (born 1967) is an American non-fiction writer, best-known for long-form journalism and essays. He is a contributing editor at Harper's Magazine and a frequent contributor to The Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker.

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[edit] Background and education

Samuels grew up in Brooklyn, New York; he received a B.A. in History from Harvard College in 1989, where he was an editor of the Harvard Lampoon. Samuels became a Mellon Fellow in the Humanities at Princeton University, where he received a Master's Degree in history in 1993.

[edit] Career

[edit] Early years

Samuels' first article to receive considerable public attention was a controversial 1991 cover story on rap music in The New Republic; the piece—which contended that the primary hip-hop audience consisted of white suburban teens—has been widely anthologized. A later article he wrote on rap music for The New Yorker was reprinted in the Best Music Writing of 2000 collection, edited by Peter Guralnick. His work has also been anthologized in Best American Political Writing of 2004, Best American Science and Nature Writing of 2006, and many other collections.

[edit] The Atlantic

Samuels' long profile of Yasir Arafat for The Atlantic in September 2005 was a finalist for the National Magazine Award in reporting, and was named one of the three most important articles of the year by the columnist David Brooks in The New York Times.

After publishing a controversial cover story in The Atlantic's April, 2008 issue about the paparazzi who trail Britney Spears, Samuels appeared on NPR's On the Media, and offered an apology for having hurt the feelings of those subscribers who objected to finding Spears on the cover of the venerable magazine. "Yes, I want to take full responsibility for destroying The Atlantic, 150 year-old pillar of American journalism," he said. "And now it's gone, thanks to me."

[edit] Books

In the spring of 2008, Samuels published Only Love Can Break Your Heart—a collection of his journalism—along with The Runner: A True Account of the Amazing Lies and Fantastical Adventures of the Ivy League Impostor James Hogue. The latter was based on his 2001 profile of the university confidence man James Hogue, in The New Yorker.

[edit] Style

Samuels' work hearkens back to the New Journalism of the 1960's—a blend of first-person observation, minutely detailed reporting, and a careful, literary attention to language. His pieces for Harper's are often panoramic takes on a single events, including the demolition of the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, the riot at Woodstock 1999, a Donald Rumsfeld press conference at the Pentagon, and Super Bowl XL in Detroit. His work for The New Yorker and The Atlantic often focuses on extreme subcultures and individuals with double identities.

In The New York Observer, critic Matt Haber called Samuels "a master of the new old journalism."[1]In the same publication, critic Michael Washburn described Samuels' work in The Runner and Only Love as "thrilling"; "With an intelligence and unsparing lucidity reminiscent of Joan Didion, Mr. Samuels has written some of the best long-form literary journalism of the past decade."[2] In The Los Angeles Times, critic Richard Rayner citied the author's "wonderful feeling for the weirdness and truths of self-contained worlds"; he continued, "the writing is Joseph Mitchell-meets-Elmore Leonard, and a whole subculture comes to life...Samuels is heir to an American tradition."[3]

[edit] Personal

Samuels is married to The New York Times television critic Virginia Heffernan.[4] The couple, with their two year-old son, lives in Brooklyn Heights.

[edit] Works

[edit] Books

  • Only Love Can Break Your Heart (2008)
  • The Runner: A True Account of the Amazing Lies and Fantastical Adventures of the Ivy League Impostor James Hogue (2008)

[edit] Anthologies

  • The Best American Music Writing, 2000
  • The Best American Political Writing, 2004
  • The Best American Science and Nature Writing, 2006

[edit] References

  1. ^ Harber, Matt. "World’s Youngest Relic: Master of the New Old Journalism", The New York Observer, 2008-04-01. Retrieved on 2008-04-15. 
  2. ^ Washburn, Michael. "Ivy League Phony, Real Thing Author", The New York Observer, 2008-03-04. Retrieved on 2008-04-15. 
  3. ^ Rayner, Richard. "Liars and Cheats", The Los Angeles Times, 2008-04-13. Retrieved on 2008-04-15. 
  4. ^ Harber, Matt. "World’s Youngest Relic: Master of the New Old Journalism", The New York Observer, 2008-04-01. Retrieved on 2008-04-15. 

[edit] External links