Ethan Brown

Ethan Brown is an American investigative journalist and author. He is best known for his books Queens Reigns Supreme and Shake The Devil Off: A True Story of the Murder that Rocked New Orleans, the latter a Washington Post "Critics Pick" and New York Times Book Review "Editor’s Choice."^[1] Brown's work has been praised by David Simon, Chuck Klosterman, George Pelecanos, and Evan Wright.

Bio

Ethan Brown was born on June 7, 1972. ^[2]

Before writing his books, Ethan was a writer for magazines such as New York Magazine, the New York Observer, and Rolling Stone.^[2] He has written several prominent stories about the rise of new designer drugs and the intersection between drugs, gangs and law enforcement that he has been able to obtain through investigative journalism. His work includes a cover story on Ecstasy for New York Magazine.^[3]

Books

His first book, Queens Reigns Supreme: Fat Cat, 50 Cent, and the Rise of the Hip Hop Hustler traced the connection between infamous drug dealers Lorenzo "Fat Cat" Nichols and Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff and rappers Irv Gotti, Ja Rule and 50 Cent. Based on extensive interviews, police wiretaps and Browns investigation uncovered the connection between "hip hop hustlers" and actual street hustling. The dangerous connections and unflattering details exposed by Brown led journalist Chuck Klosterman to remark "If somebody doesn't get shot because of this book, I will be fucking amazed."^[4] It additionally goes into depth about the extreme tension that existed at this time between law enforcement and drug kingpins such as Fat Cat. This book marks several murders between both sides that added to the increasing chaos of Southeast Queens at this point in time.^[2]

His next book, Snitch: Informants, Cooperators, and the Corruption of Justice, looked at the complicated and often conflicting relationship between law and enforcement and paid and unpaid informants.^[5] The book was subsequently banned from all US federal prisons.^[6] It was named to The Root's list of "smartest ,strongest writing about race."

His 2009 book, Shake The Devil Off, involved Brown moving to New Orleans to tell the story of a murder-suicide committed by Zackery Bowen, an Iraq War-veteran.^[7][8] The murder, which happened post-Hurricane Katrina became a national story amidst speculation of cannibalism and Bowen’s dramatic suicide off the roof of the Omni Hotel in the French Quarter.^[9] It was critically well received and reviewed by the New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, The Dallas Morning News and the New Orleans Times-Picayune.^[10]

Ethan's most recent book, "Murder in the Bayou," is an expansion of his investigation into the Jeff Davis 8 case. It will be published by Scribner/Simon and Schuster on September 13, 2016.^[11] Kirkus Reviews called the book "Compulsively readable true crime provoking questions about policing, poverty, and the ritualized brutality of the rural South."^[12] Murder in the Bayou has also been praised by John Berendt, Harold Schechter and Janet Reitman ^[13]

References

External links

• Ethan-brown.com