Mike D'Orso

Last updated
Mike D'Orso
Mike D'Orso.jpg
Born (1953-10-12) October 12, 1953 (age 71)
Portsmouth, Virginia
OccupationAuthor, journalist
Nationality American
Education College of William & Mary (BA, MA)

Mike D'Orso (born October 12, 1953) is an American author and journalist based in Norfolk, Virginia. [1]

Contents

He wrote Like Judgment Day: The Ruin and Redemption of a Town Called Rosewood (1996), Plundering Paradise: The Hand of Man on the Galapagos Islands (2002), and Eagle Blue: A Team, A Tribe and a High School Basketball Season in Arctic Alaska (2006). His co-written books include Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement (1998), written with U.S. Congressman and former civil rights leader John Lewis; Rise and Walk: The Trial and Triumph of Dennis Byrd (1993), written with New York Jet defensive end Dennis Byrd; and Oceana: Our Endangered Oceans and What We Can Do to Save Them (2011), written with actor and environmental activist Ted Danson. [2]

Life

D'Orso's father was a U.S. Navy submarine officer and a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. D'Orso was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, and was raised in military base cities, including: Key West, Florida; San Diego, California; Charleston, South Carolina; and Frankfurt, Germany. [3] [4] He graduated with a degree in philosophy from the College of William and Mary in 1975 and earned a master's degree in English from William and Mary in 1981. [5]

D'Orso was a staff writer for Commonwealth Magazine (1981-1984), features writer for The Virginian-Pilot (1984-1993), and contributor to Sports Illustrated magazine (1988-1993). [6] Seven of his books have been best sellers: Rosewood: Like Judgment Day and Body For Life (both The New York Times); [7] [8] Walking With the Wind (The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post); [9] [10] Like No Other Time and In Praise of Public Life (The Washington Post); Rise and Walk (Bookstore Journal National Christian Bestsellers); [11] and Winning With Integrity (Business Week). [12] Walking With the Wind also won the 1999 Robert F. Kennedy Book Award and was selected for Newsweek magazine's 2009 list of "50 Books For Our Times". [13] [14]

Works

D'Orso's work often involves issues of social justice.[ original research? ] His first book, Somerset Homecoming (1988), written with Dorothy Redford, was about Redford's investigation into her ancestors' experience as slaves in North Carolina. [15]

Like Judgment Day discussed the 1923 Rosewood massacre, and the survivors' pursuit of reparations seventy years later. [16]

Walking With the Wind was a biography of John Lewis, a leader of the civil rights movement during the 1960s. [17]

Eagle Blue was about rural Native American villagers in arctic Alaska shifting from a subsistence lifestyle of hunting, trapping and fishing to a modern cash economy. [18]

Plundering Paradise described the social and environmental impact of thousands of Ecuadorians moving to the Galapagos Islands in search of jobs. [19] [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Grisham</span> American writer (born 1955)

John Ray Grisham Jr. is an American novelist, lawyer, and former member of the Mississippi House of Representatives, known for his best-selling legal thrillers. According to the American Academy of Achievement, Grisham has written 37 consecutive number-one fiction bestsellers, and his books have sold 300 million copies worldwide. Along with Tom Clancy and J. K. Rowling, Grisham is one of only three anglophone authors to have sold two million copies on the first printing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Hailey</span> British Canadian writer

Arthur Frederick Hailey, AE was a British/Canadian novelist whose plot-driven storylines were set against the backdrops of various industries. His books, which include such best sellers as Hotel (1965), Airport (1968), Wheels (1971), The Moneychangers (1975), and Overload (1979), have sold 170 million copies in 38 languages.

The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. The New York Times Book Review has published the list weekly since October 12, 1931. In the 21st century, it has evolved into multiple lists, grouped by genre and format, including fiction and nonfiction, hardcover, paperback and electronic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Flint</span> American author and editor (1947–2022)

Eric Flint was an American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his works are alternate history science fiction, but he also wrote humorous fantasy adventures. His works have been listed on The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and Locus magazine best-seller lists. He was a co-founder and editor of the Baen Free Library.

<i>A Walk in the Woods</i> (book) 1998 travel book by Bill Bryson

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail is a 1998 travel book by the writer Bill Bryson, chronicling his attempt to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail during the spring and summer of 1996. For much of his journey, Bryson was accompanied by his friend Matt Angerer, who had previously appeared in Bryson's 1991 book Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosewood massacre</span> 1923 massacre of African Americans in Florida, US

The Rosewood massacre was a racially motivated massacre of black people and the destruction of a black town that took place during the first week of January 1923 in rural Levy County, Florida, United States. At least six black people were killed, but eyewitness accounts suggested a higher death toll of 27 to 150. In addition, two white people were killed in self-defense by one of the victims. The town of Rosewood was destroyed in what contemporary news reports characterized as a race riot. Florida had an especially high number of lynchings of black men in the years before the massacre, including the lynching of Charles Strong and the Perry massacre in 1922.

<i>Naked Came the Stranger</i> 1969 Penelope Ashe novel

Naked Came the Stranger is a 1969 novel written as a literary hoax poking fun at the American literary culture of its time. Though credited to "Penelope Ashe", it was in fact written by a group of twenty-four journalists led by Newsday columnist Mike McGrady.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jodi Picoult</span> American author

Jodi Lynn Picoult is an American writer. Picoult has published 28 novels and short stories, and has also written several issues of Wonder Woman. Approximately 40 million copies of her books are in print worldwide and have been translated into 34 languages. In 2003, she was awarded the New England Bookseller Award for fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Bliss</span> American cartoonist and illustrator (born 1964)

Harry Bliss is an American cartoonist and illustrator. He has illustrated many books and produced thousands of cartoons including 25 covers for The New Yorker. He has a syndicated single-panel comic titled Bliss. Bliss is syndicated through Tribune Content Agency and appears in over 80 newspapers in the United States, Canada, and Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Goldberg</span> American writer

Lee Goldberg is an American author, screenwriter, publisher and producer known for his bestselling novels Lost Hills and True Fiction and his work on a wide variety of TV crime series, including Diagnosis: Murder, A Nero Wolfe Mystery, Hunter, Spenser: For Hire, Martial Law, She-Wolf of London, SeaQuest, 1-800-Missing, The Glades and Monk.

Christine Feehan is an American author of paranormal romance, paranormal military thrillers, and fantasy. She is a #1 New York Times, #1 Publishers Weekly, and International bestselling author of seven series; Carpathian, GhostWalker Series, Drake Sisters, Sister of the HeartSeries, Shadow Riders Series, Leopard Series and Torpedo Ink Series. Six of the seven series have made #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. As of January 2020 she has 80 published novels. The first in her Torpedo Ink Series, Judgment Road, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestsellers list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isabel Wilkerson</span> American journalist (born 1961)

Isabel Wilkerson is an African-American journalist and the author of The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration (2010) and Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents (2020). She is the first woman of African-American heritage to win the Pulitzer Prize in journalism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurence Leamer</span> American author and journalist

Laurence Leamer is an American author and journalist. Leamer is a former Ford Fellow in International Development at the University of Oregon and a former International Fellow at Columbia University. He is regarded as an expert on the Kennedy family and has appeared in numerous media outlets discussing American politics. Leamer has also written best-selling biographies of other Americans, including Johnny Carson, the Reagan family, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. He has also written a book about Donald Trump's historical resort, Mar-a-Lago. His book, Capote's Women, was a national bestseller, and was adapted as the second season of Feud starring Naomi Watts and directed by Gus Van Sant.

<i>The Social Animal</i> (Brooks book) 2011 book by David Brooks

The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement is a non-fiction book by American journalist David Brooks, who is otherwise best known for his career with The New York Times. The book discusses what drives individual behavior and decision making. Brooks goes through various academic topics such as sociology, psychology, and biology and attempts to summarize various discoveries—such as brain development in early life. The book continually refers to two fictional characters 'Harold' and 'Erica', used by Brooks as examples of how people's emotional personality changes over time.

Steven Kotler is an American author, journalist and entrepreneur. He is best known for his nonfiction books, including Abundance, A Small Furry Prayer, West of Jesus, Bold, The Rise of Superman and Stealing Fire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Holiday</span> Stoic philosophy marketer, author, and businessman (born 1987)

Ryan Holiday is an American marketer, author, businessman and podcaster, notable for marketing Stoic philosophy in the form of books.

Daniel Martin Klein is an American writer of fiction, non-fiction, and humor. His most notable works are Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar co-written with Thomas Cathcart. and Travels With Epicurus.

<i>Diana in Search of Herself</i> Biography of Diana, Princess of Wales

Diana in Search of Herself: Portrait of a Troubled Princess is one of the books about Diana, Princess of Wales. The book was written by best-selling author Sally Bedell Smith and was published by the Times Books in 1999. The book is the first authoritative biography of the Princess.

<i>What Happened</i> (Clinton book) 2017 memoir by Hillary Clinton

What Happened is a 2017 memoir by Hillary Clinton about her experiences as the Democratic Party's nominee and general election candidate for president of the United States in the 2016 election. Published on September 12, 2017, it is her seventh book with her publisher, Simon & Schuster.

Winning Team Publishing is a conservative publishing house founded in 2021 by Sergio Gor and Donald Trump Jr..

References

  1. ↑ Harper, Jane. "Longtime Virginian-Pilot movie critic Mal Vincent, beloved for his tales of Hollywood stars, dies at 83". pilotonline.com.
  2. ↑ "Norfolk-based author remembers civil rights icon John Lewis, who walked with the wind". WAVY.com. 27 July 2020.
  3. ↑ "Writing His Life," Hampton Roads Magazine, January, 2008.
  4. ↑ "Reporter-Author Michael D'Orso Goes Inside the Skin of His Subjects," The Virginian-Pilot, Oct. 2, 1993.
  5. ↑ "Local Profile: Author Mike D'Orso," AltDaily, Feb., 2010 http://www.mikedorso.com/author/AltDaily2010.html.
  6. ↑ Morris, Bill (11 June 2010). "The Happy Ghost". The Millions. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  7. ↑ "Best Sellers Plus," The New York Times, March 23, 1997 ("Like Judgment Day" #22).
  8. ↑ "Best Sellers," The New York Times, Nov. 7, 1999 ("Body For Life" #1).
  9. ↑ "Los Angeles Times Bestsellers," The Los Angeles Times, August 2, 1998 ("Walking With the Wind" #8).
  10. ↑ "Washington Post Bestsellers," The Washington Post, Feb. 12, 2017 ("Walking With the Wind" #3).
  11. ↑ "Best-Selling Christian Books," Bookstore Journal, Nov., 1993 ("Rise and Walk" #3).
  12. ↑ 10) "Crash Landing," ESPN The Magazine, April 1, 2002.
  13. ↑ Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Winners, 1999, "Walking With the Wind." http://rfkhumanrights.org/who-we-are/awards/rfk-book-awards/book-award-winners/.
  14. ↑ "50 Books For Our Times," Newsweek, July 2, 2009 https://www.librarything.com/bookaward/Newsweek+50+Books+for+Our+Times
  15. ↑ 13) Nelson, Jill (Aug. 25, 1988). "Searching for Her Roots." The Washington Post.
  16. ↑ Daynard, Jodi (Feb. 4, 1996). "An American Tragedy." The Boston Sunday Globe.
  17. ↑ Nelson, Jack (June 14, 1988). "A Hero of Our Time." Los Angeles Times Book Review.
  18. ↑ Fox, David (March 8, 2017). "Alaskan Basketball – A Way of Life." Anchorage Press.
  19. ↑ "C-Span BookTV" (Feb. 23, 2003). https://www.c-span.org/video/?165949-1/plundering-paradise-hand-man-galapagos-islands
  20. ↑ Gutin, JoAnn C. (Feb. 2, 2003). "Bitter Harvest." The Washington Post.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.