Wikipedia

Jack Olsen

Jack Olsen(June 7, 1925 – July 16, 2002) was an Americanjournalistandauthorknown for his crime reporting.

Jack Olsen
BornJohn Edward Olsen
(1925-06-07)June 7, 1925
Indianapolis, Indiana,U.S.
DiedJuly 16, 2002(2002-07-16)(aged 77)
Bainbridge Island, Washington,U.S.
OccupationJournalist, writer
SubjectTrue crime,sports and games
Notable worksSon: A Psychopath and His Victims

Olsen was senior editor-in-chief for theChicago Sun-Timesin 1954. He wasMidwestbureau chief forTimeand a senior editor forSports Illustratedin 1961. He was also a regular contributor to other publications, includingFortuneandVanity Fair.[1]

Life and career

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Olsen was born inIndianapolis.[2]He was described as "the dean of true crimeauthors"byThe Washington Postand theNew York Daily Newsand "the master of true crime" by theDetroit Free PressandNewsday.Publishers Weeklycalled him "the best true crime writer around." His studies of crime are required reading in university criminology courses and have been cited in theNew York TimesNotable Books of the Year. In a page-one review, theTimesdescribed his work as "a genuine contribution to criminology and journalism alike."[3]

Books by Olsen have sold 33 million copies. Several of his books examined the intersection of law and politics during the late 1960s and the early 1970s. They includeLast Man Standing: The Tragedy and Triumph ofGeronimo Pratt,(Pratt,a leader of theBlack Panther Party,was declared innocent and released from prison after serving 25 years on theperjured testimonyof apaid FBI informant), andThe Bridge at Chappaquiddickexamining the1969 car crash and deaththat damaged SenatorTed Kennedy's political career. AsCarl BernsteinandBob Woodwardwrite in their bookAll The President's Men,the book was one of several checked out of theWhite Houselibrary byE. Howard Huntin the course of gathering information about Kennedy that could be used against him in the 1972 presidential campaign.[4]

Many of Olsen's most popular works investigated the life histories of violent career criminals. These include studies ofserial rapistssuch asKevin Coe(Son: A Psychopath and his Victims) andGeorge Russell,(Charmer), as well as serial killers (The Misbegotten SonaboutArthur ShawcrossandHastened to the Grave: The Gypsy Murder Investigation). Discussing his lifelong interest in crime journalism, Olsen described a field trip that his collegecriminologyclass took to aprison:

"I'm 19 years old and we get inside, and I see all these guys who look just like me," he said. "I thought that criminals looked different." Explaining what triggers his determination, he said, "I start every book with the idea that I want to explain how this 7 or 8 pounds of protoplasm went from his mommy's arms to become a serial rapist or serial killer. I think a crime book that doesn't do this is pure pornography."

— Jack Olsen, quoted in theNew York Times,1993

Olsen's work had social conscience. At Sports Illustrated in 1968, he shook the athletic establishment with a series about black athletes and the discrimination they faced in professional and college sports.

Olsen's journalism was recognized with theNational Headliner Award,the Chicago Newspaper Guild's Page One Award, the Washington State Governor's Award, and theScripps-HowardAward. He was described as "the dean of true crime authors" byThe Washington Post.His crime studies remain on required reading lists in university criminology courses. In his obituary,The New York Timesdescribed his work as "a genuine contribution to criminology and journalism alike."

Olsen lived onBainbridge Island, Washington,and died on July 16, 2002.[5]

Books

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Fiction

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  • Alphabet Jackson(1974)
  • Massy's Game(1976)
  • The Secret of Fire 5(1977)
  • Night Watch(1979)
  • Missing Persons(1981)
  • Have You Seen My Son?(1982)

Memoirs

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  • Over the Fence is Out(1961)
  • The Pitcher's Kid(2002)

Nonfiction

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  • The Climb up to Hell(1962)
  • Black is Best(1967)
  • Silence on Monte Sole(1968)
  • Night of the Grizzlies(1969)
  • Aphrodite: Desperate Mission(1969)
  • The Bridge at Chappaquiddick(1970)
  • The Man with the Candy: The Story of theHouston Mass Murders(1974)
  • Son: A Psychopath and his Victims(1983)
  • Give a Boy a Gun(1985)
  • Cold Kill(1987)
  • Doc: The Rape of the Town of Lovell(1989)
  • Predator: Rape, Madness, and Injustice in Seattle(1991)
  • The Misbegotten Son(1993)
  • Charmer(1994)
  • Salt of the Earth(1996)
  • Hasten to the Grave(1998)
  • I: The Creation of a Serial Killer(1998)
  • The Happy Face Killer(2008)

Games and sports

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  • The Mad World of BridgeLCCN60-9675
  • The Mad World of Bridge(Sports Illustrated)
  • The Climb up to Hell(Harper & Row, 1962), 212 pp. – mountaineeringLCCN62-14542
  • Bridge is My Life: Lessons of a Lifetime,189 pp. – "by Chas. H. Goren, with Jack Olson"LCCN65-22040
  • Black is Best: The Riddle of Cassius Clay(Putnam, 1967)LCCN67-10959;UK editionCassius Clay: A biography(Pelham, 1967) – biography ofMuhammad Ali
In 1967, Olsen released his authorized biography of Muhammad Ali, titled,Black is Best: The Riddle of Cassius Clay.From the book flap cover, Olsen, writes, "Cassius Clay is far more important as an American phenomenon of the 1960s than as a prizefighter. In his career as a boxer, he followed a traditional, even a stereotyped road to the top for a Negro, but his distortion of the American rags-to-riches story is peculiarly his own." Olsen spent a considerable amount of time around the boxer, subjecting him to several interviews over a two-year time period. Olsen also interviews family members, past training staff, doctors, promoters, and over twenty different sources who worked with Ali.Sports Illustratedcalled it "the best biography of a sports figure published to date".[6]
  • The Black Athlete: A Shameful Story; the myth of integration in American sports(Time-Life Books, 1968), 223 pp.LCCN68-56365.OCLC451880
  • Fran Tarkenton.Better Scramble Than Lose(Four Winds, 1969) – "by Fran Tarkenton as told to Jack Olsen"LCCN73-81706

History, politics, and sociology

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  • Night of the Grizzlies(1969)
  • Silence on Monte Sole(1968)
  • Aphrodite: Desperate Mission(1970)
  • The Bridge at Chappaquiddick(1970)
  • Slaughter the Animals, Poison the Earth,illustrated by Laszlo Kubinyi (Simon & Schuster, 1971) –LCSHCoyote; Predatory animals—control; Wildlife conservationLCCN70-156160
  • The Girls in the Office(1972)
  • The Girls on the Campus(1974)
  • Sweet Street: The Autobiography of an American Honkytonk Scene(1974)
  • Last Man Standing: The Tragedy and Triumph of Geronimo Pratt(2000)

Crime

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  • The Man with the Candy: The Story of the Houston Mass Murders(1974)
  • Son: A Psychopath and His Victims(1983)Edgar Award winner
  • Give a Boy a Gun(1985)
  • Cold Kill: The True Story of a Murderous Love(1987)
  • Doc: The Rape of the Town of Lovell(1989)Edgar Award winner
  • Predator: Rape, Madness, and Injustice in Seattle(1991) American Mystery Award winner
  • The Misbegotten Son: A Serial Killer and His Victims(1993)
  • Charmer: A Ladies' Man and his Victims(1994)
  • Salt of the Earth(1996)
  • Hastened to the Grave(1998)
  • I: The Creation of a Serial Killer(2002)

References

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  1. ^Gootman, Elissa (July 22, 2002)."The New York Times,by Elissa Gootman, "Jack Olsen, 77, Whose Books Examined the Criminal Mind," July 22, 2002. Sec. A, p. 15 ".The New York Times.RetrievedFebruary 14,2012.
  2. ^"Jack Olsen".Bainbridge Island Review.July 16, 2002.
  3. ^Vachss, Andrew (March 14, 1993)."The Psychopaths Among Us"– via NYTimes.
  4. ^Sherrill, Robert (July 14, 1974)."A tragedy, an Enigma, a political Achilles heel"– via NYTimes.
  5. ^"Jack Olsen, 77, Whose Books Examined the Criminal Mind"– via TimesMachine.
  6. ^Werner, M.R. "Cassius-muhammad Is Portrayed With Penetration, Compassion And Wit".Sports Illustrated.March 13, 1967. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
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