novels
Sanctuary Thirteen
Sanctuary Thirteen
Sanctuary Thirteen
It is the era of Bossism, guided by The Ten Grudgments and the slogan "Prayer, Order, Security, and Shut-up-ism." In this darkly satirical novel, dissidents are shipped to asylums as America adopts a unique brand of neo-Stalinism under the leadership of Acton Grudge, a.k.a. The Boss, whose goal is to make everything "run like a business." The story is propelled by quirky, acerbic, and venal characters who reveal the human condition in all its poignant and absurd dimension.
Praise for Sanctuary Thirteen:
“Evade sanctions to buy this? Nyet. Even Zelensky could do better.”
—Vladimir P.
“Trash. Stupid. But some interesting ideas for me to try out.”
—Viktor O.
“Burns cleanly if you want to heat your flat.”
—K. Jong Un
The Tinker's Son
Sanctuary Thirteen
Sanctuary Thirteen
When Yakov Leibovich, a rabbinical student in 1870s Russia, is drafted into the Tsar’s army, his rabbi and overbearing father arrange to keep him safe. But the local conscription officer demands the name of another Jew to fill his quota, leading Yakov to commit a moral error that propels him on a journey of guilt, repentance, and a risky escape with the woman he loves.
Kirkus Reviews wrote: "There’s something timeless about Yakov’s journey, one that has the simplicity of a folktale and the weight of a vast Russian saga....A spirited novel of obligation and ethics in a time of brutality."
The Historical Novel Society wrote: "The author has achieved pitch-perfect voice...(the protagonist) is a fully realized character, a seeker and a thinker."
Agent of Intrusion
Sanctuary Thirteen
Agent of Intrusion
Maks, a hacker out for revenge, and Ingrid, a French diplomat, craft an elaborate disinformation campaign to fool Russian intelligence. The prizes are corporate secrets. Bigger players enter the pages of this spy thriller, including aircraft makers plagued by digital theft. When the disinformation gambit goes awry, one protagonist must devise an ingenious barter to free the other from the grip of Russia’s clandestine service.
bio
My senior independent study at Harvard was on George Orwell, so while many of my friends packed for law school, I opted for newspapers. I've been a professional writer and editor since the resignation of Richard Nixon, but in a single non-fiction genre: journalism. Though I always loved storytelling, my profession demanded absolute adherence to veracity. It seems I have now leapt over the boundary to verisimilitude. I worked at the Minneapolis Tribune, The New York Times, and the Philadelphia Inquirer before moving to Paris to join the International Herald Tribune, a beloved paper that, at the time, was owned by the Times and The Washington Post. I worked as a copy editor, Sports Editor, U.S. Editor, and Deputy Managing Editor, alternating postings in Paris and Washington but always focusing on big-picture politics and economics. Later, I was a Senior Editor at Bloomberg Markets magazine. Today, I tell stories for fun — to watch my characters take form and evolve as they face life’s inevitable joys and sorrows. And when the spirit moves me, I post political essays and comments to Substack ("At the Rubicon") or Medium. My recent work in photography appears here.
political Essays
Antidote to the Tweetmaster
Lessons From Orwell's "1984"
Lessons From Orwell's "1984"
More than half a century ago, the Italian intellectual Umberto Eco offered a theory of mass communication that explains how Donald Trump uses "code" to influence his followers. Understanding Eco's construct offers clues to a potential antidote.
Lessons From Orwell's "1984"
Lessons From Orwell's "1984"
Lessons From Orwell's "1984"
A review of Dorian Lynskey's Ministry of Truth: The Biography of George Orwell's 1984. Today, we are seeing daily confirmation that the “germ of totalitarianism,” as Lynskey puts it, lives in all of us and flourishes if we let it.
The New American Oligarchy
Lessons From Orwell's "1984"
The New American Oligarchy
Justice Anthony Kennedy's legacy from the landmark Citizens United opinion is both powerful and sad. Americans must now endure a more pervasive and corrosive form of public corruption than simple quid-pro-quo bribery.
rants
The Bad Precedent of Brett Kavanaugh
The Bad Precedent of Brett Kavanaugh
The Bad Precedent of Brett Kavanaugh
We all saw "inappropriately partisan statements" by Brett Kavanaugh in his final day of Senate hearings, statements barred under the judicial code of conduct. Because formal complaints were dismissed, any Supreme Court nominee can flout the code, as long as confirmation is secured.
An Open Letter to America's CEOs
The Bad Precedent of Brett Kavanaugh
The Bad Precedent of Brett Kavanaugh
Written one week after Biden won the 2020 election, this plea to the financiers of today's Republican Party will sound as urgent today, in late 2023, as it was three years earlier: you can show love of country, and of your bottom line, by stopping all funding of a dangerous cult of personality.
Judge Amy Barrett's Ethical Duty
The Bad Precedent of Brett Kavanaugh
Judge Amy Barrett's Ethical Duty
Judge Barrett, nominated to the Supreme Court, is bound by a code of conduct to make a clear public statement declaring that she will not permit anyone, including the President who nominated her, “to convey the impression that he is in a special position to influence” her views.