Oct 27, 2021The Strange Case of the Montecito Mudslide Human RemainsEarly in the morning of January 9, 2018, the wealthy suburb of Montecito, California, just north of Santa Barbara, was hit with an avalanche of mud that destroyed numerous homes and took 23 lives. After a devastating fire in the hills above the town, followed by a huge downpour of…Forensics8 min readForensics8 min read
May 4, 2021Islands and Other Places: The Romance of Route 66.Note: This article is adapted from an article I published in National Geographic Traveler in 1996. It was in turn adapted from an earlier and longer piece in the now-defunct L.A. Reader. Of course, many, many writers have tackled the subject of Route 66, and I cannot claim that my…Route 669 min readRoute 669 min read
Apr 9, 2021Islands and other places: The birth of impressionismNote: This is article adapted from a piece I published in Islands magazine in March 1996. I expect it to be part of a book I am currently working on, entitled “Islands and Other Places: The Journeys of an American in Exile.” Sometimes it takes a while to find what’s…Art8 min readArt8 min read
Feb 15, 2021The Third Man’s ViennaThis story is adapted from a piece I published in the International Herald Tribune and the Washington Post in 1990. VIENNA — The Baroque house at Schreyvogelgasse 8, just off Vienna’s Ringstrasse, is in much better repair that it was in the late 1940s. A new door has been fitted…Film6 min readFilm6 min read
Jan 24, 2021Inside the Cassoulet ClubGroucho Marx once said that he would never join a club that would have him as a member. I’ve never been much of a joiner myself. But when, several years ago, the Great Cassoulet Brotherhood insisted on inducting me into its ranks, how could I refuse? The brotherhood is headquartered…4 min read4 min read
Jan 12, 2021Over the sea to SkyeThis article is adapted from a piece that originally appeared in the August 23, 1991 edition of the International Herald Tribune. Portree, Scotland — It is unfortunate that Samuel Johnson and James Boswell didn’t have better weather during their 1773 visit to the isle of Skye. Had it not rained…Travel5 min readTravel5 min read
Jan 3, 2021The year a socialist almost became governor of California. Upton Sinclair’s campaign changed the political face of the stateHome The year a socialist almost became governor of California. Upton Sinclair’s campaign changed the political face of the state The following is adapted from a piece I wrote for the July 15, 1984 issue of the Los Angeles Daily News Magazine, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Sinclair’s run…California14 min readCalifornia14 min read
Dec 9, 2020At the Terezin concentration camp, in former Czechoslovakia, child drawings and writings survived the HolocaustTEREZIN — It is a custom for visitors wandering the thicket of tombstones in Prague’s Old Jewish Cemetery to place small rocks on top of the markers, a practice said to date from when the Jews lived in the desert and there were no flowers to be had. Sometimes people…Holocaust6 min readHolocaust6 min read
Dec 2, 2020Afghanistan vet Ricky Nelson found solace in archaeology from his injuries and his PTSD. But his dreams were dashed and he felt forced to give them up. Now he is gone. Here is his story.Home Afghanistan vet Ricky Nelson found solace in archaeology from his injuries and his PTSD. But his dreams were dashed and he felt forced to give them up. Now he is gone. Here is his story. Last August 30, Ricky Nelson, an Afghanistan veteran who had tried to find comfort…Archaeology13 min readArchaeology13 min read
Nov 30, 2020A Park Bench in ParisOne morning in the 1870s, the Irish writer George Moore went for a walk in the Luxembourg Gardens of Paris. …Paris5 min readParis5 min read
