Scott Martelle
journalist/author


Some of my
journalism

ARTICLE:
There's more to Gilroy than garlic
ARTICLE:
On singer-songwriter Peter Case
REVIEW:
On Jon Clinch's Kings of the Earth
ARTICLE:
On anthropologist Jennifer Perry, and California's Channel Islands
ARTICLE:
A look at political polemics in hardcover
REVIEW:
Of Scott Turow's Innocent for the Cleveland Plain-Dealer
ARTICLE:
Interview piece with Scott Turow
Op-Ed piece
On Ludlow, and the West Virginia mine tragedy (for the LA Times)
ARTICLE:
On Exene Cervenka for Orange Coast
ARTICLE:
On Mark Twain's image problem
ARTICLE:
Profile of Elif Batuman for Publishers Weekly
ARTICLE:
On Terry Teachout and Pops, his new bio of Louis Armstrong.
ARTICLE:
A look in the LA Times at the launch of Sarah Palin's memoir.
REVIEW:
On The Fourth Part of the World, a history of how America got it's name, in The Washington Post
ARTICLE:
On Barbara Demick's forthcoming Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
ARTICLE:
Short profile of critic Terry Teachout on his forthcoming bio of Louis Armstrong.
REVIEW:
Kazuo Ishiguro's short story collection, Nocturnes.
ARTICLE:
On Dan Brown and The Da Vinci Code
ARTICLE:
"Harry Helling's Uncertain Voyage"
ARTICLE:
Profile of author Maile Meloy.
TRAVEL:
On AAA baseball in Fresno, the budget alternative to the bigs.
REVIEW:
Pat Conroy's South of Broad, not up to his full narrative power.
ARTICLE:
Fun piece on a yacht club without a yacht, a dock or, nowadays, a clubhouse.
BOOK REVIEW:
Of Nick Reding's Methland, exploring the devastating effects of meth on small-town America.
BOOK REVIEW:
Another version of the Reding review, this in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
TRAVEL:
A road trip up the California coast -- from brewpub to brewpub.
BOOK REVIEW:
Elizabeth Edwards' Resilience in the LA Times.
BOOK REVIEW:
Of J. Robert Lennon's Castle in the LA Times.
ARTICLE:
Short interview/profile of Reza Aslan, author of No God But God and How To Win A Cosmic War.
ARTICLE:
On Barry Rillera, former Righteous Brothers guitar player who shared a secret with The Beatles.
BOOK REVIEW:
Ifill and Asim books on Obama, race and politics.
ARTICLE:
On Detroit's Focus:HOPE
TRAVEL:
"It was cool outside. The rain had stopped, but the dampness seeped into our bones with the chill of death."
TRAVEL:
A piece on eco-friendly travel to San Diego.
TRAVEL:
Advancing the annual Hatch, N. Mex., chili festival.
ARTICLE:
An Hour Detroit piece on bipolar disorder and Heinz Prechter's suicide.
BOOK REVIEW:
Rick Wartzman's book on the burning of The Grapes of Wrath.
PROFILE:
Long-shot presidential contender Duncan Hunter.
TRAVEL:
On the semi-annual opening of the Trinity site - where the first atomic bomb was detonated

Readings

Arcana

Dan Katz of Connecticut, a collector of old badges, sent along these photos of a ceremonial gold badge given to Jefferson B. Farr in 1903, with the engraved names of deputies on the back. I hope to add details later on some or all of the four men listed. Farr was the corrupt sheriff of Huerfano County during the coal field war.

The deputies (hard to read): JD Montez, MA Vigil, PL Sanchez and AD Valdez

Jail ruins in Berwind Canyon