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David Maraniss Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

David Maraniss
Author photograph by Lisa Berg

David Maraniss

David Maraniss Biography

David Maraniss is an associate editor at The Washington Post and a distinguished visiting professor at Vanderbilt University. He has won two Pulitzer Prizes for journalism and was a finalist three other times. Among his bestselling books are biographies of Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Roberto Clemente, and Vince Lombardi, and a trilogy about the 1960s – Rome 1960; Once in a Great City (winner of the RFK Book Prize); and They Marched into Sunlight (winner of the J. Anthony Lucas Prize and Pulitzer Finalist in History). A Good American Family is his twelfth book.

David Maraniss's website

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Interview

David Maraniss discusses his 2008 book Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World.

What is especially compelling about the 1960 Summer Olympics?

What attracted me to Rome, what made it special in my mind, was the uncommon combination of legendary athletes, the tension of the cold war, the beauty of the setting, and the issues that arose during the 18 days of competition. With the entire world on the same stage at the same time, I saw the opportunity to weave the drama on the playing fields with the political and cultural issues that were emerging then.


You say in the book that the 1960 Summer Olympics marked the passing of one era and the dawning of another. What do you mean by that?

In so many ways, the 1960 Olympics marked a passing of one era and the birth of another. Television, money and doping were bursting onto the scene, changing everything they touched. Old-school notions of amateurism, created by and for upper-class sportsmen, were being challenged as never before. New countries were being born in Africa and Asia, blacks and women were pushing for equal rights. For better and worse, one could see the modern world as we know it today coming into view.


The Berlin, Munich or Mexico City Summer Olympics were arguably more controversial or meaningful than Rome. ...

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Books by this Author

Books by David Maraniss at BookBrowse
A Good American Family jacket Barack Obama jacket Rome 1960 jacket Clemente jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for David Maraniss but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Tom Bissell

    Tom Bissell

    Tom Bissell is the author of Chasing the Sea, God Lives in St. Petersburg, The Father of All Things, Why Video Games Matter, Magic Hours: Essays On Creators and Creation (2012) and Apostle: Travels Among the Tombs of the ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    They Marched Into Sunlight

    Try:
    The Father of All Things
    by Tom Bissell

  • Richard Ben Cramer

    Richard Ben Cramer

    Richard Ben Cramer was born June 12, 1950 in Rochester, New York. He attended Johns Hopkins University earning a bachelor's degree in the Liberal Arts, later going on to earn a masters degree at Columbia University. His ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    When Pride Still Mattered

    Try:
    Joe DiMaggio
    by Richard Ben Cramer

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