Bill Minutaglio

Bill Minutaglio (born Brooklyn, 1955) is a journalist, author or co-author of 8 books, and has served as a professor at The University of Texas at Austin. Known for his book "First Son: George W. Bush & The Bush Family Dynasty,^[1]" the Austin American-Statesman recognized Minutaglio's work, saying: "Minutaglio has long been regarded as one of the great writers in Texas journalism… Minutaglio wrote exquisite long-form pieces about Texas poverty in a time of plenty."

A recipient of many regional and national awards, his books have been excerpted or published in various languages and nations, including China. His book (with Steven L. Davis) "Dallas 1963" was given the PEN CENTER USA research nonfiction prize for 2014.^[2] It was considered among the best books of the year by The New Republic,^[3] Kirkus Reviews,^[4] Seattle Times, Kansas City Star, Oklahoman and The Washington Post's "The Fix."^[5] With books by Norman Mailer, William Manchester, Gerald Posner and Don DeLillo, it was lauded by The Daily Beast as one of the 5 most important works ever written about the killing of President John F. Kennedy.^[6]

Minutaglio wrote the first magazine stories about The Dallas Buyers Club and was interviewed by many US and international news outlets about his research.^[7][8][9] The actor Tom Cruise, in conjunction with Paramount Pictures, acquired the rights to make a movie about the book City on Fire.^[10] The director Oliver Stone cited Minutaglio's biography of President George W. Bush in interviews about Stone's film W. Along with work by Ernest Hemingway, City on Fire was named by Esquire magazine as one of the greatest sagas of human survival. Minutaglio's writing is included, or cited, in several anthologies, including The Best American Sportswriting .

Inducted into The Texas Institute of Letters, Minutaglio's work has appeared in The New York Times,^[11] The Guardian,^[12] Newsweek, The Washington Post,^[13] Los Angeles Times, Texas Monthly, The Bulletin of The Atomic Scientists, Scotland on Sunday, Outside, Esquire, Politico, The Daily Beast, Mexico Business, Details, TALK, People, The Sporting News and The Texas Observer. He reported on racism in the United States and conflicts in the Philippines, Germany, the Soviet Union, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico. He has interviewed Allen Ginsberg, Timothy Leary, Hillary Clinton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Belushi, Ray Charles, Willie Nelson and others.

His other books are: In Search of the Blues: A Journey to the Soul of Black Texas; Molly Ivins: A Rebel Life;^[14] The President’s Counselor: The Rise to Power of Alberto Gonzales;^[15] Locker Room Mojo; and The Hidden City.

Career

Minutaglio's father (Francesco Xavier, born 1909-died 1971) was a printer who was raised and educated in Italy. His mother (Theresa, born 1917-died 2010) was an orphan adopted from a "foundling's home" and raised in the U.S. by an Italian immigrant family. He attended Catholic schools before enrolling in Columbia University in 1973. He graduated from Columbia with a history degree in 1976. He studied for a year at The Columbia University School of International Affairs (1977) and graduated with a master's degree from The Columbia Graduate School of Journalism in 1978. In the 1970s, he worked as an intern at The United Nations, in the Center for Economic and Social Information. In the 1970s, he was an employee of The United States Department of Agriculture, administering "free food" programs for children in Harlem.

He is one of five siblings, including an older brother who was working in The World Trade Center the day it was attacked and destroyed. Minutaglio wrote about that event in his last article for The Dallas Morning News. CITATION?

He began his career at The Abilene Reporter-News^[16] in Texas. He then worked at the three largest Texas newspapers—in San Antonio, Houston and Dallas.^[17] In the mid-1990s he began writing for national magazines and became a contributing writer to The Sporting News, where he profiled Larry Bird and others.^[18] He was then asked by editor Tina Brown to work regularly for TALK, where he wrote about the Bush Dynasty, Dan Rather and others. In 1998, Random House editor Jon Karp asked him to write the first independent biography of George W. Bush, to be published under the Times Books imprint.

In addition to continuing his book and magazine work, he has spoken at The Jimmy Carter Library & Museum, Northwestern University, The University of Virginia, Johns Hopkins University and other venues. He joined the faculty of The University of Texas in 2007, teaching journalism and book writing. He was given The Outstanding Teaching Award (2011) by the statewide university system.

He has been on many television and radio outlets or programs, including “Today,” “Nightline,” NPR, the BBC. Tom Brokaw, Charlie Rose, Peter Jennings, Katie Couric, Terry Gross and many other have interviewed Minutaglio. He has written the script for a documentary film about Vice President John Nance Garner.

Critical Reaction

Mario Puzo, Buzz Bissinger, Sir Harold Evans, Gail Sheehy, James Lee Burke and others have written "advance praise" for his books.^[19] In reviews and columns, The New York Times has called his work "authoritative" and "fascinating." The New York Review of Books said it was "excellent." Other book reviews have compared his work to that of Tom Wolfe, Herman Melville and Hunter Thompson.^[20] He has received awards from The National Association of Black Journalists, National Conference of Christians and Jews, University of Missouri, National Headliners, Texas Headliners, Writers' League of Texas.[19][20]

Education

Minutaglio earned a B.A. from Columbia University in 1976. In 1977 he studied at The Columbia University School of International Affairs. He earned his master's degree from The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1978.

Family

Minutaglio is married to the dancer/choreographer Holly Williams, who has been a member of the Mark Morris, Jose Limon and Laura Dean dance companies. She is senior associate dean in the College of Fine Arts at The University of Texas at Austin. He currently lives in Austin, Texas with his wife.

References

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