Friends of Crowell Public Library Present Four Books, One City: Meet the Authors

Every year the Friends of Crowell Public Library present a program of One Book, One City events that brings the community together in celebration of the joy of reading. This year they are going above and beyond this concept to present Four Books, One City: Meet the Authors. Four times the authors, four times the fun!

The events will kick off Thursday, January 30, 2014, at 7:00 p.m. with author Christopher Norgaard who wrote, Unfair Competition – Murder by Gunshot: The Untold Story of the Neutrogena Empire. Mr. Norgaard’s book traces fifteen years in the saga between Neutrogena International Corportion’s Arne Tali and Lloyd Cotsen as they entertained, negotiated and litigated with and against each other, while building the worldwide Neutrogena brand. This cooperation alternated with rivalry, followed by threats and conspiracies, mystery and finally – murder. Christopher Norgaard is currently Vice President of the San Marino Unified School District, and is a practicing business litigation lawyer with 39 years of experience. He is a graduate of Stanford University and the Georgetown University Law Center.

On Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 7:00 p.m., bestselling author and veteran homicide detective Steve Hodel presents his follow-up investigation into Los Angeles’s Black Dahlia and other serially connected “Lone Woman Murders” from the 1940s — Black Dahlia Avenger II. In this investigative sequel to Black Dahlia Avenger: A Genius for Murder (2003), he identifies the actual Dahlia murder residence and presents hard physical evidence connecting Dr. George Hill Hodel (his father) to evidence found near the body, and a careful deconstruction of the Dahlia myth. Steve Hodel was born and raised in Los Angeles and joined the LAPD in 1963. By 1986, he was Detective III, the highest attainable rank in detectives, received more than 75 commendations and handled over 300 separate murder investigations with one of the department’s highest solve rates. He retired in 1986 and established Hodel Investigations.

On Thursday, March 18, 2014 at 7:00 p.m., John Wayne: The Genuine Article will be presented by Michael Goldman and Ethan Wayne. This biography is authorized by John Wayne Enterprises and offers readers a rare glimpse into the life of one of the most iconic movie stars of all time through a treasure trove of memorabilia, stories, and interviews. This book includes John Wayne Enterprises’ collection of never-before-seen letters and telegrams as well as incredibly compelling text from Wayne’s unfinished memoir. Important milestones in the Academy Award-winning actor, director, and producer’s life are also well documented here through anecdotes, photos, and visually rich ephemera. With a foreword by Jimmy Carter and a preface by his son Ethan Wayne, John Wayne: The Genuine Article presents the complete story of how an ordinary man became a top box office draw for six decades, and a larger-than-life icon known simply as the Duke. Michael Goldman is a veteran entertainment-industry journalist and author who contributes regularly to American Cinematographer. He has written six books, including Clint Eastwood: Master Filmmaker at Work. Ethan Wayne, John Wayne’s youngest son, currently is president of Wayne Enterprises, the sole and exclusive steward of the John Wayne brand. Ethan and Michael Goldman both live in Los Angeles, California.

More John Wayne insights will be revealed on Thursday, April 10, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. when Scott Eyman talks about his book, John Wayne: The Life and Legend. Eyman has written eleven books, including biographies of Hollywood legends such as John Ford, Cecil B. DeMille and Louis B. Mayer. He has based his book on interviews with John Wayne before his death and more than one hundred interviews with the actor’s family and co-stars. He explores Wayne’s early life with a difficult mother and a feckless father. Eyman makes startling connections to Wayne’s later days as an anti-Communist conservation, his stormy marriages to Latina women and his notorious and long-lived extra-marital affair with Marlene Dietrich. Through it all the author provides a nuanced and sympathetic portrait that is as charming, compelling and complicated as the Duke himself. Scott Eyman is the literary critic for The Palm Beach Post and he lives in West Palm Beach.

All programs will take place in the Library’s Barth Community and light refreshments will be available.

The concept of One Book, One City originated in Seattle back in 1998 as an entertaining strategy to build community – imagining a huge book group consisting of friends and neighbors, discussing plots and characters, while promoting literacy. Past selections for San Marino’s One Book, One City programs have included Iron River by T. Jefferson Parker, Flower Confidential by Amy Stewart, Samurai’s Garden, by Gail Tsukiyama, The Ragtime Kid by Larry Karp, 2012’s The Sherlockian by Graham Moore, and last year’s Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child by Bob Spitz.

Crowell Public Library, 1890 Huntington Drive, San Marino, (626) 300-0777, or visit www.CrowellPublicLibrary.org, or their Facebook and Twitter pages.