American writer, journalist and novelist who began as a sports writer (his lifelong addiction), moving into free-lance magazine work. His first book was published in 1970, “The Selling of the President.”
Joe was the only child of an engineer who left the field to open a travel agency. Raised in a prosperous suburb and in Catholic schools, he was a skinny, shy and an awkward book-worm, living a fantasy life in his board games. He planned to enter the priesthood but instead, was drawn to journalism while in college. After getting his B.S. he worked on a daily paper, then with the Philadelphia Bulletin. By 1966 he was the youngest regular columnist for a major American newspaper. His columns had such vivid opinions that he often antagonized his own editor.
In June 1968, he resigned to focus on his investigation of the political process of Nixon’s presidential race, leading to his first book. Its phenomenal success, remaining on the New York Times best-seller list for seven months, made Joe McGinniss, at 27, a national celebrity and a “hot property.”
In the following years, Joe wrote “The Dream Team” and “Heroes,” as well as magazine pieces about a variety of subjects. He eventually had to come to terms with personal issues; his growing alcohol abuse and the failure of his marriage to Christine Cook and separation from his three kids.
By mid-1975 he was hungry for something more, something different and fresh, new. On impulse, he moved to Alaska where he lived in Anchorage for 18 months. In 1980, Knopf published his “Going to Extremes.”
His gift for revealing character was highlighted in “Fatal Vision,” 1983, the carefully researched account of the bizarre case of Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald, whose wife and two daughters were bludgeoned and stabbed to death.
MacDonald had asked him to write the book and Joe agreed, thinking MacDonald innocent. Five weeks later he had reversed his opinion and he spent the next three years digging deeper. Reviews of the book were superlative. However, to protect his book contract, Joe had gone along with MacDonald’s story, drawing him out. After a hung jury at the trial, MacDonald sued Joe and won as Joe had letters to MacDonald that were named as fraudulent. Joe and his publisher settled for $350,000. On 12/19/1985 a federal appellate judge upheld MacDonald’s conviction.
The 6 ft tall, lanky, youthful looking McGinniss made a second marriage, to Nancy Doherty on 11/20/1976; one son. He loves reading, hates TV and is a marathon runner.
Link to Wikipedia biography