Fenton, Peter 1949–

views updated

Fenton, Peter 1949–

PERSONAL: Born 1949.

ADDRESSES: Home—Eugene, OR. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Simon & Schuster, 1230 Avenue of the Americans, New York, NY 10020.

CAREER: Writer. Worked as a tabloid reporter for the National Enquirer for fifteen years, then as editor of the Secrets Exchange.

WRITINGS:

I Forgot to Wear Underwear on a Glass-Bottom Boat: Real People, True Secrets, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1997.

Truth or Tabloid? (novelty), Three Rivers Press (New York, NY), 2003.

Eyeing the Flash: The Education of a Carnival Con Artist (memoir), Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Peter Fenton is a former tabloid reporter and author of the memoir Eyeing the Flash: The Education of a Carnival Con Artist. During his junior year of high school, Fenton became friends with Jackie Barron, whose family operated traveling carnivals, and it was Barron who taught Fenton how to apply his skills in math to less than scrupulous pursuits, starting with setting up a casino for their fellow students in his basement. Fenton learned the art of counting cards and maintaining a balance between winning and losing so that the house would stay ahead. Fenton later joined Barron in running a carnival. Their adventures serve as the basis for Fenton's humorous memoir. Reviews of the book were predominantly positive. Barry X. Miller, writing for Library Journal, called Fenton's book "a contemporary carnival classic." In addition, a contributor for Publishers Weekly found it "instantly engrossing" and "at once entertaining and informative."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Fenton, Peter, Eyeing the Flash: The Education of a Carnival Con Artist, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2005.

PERIODICALS

Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 2004, review of Eyeing the Flash: The Education of a Carnival Con Artist, p. 993.

Library Journal, December 1, 2004, Barry X. Miller, review of Eyeing the Flash, p. 130.

Psychology Today, January-February, 2005, review of Eyeing the Flash, p. 36.

Publishers Weekly, April 14, 1997, review of I Forgot to Wear Underwear on a Glass-Bottom Boat: Real People, True Secrets, p. 68; November 8, 2004, review of Eyeing the Flash, p. 43.

School Library Journal, March, 2005, Matthew L. Moffett, review of Eyeing the Flash, p. 244.