Harris, David 1946–

(David Victor Harris)

PERSONAL: Born February 28, 1946, in Fresno, CA; son of Clifton G. (an attorney) and Elaine (an attorney; maiden name, Jensen) Harris; married Joan Baez (a folk singer), March 26, 1968 (divorced March 26, 1973); children: Gabriel. Education: Attended Stanford University, 1963–67. Politics: Democrat.

ADDRESSES: Home—CA. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Little, Brown and Company, 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

CAREER: Civil rights worker in Quitman County, MS, 1964; organizer for United Farmworkers Union, 1965; antiwar organizer, 1966–73; Rolling Stone (magazine), San Francisco, CA, former contributing editor, beginning 1973; also former contributing editor for the New York Times Magazine. Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress from 12th California district, 1976. Member of California Democratic State Central Committee and California Tax Reform Association.

MEMBER: Palo Alto Cooperative, Briarpath Auto Cooperative.

AWARDS, HONORS: Stanford Poetry Prize; Communication Arts Award of Excellence for editorial design.

WRITINGS:

Goliath, R.W. Baron (New York, NY), 1969.

(With Joan Baez) Coming Out, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1971.

I Shoulda Been Home Yesterday, Delacorte (New York, NY), 1976.

The Last Scam (novel), Delacorte (New York, NY)/S. Lawrence, 1981.

Dreams Die Hard, St. Martin's (New York, NY)/Marek, 1982.

The League: The Rise and Decline of the NFL, Bantam (New York, NY), 1986.

The Last Stand: The War between Wall Street and Main Street over California's Ancient Redwoods, Times Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Our War: What We Did in Vietnam and What It Did to Us, Times Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Shooting the Moon: The True Story of an American Manhunt Unlike Any Other, Ever, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2001.

The Crisis: The President, the Prophet, and the Shah—1979 and the Coming of Militant Islam, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributor of articles and poetry to periodicals, including New York Times, Playboy, and Penthouse.

SIDELIGHTS: David Harris is an American journalist with an anti-war reputation that began with his activism in the 1960s. Protesting the Vietnam war, he served twenty months in prison from 1969 to 1971 for draft resistance, an experience he later recalled in his book I Shoulda Been Home Yesterday. "As an activist, a social critic, and a candidate for political office we might have expected more from him," commented the former convict and author Malcolm Braly (1925–1980) in a New York Times Book Review piece on Harris's book. "But having said this, it must also be said that Harris can write with power and economy; his incidents emerge as small gems, and many will read this book with pleasure. Beneath all the tough talk one senses a nice man who has bitten off more than he really wants to chew, whose optimism and world view has been damaged by his walk through the dark side of our Republic."

Harris has continued over the years to comment on U.S. foreign policy and activities, writing on this subject in such books as Shooting the Moon: The True Story of an American Manhunt Unlike Any Other, Ever and The Crisis: The President, the Prophet, and the Shah—1979 and the Coming of Militant Islam. The former title concerns the Iran-Contra affair and America's determination to capture drug lord and Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega during President George H.W. Bush's administration. While Reason contributor Glenn Garvin indicated his surprise that an anti-war activist was so "gung-ho" over the hunt for Noriega at all costs, a Publishers Weekly reviewer called the book a "smartly rendered, admirably detailed" account.

The Crisis received many positive reviews for how it reveals that there was more behind the hostage crisis in Iran than meets the eye during the waning days of President Jimmy Carter's administration. For instance, Harris argues that the Republicans deliberately worked with leading clerics in Iran to delay the release of the American hostages so that Carter would look bad and then-presidential-candidate Ronald Reagan would gain votes. Booklist writer Brendan Driscoll praised Harris's research and "authoritative" tone. Reza Aslan similarly complimented the work as "beautifully written" and "impeccably researched" in a Nation review.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 15, 2004, Brendan Driscoll, review of The Crisis: The President, the Prophet, and the Shah—1979 and the Coming of Militant Islam, p. 365.

Nation, December 13, 2004, Reza Aslan, "Days of Rage," review of The Crisis, p. 15.

New York Times Book Review, August 22, 1976, Malcolm Braly, review of I Shoulda Been Home Yesterday.

Publishers Weekly, May 14, 2001, review of Shooting the Moon: The True Story of an American Manhunt Unlike Any Other, Ever, p. 66; September 20, 2004, review of The Crisis, p. 54.

Reason, January, 2002, Glenn Garvin, "A Splendid Little Drug War: Tragedy, Farce, and Fake Brass Cojones South of the Border," review of Shooting the Moon, p. 63.