Kornbluth, Jesse 1946-

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KORNBLUTH, Jesse 1946-

PERSONAL: Born January 4, 1946, in New York, NY; son of Samuel and Pearl (Greenwald) Kornbluth. Education: Harvard University, A.B. (magna cum laude), 1968.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Warner Books, 666 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10103.

CAREER: Look, New York, NY, editorial assistant, 1966-68; New York University, affiliated with department of film and television; freelance writer. Paradise Manufacturing Co., cofounder, with Stephen Saltonstall; Georgica Productions, president; America Online, editorial director, 1997—.

WRITINGS:

(Editor and author of introduction) Notes from theNew Underground (anthology of articles from underground newspapers), Viking (New York, NY), 1968.

(With Jack R. Osborn) Winning Croquet: FromBackyard to Greensward, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1983.

(With Roger Enrico) The Other Guy Blinked: HowPepsi Won the Cola Wars, Bantam (New York, NY), 1986.

Pre-pop Warhol, Random House (New York, NY), 1988.

Highly Confident: The Crime and Punishment ofMichael Milken, Morrow (New York, NY), 1992.

Airborne: The Triumph and Struggle of Michael Jordan, Macmillan Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1995, released as Airborne Again!: The Triumph and Struggle of Michael Jordan, Aladdin Paperbacks (New York, NY), 1996.

(Editor, with Linda Sunshine) "Now You Know":Reactions after Seeing "Saving Private Ryan," Newmarket (New York, NY), 1999.

(Editor, with Jessica Pain) Because We Are Americans:What We Discovered on September 11, 2001, Warner Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Contributing editor, New York and Vanity Fair.

SIDELIGHTS: Jesse Kornbluth's career includes work as a New York-based journalist and an editorial director for America Online. The topics of his books are wide-ranging, from convicted bond trader Michael Milken to professional basketball star Michael Jordan; he tends to keep an eye on current events as he prepares his books. One of Kornbluth's best known titles is Highly Confident: The Crime and Punishment of Michael Milken, a book that presents Milken's downfall from a sympathetic perspective. "No one can read Highly Confident without coming to the conclusion that Milken was harshly punished," observed James W. Michaels in Forbes. Michaels concluded that the book "does at least demolish the myth that Milken engaged in some dark and evil conspiracy." A Publishers Weekly reviewer called Highly Confident a "taut, riveting account" and a "stunning tale of greed and self-deception."

Airborne: The Triumph and Struggle of Michael Jordan was first published for younger readers and then released as a paperback for general adult audiences. Kornbluth caught up with Jordan at the time of the player's first retirement and then followed Jordan through a comeback, emphasizing Jordan's difficulties as a highly visible superstar. In Sport magazine, Constance Loizos commended Airborne for offering "an enlightening perspective on Jordan," including "the rationale behind his decision-making."

When the World Trade Center buildings were bombed on September 11, 2001, Kornbluth was working as editorial director at America Online. Because We Are Americans: What We Discovered on September 11, 2001 collects online commentary from ordinary Americans who reacted to the terrorist disaster by contributing their thoughts to chat groups. The work was first published as an e-book and then released by Warner in paperback format. All profits were donated to various relief groups such as the Red Cross and the New York State World Trade Center Relief Fund. In his review of the e-book, Library Journal writer Mark Bay noted that the various chapters "emphasize the scope of feelings that the tragedy evoked."