NEWFIELD, Jack 1939-

PERSONAL: Born February 18, 1939, in New York, NY; married; wife's name Janie (a social worker); children: Rebecca, Joey. Education: Hunter College (now Hunter College of the City University of New York), B.A., 1961. Politics: Radical Democrat. Religion: Jewish.

ADDRESSES: Home—Greenwich Village, NY. Office—New York Post, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036-8797.

CAREER: Village Voice, New York, NY, reporter, columnist and senior editor, 1964-88; The Daily News, New York, NY, columnist, investigative reporter, 1988-91; New York Post, New York, NY, columnist, 1991—.

MEMBER: Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

WRITINGS:

A Prophetic Minority, introduction by Michael Harrington, New American Library (New York, NY), 1966, published in England as A Prophetic Minority: The American Left, Anthony Blond (London, England), 1967.

Robert Kennedy: A Memoir, Dutton (New York, NY), 1969, reprinted with a new introduction, 1988.

Bread and Roses Too: Reporting about America, Dutton (New York, NY), 1971.

(With Jeff Greenfield) A Populist Manifesto: The Making of a New Majority, Praeger (New York, NY), 1972.

Cruel and Unusual Justice, Holt (New York, NY), 1974.

(With Paul Du Brul) The Abuse of Power: The Permanent Government and the Fall of New York, Viking (New York, NY), 1977, revised edition published as The Permanent Government: Who Really Rules New York?, Pilgrim Press (New York, NY), 1981.

The Education of Jack Newfield, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1984.

(With Wayne Barrett) City for Sale: Ed Koch and the Betrayal of New York, Harper (New York, NY), 1988.

Only in America: The Life and Crimes of Don King, Morrow (New York, NY), 1995.

Somebody's Gotta Tell It: The Upbeat Memoir of a Working-Class Journalist, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2002.

The Full Rudy: The Man, the Mayor, the Myth, Thunder's Mouth Press (New York, NY), 2003.

Contributor to Animal Ranch: The Great American Fable, Parallax, 1966.

Contributor to periodicals, including Playboy, Nation, Partisan Review, Evergreen Review, and New York Times Book Review.

SIDELIGHTS: Jack Newfield is a seasoned journalist whose reportage and memoirs have both won praise from reviewers. In 1995, Newfield brought his years of experience on the sports scene to bear on his biography of controversial promoter Don King, titled Only in America: The Life and Crimes of Don King. Newfield recounts King's early career as an illegal numbers banker in Cleveland, Ohio. One gambler who owed King money died after a fight over the matter. King was sent to prison for the killing, but was soon paroled, and found his way into the fight-promotion business. He came to the fore promoting the Muhammad Ali-George Foreman match in Zaire in 1974 and the fight between Ali and Joe Frazier in 1975. In the years that followed, King virtually took control of any boxer's opportunity to get a chance at a title—not always by ethical means. "We always thought King was a creep, now we know it for certain," commented Wes Lukowsky in a review of Only in America.

Newfield looked back at his own life in Somebody's Gotta Tell It: The Upbeat Memoir of a Working-Class Journalist. His biography "could easily seem like a cliche," remarked a Publishers Weekly writer. Newfield grew up in Brooklyn, New York, during the heyday of the Brooklyn Dodgers. He associated with the leaders of the civil rights movement and made his name as a reporter who stood for the interests of the common man. Somebody's Gotta Tell It is a "spirited, unapologetic" book, noted Library Journal reviewer Susan M. Colowick. A Publishers Weekly writer commented that while "some elitists might dismiss this autobiography as hackneyed, others will be enraptured by Newfield's honest recounting of his worthy contribution to American journalism."

Newfield once told CA: "The writers who have influenced me most are Murray Kempton in terms of style, and Albert Camus in terms of ideas. As for viewpoint, I would list my participation in the movement against the Vietnam War."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Newfield, Jack, Somebody's Gotta Tell It!: The Upbeat Memoir of a Working-Class Journalist, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2002.

PERIODICALS

American Spectator, March, 1989, review of City for Sale: Ed Koch and the Betrayal of New York, p. 34.

Booklist, February 1, 1984, review of The Education of Jack Newfield, p. 785; September 1, 1995, Wes Lukowsky, review of Only in America: The Life and Crimes of Don King, p. 29.

Book World, May 8, 1988, review of Robert Kennedy: A Memoir, p. 12; February 12, 1989, review of City for Sale, p. 3.

Choice, April, 1988, review of A Prophetic Minority, p. 1211; review of City for Sale, p. 1214.

Christian Science Monitor, March 14, 1989, review of City for Sale, p. 13.

Economist, February 11, 1989, review of City for Sale,p. 81.

Journal of American Studies, August, 1985, review of A Prophetic Minority, p. 240.

Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 1995, review of Only in America, p. 1085; January 1, 2002, review of Somebody's Gotta Tell It!: The Upbeat Memoir of a Working-Class Journalist, p. 33.

Library Journal, January, 1984, review of The Education of Jack Newfield, p. 73; February 15, 2002, Susan M. Colowick, review of Somebody's Gotta Tell It!, p. 154.

Los Angeles Times Book Review, April 9, 1989, review of City for Sale, p. 8; November 26, 1995, review of Only in America, p. 10.

Nation, March 27, 1989, review of City for Sale, p. 397.

National Review, March 24, 1989, Herbert London, review of City for Sale, p. 38.

New Leader, May 26, 1969; February 20, 1984, review of The Education of Jack Newfield, p. 17.

New Republic, March 20, 1989, review of City for Sale, p. 46.

New York, January 9, 1989, review of City for Sale,p. 60.

New York Times Book Review, April 17, 1988, review of Robert Kennedy, p. 41; January 15, 1989, review of City for Sale, p. 7; September 10, 1995, review of Only in America, p. 29; December 3, 1995, review of Only in America, p. 90.

Progressive, March, 1989, review of City for Sale, p. 46; May 12, 2002, Richard Lourie, "Memory Lane: Jack Newfield Recalls the Struggles of the 1960s and What They Meant to America," p. 29.

Publishers Weekly, January 27, 1984, review of The Education of Jack Newfield, p. 82; September 18, 1995, review of Only in America: The Life and Crimes of Don King, p. 122; March 4, 2002, review of Somebody's Gotta Tell It!, p. 70.

Reference & Research Book News, June, 1989, review of City for Sale, p. 6.

Village Voice, January 3, 1989, review of City for Sale,p. 50.

Wall Street Journal, February 1, 1989, review of City for Sale, p. A12.

Washington Monthly, March, 1989, James Ledbetter, review of City for Sale, p. 57.

Village Voice, June 5, 1969; October 24, 1995, review of Only in America, p. 52.

ONLINE

January Magazine,http://www.januarymagazine.com/ (April 30, 2002), Paul McLeary, review of Somebody's Gotta Tell It!*