The first collection of feature-length reporting from one of Cleveland's favorite print journalists. (Foreword by Joe Eszterhas.) Michael Heaton has reported on as wide a range of stories as any active Cleveland journalist. On any given day his byline might appear in any section of the Plain Dealer, where he is a regular columnist and reporter. To get the story he has put on boxing gloves and entered the ring, and gone undercover with the FBI and mob informants. He has interviewed chefs and coroners, gypsies and priests. This collection of 40 newspaper and magazine stories shows Heaton's Cleveland to be a crazy quilt of bold schemes, failed dreams, and colorful characters. (Heaton is the brother of actress Patricia Heaton and son of sportswriter Chuck Heaton.)
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About the Author
Michael Heaton is an award-winning columnist and reporter. His byline has appeared regularly in the Plain Dealer since 1987. Prior to that he was a critic and columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and a reporter for People magazine. He is a graduate of Kent State University. He is co-author of the New York Times bestseller Motherhood and Hollywood by his sister, actress Patricia Heaton, and co-author of I ll Be Right Back, the autobiography of TV host Mike Douglas. A book collecting his Plain Dealer columns, titled Best of the Minister of Culture, was published in 1992. The son of legendary Plain Dealer sportswriter Chuck Heaton, he lives in Bay Village, Ohio.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heaton rocks,
By
This review is from: Truth and Justice for Fun and Profit: Collected Reporting (Hardcover)
This is a collection of Cleveland stories by a guy who has never been able to permanently escape Cleveland. This is bad news if you don't live in Cleveland, good news if you do. Michael Heaton, known locally as The Minister of Culture, covers politics and sports and people in Truth And Justice. The stories recapitulate the town and its people. They are a little rough around the edges, a little sad, a lot funny. They are always insightful. Heaton has an eye for detail and an ear for conversation and cadence. The stories ring true to those of us banished to the North Coast, but they go further than that. This is more than a bunch of "slice of life" Cleveland stories. Truth and Justice paints a rollicking canvas of America over three rather interesting decades, and is a rewarding read.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great gift book for everyone on your list.,
By Alice Ann (Rogers, AR) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Truth and Justice for Fun and Profit: Collected Reporting (Hardcover)
Read the very best of the "you are there" style of journalism. This is a fantastic collection of human interest stories about people anonymous and notorious and the amazing backstories of some high profile happenings.
From a reporter who's been around the block and around the globe, Michael Heaton has covered it all, and to say he writes with humour and pathos would be an understatement. This collection proves him to be one of the greatest story tellers of the baby boom generation, whose Minister of Culture savvy, has been honed by his own experiences living out the last half of the twentieth century. No matter who he writes about, he's able to empathize with them in such a way, that people really bare their souls. What we get is something hillarious, sorrowful, heart pounding and truly deep, about an amazing diversity of folks and their real life experiences. A super fun and thrilling read.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Newspaper reporting alive and well,
By
This review is from: Truth and Justice for Fun and Profit: Collected Reporting (Hardcover)
Newspaper columnist compilations are enjoyable enough--that is, if you like the columnist. A collection of columns by your favorite journalist looks great on your bookshelf (and makes for great bathroom reading!). But note the subtitle of Michael Heaton's book--this is not a collection of columns from The Plain Dealer's Minister of Culture, but a collection of reporting from a longtime Cleveland journalist. And what reporting! Heaton tells us of an undercover G-man and a goodfella turned snitch; the sad aftermath of the life of a man who crossed the Atlantic solo in a tiny boat; Cleveland's version of the drunken paisanos of Tortilla Flat; the surprisingly upbeat story of a popular sportscaster with terminal cancer. Some of these pieces are hilarious, like Heaton's attempts at boxing and demolition derby. Some are serious, like his reports on stalking, or at Ground Zero in the days after 911. The book also has some older pieces on some folks who we know better today: Cleveland mayor Frank Jackson, back when he was a new councilman; pre-movie star Harvey Pekar from American Splendor; and Chef Michael Symon before he was knighted with the title "Iron." There is something for everyone in here. In a time when newspaper subscription is in decline, Michael Heaton's book shows us the importance of that medium. Read this book and you'll be looking for a newsstand to plunk down your four bits.
And non-Clevelanders shouldn't be scared off. These stories are mainly "of" Cleveland, but they "transcend" Cleveland as well. More to the point, Heaton's writing captures the humor, the drama, and yes, the optimism that is Cleveland. Cleveland isn't about rivers burning and sports teams losing, but that's part of it. Cleveland is also about big hair in suburban malls, about forever trying to bridge the gap of east and west, and about restaurants where mobsters and celebrities once hung out. Cleveland is about celebrating its history and looking forward to its future, however uncertain. This book captures that optimism that is the essence of Cleveland.
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