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Douglas Century (born in Calgary, Alberta) is a Canadian-American author and journalist. He was educated at Princeton University.
Douglas Century | |
|---|---|
| Born | Calgary, Alberta, Alberta, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Author, journalist |
| Notable work | Barney Ross, Street Kingdom, Takedown: The Fall of the Last Mafia Empire, The Last Boss of Brighton |
As a journalist, Century has written for numerous publications including The New York Times, Billboard, Details, Rolling Stone, Men's Journal, Blender, VIBE and The Guardian. He has frequently written about hip-hop and pop culture trends in The New York Times.[1]
In several nonfiction books, Century has written about diverse subjects ranging from inner-city gangs, organized-crime, undercover police investigations, military operations, and the history of Jewish prizefighting in the United States.
Street Kingdom
Century's first book, Street Kingdom: Five Years Inside the Franklin Avenue Posse, was cited by many critics as a significant work of "participatory journalism." "(It) merits a place alongside The Grapes Of Wrath and Native Son," wrote the Detroit Free Press in February 1998. "Street Kingdom... is an inventive mix of courageous investigative reporting, accomplished storytelling, knowing social commentary and wicked street-smart prose... One of the miracles of this book is that it occurred at all." Publishers Weekly called the debut book, "At once mesmerizing, humorous and tragic... a heady mixture of reportage and memoir."[2]
Takedown: The Fall of the Last Mafia Empire
Century's second book, about Operation Wasteland, was Takedown: The Fall of the Last Mafia Empire (coauthored with NYPD Detective First-Grade Rick Cowan) was a The New York Times best-seller, a finalist for the 2003 Edgar Award ("Best Fact Crime"),[3] and a finalist for the 2003 Audie Awards ("Best Audiobook of the Year, Non-Fiction, Abridged," as read by actor Christopher Meloni).[4] Newsweek says the book is a "new gangland epic."
Barney Ross: The Life of a Jewish Fighter
After the publication of his third book, the best-seller Barney Ross, Century toured extensively, speaking across the United States and Canada about the life and times of Ross (born Dov Ber Rasofsky), the Hall of Fame boxing great and World War II hero. "This is an excellent story of a man and his times," wrote boxing historian Bert Randolph Sugar in The New York Times Book Review. "... proof positive that time does not relinquish its hold over men or monuments. In a sport devoted to fashioning halos for its superstars, Ross wore a special nimbus, and this book properly fits him for that."[5]
Military Books: Brotherhood of Warriors and If Not Now, When?
Century is the coauthor of Brotherhood of Warriors: Behind Enemy Lines with a Commando in one of the World’s Most Elite Counterterrorism Units, with former Israeli special forces operative Aaron Cohen, published by Ecco/HarperCollins in April 2008. The book recounts Cohen's work in the mid-1990s as a member of Duvdevan Unit (Hebrew: דובדבן; lit. cherry) a controversial Special Forces outfit which runs missions targeting wanted terrorist suspects in the occupied territories of the West Bank, often while posing in undercover disguise as Palestinian Arabs.
In October 2008, the Penguin Group published the memoir of Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Colonel Jack H. Jacobs, If Not Now, When?: Duty and Sacrifice In America's Time of Need, coauthored by Douglas Century, with a foreword by NBC Nightly News anchor and managing editor Brian Williams. If Not Now, When? won the 2010 Colby Award, recognizing "a first work of fiction or nonfiction that has made a significant contribution to the public's understanding of intelligence operations, military history, or international affairs."[6]
Books with Ice-T
In 2011, Century was a coauthor, with iconic hip-hop artist and actor Ice-T, of Ice: A Memoir of Gangster Life and Redemption—from South Central to Hollywood, published by Random House/One World. The Associated Press said the book is "as cool as its namesake... a fascinating memoir, the pages of which are jam-packed with tales of a guy who ‘actively did everything I rhymed about.’"
The New York Times Book Review said it is the embodiment of "hip-hop's Horatio Alger" myth: "Ice-T, in short, is someone hip-hop might have invented if he hadn’t invented himself," reviewer Baz Dreisinger wrote. "A goes-down-easy mélange of memoir, self-help, and amateur criminology. Ultimately, Ice showcases an eminently reasonable, positively likeable guy, the gangsta rapper even a parent could love."
In July 2022, Century again collaborated with Ice-T writing Split Decision: Life Stories (Gallery Books), a dual memoir about Ice-T and his former partner-in-crime, Spike, as well as their early days as jewel thieves and street hustlers in Los Angeles and their vastly diverging life trajectories. Publishers Weekly in a starred review called the book "a propulsive chronicle...This grave and astonishing account will leave fans in awe," [7] while Booklist called Split Decision "an astounding and provocative tale... a powerful memoir of diverging lives.”
Hunting El Chapo
In April 2018, Century coauthored Hunting El Chapo (HarperCollins) with former DEA Special Agent Andrew Hogan, an account of Hogan's eight year investigation tracking down and eventually capturing the world's most-wanted drug-trafficker Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera a.k.a. El Chapo. Dateline profiled Inside the Hunt for El Chapo on April 8, 2018; it was hosted by Lester Holt. The book was published worldwide in many languages including Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, German, Dutch, and Japanese. USA Today described the book as "Cinematic... captivating... the most authentic glimpse inside the world of El Chapo—because Hogan actually went there and did what few thought possible."
In March 2017, Variety reported that Sony Pictures with 3 Arts Entertainment optioned Hunting El Chapo for a feature film with Michael Bay set to produce it.
No Surrender
In 2019, Century coauthored No Surrender (Harper One) with Pastor Chris Edmonds, a work of narrative nonfiction chronicling the World War II experiences of Edmond’s late father, U.S. Army Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds of the 106th Infantry Division. Captured during the vicious fighting in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, imprisoned in Germany's Stalag IXA, Master Sgt. Edmonds refused the order of a Nazi major to identify the Jewish servicemen among the prisoners saying, “We are all Jews here.” For his defense of Jewish servicemen at the POW camp, Edmonds was posthumously awarded the title "Righteous Among the Nations" from Yad Vashem, Israel's highest honor for non-Jews who risked their own lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. Of 25,000 people to receive the award, Edmonds was the fifth of five Americans, and the only active serviceman during World War II.
For writing No Surrender, Century received a 2020 Christopher Award; it was recognized as being one of the best nonfiction books of the year.
The Last Boss of Brighton
In July 2022, Century published The Last Boss of Brighton (William Morrow), a true crime book which tells the rise and fall of notorious Belarusian-Jewish mobster Boris Nayfeld as well as the history of Soviet-emigre organized crime in the United States. Kirkus Reviews in a starred review called The Last Boss of Brighton "a fascinating, page-turning story of a genuine scoundrel. Century thrillingly chronicles Nayfeld’s criminal career, "True-crime fans will find this one irresistible."[8]
Reviewing the book in the Sunday Telegraph Jack Kerridge called The Last Boss of Brighton "a brilliant, blood-soaked biography ... so enjoyably mayhem-crammed as to make Howard Marks' drug-smuggling memoir Mr Nice read like Barbara Pym... Nayfeld is a fiendishly compelling presence on the page."[9]
In her January 7, 2023 review in the Globe and Mail, Emily Donaldson opined that it is an "exciting" break from true-crime conventions: "Douglas Century’s The Last Boss of Brighton offers up the sordidly riveting tale of Belarusian heroin trafficker Boris Nayfeld... The stories themselves are as mind-boggling in their extremity as they are disarming in their honesty. As he recounts, in granular detail, crimes ranging from pickpocketing to violent hold-ups to a massive gas-tax swindling scheme that netted him millions, Nayfeld gives us a tour of a parallel criminal world, with all its attendant rules and 'ethics.' Some of The Last Boss’s most head-spinny moments occur when that world intersects with banal aspects of our own."[10]
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Century holds dual United States and Canadian citizenship. He is a member of the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of Canada.
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Books
- Street Kingdom: Five Years Inside the Franklin Avenue Posse (New York: Warner Books, 1999), a portrait of hip-hop and gangster subculture set in Brooklyn.
- Takedown: The Fall of the Last Mafia Empire, (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2002), an investigative account of Operation Wasteland co-authored with NYPD Detective Rick Cowan.
- Barney Ross (New York: Nextbook/Schocken: 2006), a biography of the legendary Jewish boxing champion Barney Ross and Silver Star-awarded U.S. Marine Corps hero of the Battle of Guadalcanal.
- Brotherhood of Warriors: Behind Enemy Lines with a Commando in one of the World’s Most Elite Counterterrorism Units, by Aaron Cohen and Douglas Century (New York: Ecco, 2008).
- If Not Now, When?: Duty and Sacrifice In America's Time of Need, by Colonel Jack Jacobs (Ret.) and Douglas Century (New York: Berkley Caliber, 2008), a memoir of the famed Congressional Medal of Honor recipient and NBC military analyst. Winner of the 2010 Colby Award.
- Ice: A Memoir of Gangster Life and Redemption—from South Central to Hollywood, by Ice-T and Douglas Century (New York: Random House, 2011. ISBN 978-0-345-52328-0.
- The Dark Art: My Undercover Life in Global Narcoterrorism (New York: Gotham Books, 2014), coauthored with retired DEA Special Agent Edward Follis.
- Hunting El Chapo: The Inside Story of the American Lawman Who Captured the World's Most-Wanted Drug Lord, (New York: HarperCollins, 2018) a detailed nonfiction account of the eight-year investigation and manhunt for Mexican narcotrafficker Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera a.k.a. "El Chapo" – leader of the Sinaloa Cartel (Spanish: Cártel de Sinaloa); coauthored with former DEA Special Agent Andrew Hogan.
- No Surrender: A Father, a Son, and an Extraordinary Act of Heroism That Continues to Live on Today, (New York: Harper One, 2019) coauthored with Pastor Chris Edmonds. Winner of a 2020 Christopher Award.
- The Last Boss of Brighton: Boris "Biba" Nayfeld and the Rise of the Russian Mob in America, (New York: William Morrow, 2022).
- Split Decision: Life Stories (New York: Gallery Books, 2022) by Ice-T & Spike and Douglas Century.
Essays and reporting
- "Boxing" by Douglas Century, in Jews and American Popular Culture, Vol. III, by Paul Buhle (ed.), (Greenwood Publishing: 2006)
- "My Brooklyn: Still a Contender on the Waterfront," by Douglas Century, The New York Times Arts & Leisure Section, March 12, 1999
- "Not So Fly for This White Guy," by Douglas Century, The New York Times Sunday Styles, January 31, 1999
- "Alpine, NJ: Home to Hip-Hop Royalty," by Douglas Century, The New York Times Arts & Leisure Section, February 11, 2007
- "The Blatnoy," by Douglas Century, Tablet Magazine, August 29, 2022
- "Opinion: Vladimir Putin is the Most Brazen, Powerful and Wealthy Mobster of All Time," by Douglas Century, Globe and Mail, July 23, 2022
Critical studies and reviews
- "Punching Through" Barney Ross reviewed in The New York Times Book Review by Bert Randolph Sugar, February 19, 2006.
- "Two-Fisted Hero" Barney Ross reviewed in The Washington Post by Jonathan Yardley, January 17, 2006.
- "A Jew in the Modern World" Barney Ross reviewed in The New York Sun by Carl Rollyson, February 8, 2006.
- "Ice-T, Living Out Loud," Ice reviewed in The New York Times Book Review by Baz Dreisinger, April 22, 2011.
- Gladwell, Malcolm (May 18, 2015). "Mirror stage : a memoir of working undercover for the Drug Enforcement Administration". The Critics. Books. The New Yorker. Vol. 91, no. 13. pp. 93–96. Retrieved 2015-08-05. Review of The dark art.
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