I’m very pleased to welcome long-time reader and commenter (CassandraLite) Joel Engel as a contributor at Legal Insurrection.
I’ve met Joel twice, and one thing led to another, and here we are.
You may have noticed Joel’s first post earlier today, 2016 May Bring Good Things. I had intended to give Joel a welcome before his first post, but world events took over the blog this morning. So better late than never.
Joel has a varied and fascinating background, available at his blog which oddly has the url http://www.joelengel.com/
I’ve authored or co-authored more than 15 books (including a New York Times bestseller)—narrative nonfiction, essays, sports, satire, pop culture, biography, and autobiography.
As a journalist for the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, among other papers and periodicals, I reported on everything from politics to hot-air ballooning, pregnancy to cancer research, pop culture to business.
I’ve also sold several feature-film scripts to Hollywood and produced about 60 hours of (cable) television. Two professional experiences that I remember with inexplicable pleasure are writing an infomercial hosted by a celebrity who insisted on being introduced as “the beautiful and talented actress” when in fact she was not quite either, and getting fired from a documentary about Elvis fans for telling the network executive—who until months before had been a Russian interpreter—that her clunky suggestion for the show’s opening sequence was “not good television.”
You can and should follow Joel on Twitter.
Joel’s latest book is L.A. ’56, a true crime novel about a serial rapist in Los Angeles.
“…blistering true crime…. In a crowded field of fine true crime authors, Engel makes sure that all of the dots are connected and justice has its say.” –Publishers Weekly
Joel’s investigative work on behalf of a young foreign college student accused of rape is fascinating, Exonerating Eric Frimpong.
Among his many interests, Joel will cover issues related to the Jewish community, Israel, and Hollywood. But expect the unexpected.
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Comments
Excellent.
Whoa! I had no idea!
Congrats!
Professor, you’re developing quite a line-up for this blog. Looking forward to this blog-of-excellence as it makes its continued impact on the lives of those who enounter it. So glad I found my way here.
Yes, one hella lineup. Always a pleasure to read. Welcome Joel!
Finally, a writer at LI that can focus on the real important activities in America: SPORTS!!
Welcome aboard, Joel!
-Matt from Husker/Raider/Rockies Nation in CO.
Just think of all the sports talk. There will be Full-contact Blogging, and Full-contact Law, and Full-contact Photography, and Full-contact Cartooning, and, and all that other Full-contact stuff . . . All the other blogs will be really, really jealous.
Say it’s not true!
I already spend far too much time here!
Oh well, who needs sleep? 🙂
Welcome, Joel. I assume you are the new college football reporter…
I’ve read Joel’s book, and I gotta say, as somebody who works for LAPD, run to your nearest Legal Insurrection Amazon link and order it right now! You won’t be sorry!
I know Joel just a little bit, but I can tell a lot bit that he is one thing if nothing else: a Mensch!!
Hollywood is a pretend world. But Joel can nail some real complaints from the American people on Hollywood’s giant, wooden Jurassic Park door. Yes, Hollywood, you’ve become a plodding dinosaur and your stinky, fossilized ways fuel Joel’s displeasure.
Entertainment today is so many channels with so little content.
Joel is a man of content.
He is the one we’ve been waiting for.
Very impressive.
A coup for the professor and the blog.
An impressive contributor to add even more good content.
Cheers!
“But expect the unexpected.”
why, is Joel a Blue Blaze Irregular?
This is terrific! Welcome!
true crime novel
Isn’t that a contradiction in terms? A novel is a work of fiction, but a true crime book would be a true story.
It’s highly complicated. A crime novel is not based on a an actual ‘true’ crime, while a true crime novel is based on an actual crime(s). I apolgize if the explanation was overly technical.
A warm, conservative Welcome! to you, Joel.
Hopefully you can shed some light on the culture of socialism at NYT/LAT.
May God save America!
Wow!! Classy…. better than new paint and drapes! 🙂
And a fellow refugee from the Fourth Estate!
Welcome, Joel!
Is Mr. Engel aware of the LI custom that new contributors take all of us out for a beer?