3 minute read
Tom Shachtman
The Memoir of the Minotaur by Tom Shachtman
“A romping confessional riff on the classic tale, a portrait of the artist as a young bull. Shachtman’s rollicking prose weaves mythology into a gripping yarn and gives antiquity’s voiceless celebrity monster a soaring human heart.” -Charles Graeber, NYT bestselling author of The Good Nurse and The Breakthrough
“A fine read. Exciting, entertaining, witty. Even more, a rare experience. Despite the blood and gore, the book resonates with wonder, and lingers in our minds for weeks afterward. Its conclusions are generous and thoughtful. A ‘classics’ challenge for readers that stuns us with its bravery and humor. I loved it.” -John Neufeld, author of international bestsellers Lisa, Bright and Dark, and Edgar Allen.
“Seldom have I written a review in which I can quiet the voice of the critic while losing myself in the story. As I read The Memoir of the Minotaur, that critical voice was very quiet; I am not exaggerating when I say the prose is so nearly flawless that we may as well call it perfect. There is not one phrase that has not been carefully selected and evaluated. Shachtman is a word-master; if you are a fan of Neil Gaiman or Salman Rushdie you don’t want to miss this book.”-Five-star Reedsy review
I’ve been very fortunate in that I always wanted to write, and have been able to do so for a living since my undergrad days. My work has been published and produced in many forms: histories, novels, plays, documentaries, TV dramas, poetry, newspaper columns – even a comic book.
As an undergrad experimental psychology major I studied animal behavior in detail. Then I spent three glorious years at CBS News as a writer-researcher for THE 21ST CENTURY series before returning to the animal world – so to speak – as Assistant Chief of the TV division of The National Geographic Society. I went on to a career of writing, producing and directing documentaries for many TV outlets, among them THE LAST FRONTIER, about African wildlife. My films and tapes won plenty of awards, including a halfdozen New York area Emmys and the top documentary prize at San Francisco.
I then pivoted to writing books, and have had forty of them published, mostly histories – including a trilogy about the Revolutionary War era -- and a few short novels about sealions, published in four languages. I also worked closely with Robert K. Ressler, the FBI agent who coined the term ‘serial killer,’ on the international best-sellers WHOEVER FIGHTS MONSTERS and I HAVE LIVED IN THE MONSTER.
At the convergence of my classical education, animal behavior studies, and serial killer studies, THE MEMOIR OF THE MINOTAUR was born ….