Ross Thomas (writer)

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Ross Elmore Thomas (born February 19, 1926 in Oklahoma City , USA , † December 18, 1995 in Santa Monica , USA) was an American writer .

Life

Thomas fought as a soldier in the Philippines during World War II . Before his career as a writer, which only began at the age of 40, he worked as a public relations and campaign advisor for politicians such as Lyndon B. Johnson and as a journalist and union spokesman in the USA, in Bonn - where he ran the American Forces Network office built up - and in Nigeria .

Between 1966 and 1994 he wrote 25 novels, five of which appeared under the pseudonym Oliver Bleeck. Since 1982 he has also written scripts for television series such as Simon and Simon and The Unbelievable Stories of Roald Dahl . In 1992 he was president of the American crime writers association Mystery Writers of America .

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His political thrillers are characterized by ingenious exposures of American politics. For his first novel, The Cold War Swap , he received the prestigious Edgar Allan Poe Award in the category of best first work in 1967 and again in 1985 for Briarpatch in the category of best novel .

Most of Thomas' novels, initially published in German translation, were often severely shortened and distorted in terms of content; these are now out of print and only available as an antiquarian. Since 2005, his books have been published in new translations that are more faithful to the work in Berlin's Alexander Verlag . This Ross-Thomas edition is published by Alexander Wewerka and consists of 25 volumes.

Quotes

Ross Thomas is a monolith of the American political thriller landscape, his 25 novels all revolve around the central dilemma of personal integrity and political loyalty, on a level that otherwise only the Englishmen Graham Greene and Eric Ambler achieved. Günther Grosser, Berliner Zeitung (February 16, 2006)

For some inexplicable reason, Ross Thomas has never become very popular in Germany: But perhaps more readers are now interested in the dirty corners of America. Thomas Klingenmaier, Stuttgarter Zeitung

Ross Thomas' books have a perfect economy of description. He is extremely meticulous where it is imperative ... (He) writes laconically, without the mannerisms of the so-called hard-boiled style, always sober, not at all romantic ... Thomas' heroes don't ponder much either, they stay short without cultivating the pathos of the squire, even if Thomas once named Hemingway as his role model. Peter Körte, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (May 4, 2008)

Works

The Mac McCorkle and Michael Padillo novels

  • 1966 The Cold War Swap
    • The one-way person. German by Wilm W. Elwenspoek. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1969.
    • Colder than the Cold War. Edited translation by Gisbert Haefs and Anja Franzen. Alexander Verlag , Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-89581-179-1 . (First complete German edition.)
  • 1967 Cast a Yellow Shadow
    • Death casts yellow shadows. German by Wilm W. Elwenspoek. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1970.
    • Yellow shadows. German by Wilm W. Elwenspoek, Stella Diedrich and Gisbert Haefs. Alexander, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-89581-264-4 . (First complete German edition.)
  • 1971 The Backup Men
    • What I don't know doesn't make me cold. German by Wilm W. Elwenspoek and Heinz F. Kliem. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1972, ISBN 3-548-11447-4 .
    • The backup men. German by Wilm W. Elwenspoek, Heinz F. Kliem and Jochen Stremmel. Alexander, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-89581-278-1 . (First complete German edition.)
  • 1990 Twilight at Mac's Place
    • Last lap at Mac's Place. German by Bernd Holzrichter. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1994, ISBN 3-550-06703-8 .
    • Dawn in Mac's Place. German by Bernd Holzrichter. Alexander, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-89581-305-4 .

The Philip St. Ives Novels

(published under the pseudonym Oliver Bleeck. in the German second edition then as Ross Thomas)

  • 1969 The Brass Go-Between
    • Lead candy. German by Wilm W. Elwenspoek. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1970.
    • The brass deal. German by Wilm W. Elwenspoek, Jana Frey and Jochen Stremmel. Alexander, Berlin 2015, ISBN 978-3-89581-350-4 . (First complete German edition)
  • 1971 Protocol for a Kidnapping
    • Head price a million. German by Wilm W. Elwenspoek. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1971, ISBN 3-548-01425-9 .
    • Protocol for a kidnapping. German by Wilm W. Elwenspoek, edited by Jana Frey and Jochen Stremmel. Alexander, Berlin 2016, ISBN 978-3-89581-423-5 . (First complete German edition)
  • 1971 The Procane Chronicle (UK edition title: The Thief Who Painted Sunlight)
    • The Procane murder patent. German by Hansjürgen Wille u. Barbara Klau. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1972, ISBN 3-548-01494-1 .
  • 1974 The Highbinders
    • A hot baby. German by Renate Steinbach. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1974, ISBN 3-548-10309-X .
  • 1976 No Questions Asked
    • Scream in the rain. German by Edith Massmann. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1976, ISBN 3-548-01789-4 .

The Artie Wu and Quincy Durant novels

  • 1978 Chinaman's chance
    • Detour to hell. German by Edith Massmann. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1984, ISBN 3-548-10232-8 .
    • Detour to hell. Edited translation by Jochen Stremmel. Alexander, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-89581-172-2 .
  • 1987 Out On the Rim
    • At the edge of the world. German by Jürgen Behrens. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-550-06332-6 .
    • At the edge of the world. Edited translation by Gisbert Haefs and Anja Franzen. Alexander, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-89581-190-6 .
  • 1992 Voodoo, Ltd.

More novels

  • 1967 The Seersucker Whipsaw
    • Urn or coffin, sir? German by Wilm W. Elwenspoek. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1970.
  • 1969 The Singapore Wink
    • Sing Sing Singapore. German by Wilm W. Elwenspoek. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1970.
    • The case in Singapore. Edited translation by Jana Frey and Gisbert Haefs. Alexander, Berlin 2019, ISBN 978-3-89581-499-0 .
  • 1970 The Fools in Town Are On Our Side
    • Our city needs to get clean. German by Heinz F. Kliem. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1972, ISBN 3-548-01440-2 .
  • 1972 The Porkchoppers
    • Election slogan: murder. German by Sigrid Kellner. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1973, ISBN 3-548-01530-1 .
    • Porkchoppers. New translation by Jochen Stremmel. Alexander, Berlin 2016, ISBN 978-3-89581-403-7 .
  • 1973 If You Can't Be Good
    • Just don't get caught. German by Tilman Lichter. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1974, ISBN 3-548-01603-0 .
    • Then at least be careful. first complete translation by Jochen Stremmel, reviewed by Gisbert Haefs. Alexander, Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-89581-476-1 .
  • 1975 The Money Harvest
    • The harvest of millions. heavily abridged translation by Ute Tanner. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1975, ISBN 3-548-01740-1 .
    • Fat harvest. New translation by Jochen Stremmel. Alexander, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-89581-317-7 .
  • 1976 Yellow Dog Contract
    • Yellow Dog secret operation. German by Edith Massmann. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1978, ISBN 3-548-01872-6 .
    • The Yellow Dog Contract. first complete translation by Stella Diedrich, Gisbert Haefs and Edith Massmann. Alexander, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-89581-225-5 .
  • 1979 The Eighth Dwarf
    • Forty grand for the dwarf. German by Edith Massmann. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1980, ISBN 3-548-10060-0 .
    • The eighth dwarf. first complete translation by Stella Diedrich, Gisbert Haefs and Edith Massmann. Alexander, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-89581-251-4 .
  • 1981 The Mordida Man
    • The baksheesh man. German by Edith Massmann. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1982, ISBN 3-548-10173-9 .
    • The Mordida man. New translation by Jochen Stremmel. Alexander, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-89581-452-5 .
  • 1983 Missionary Stew
    • Murder Mission. German by Wilm W. Elwenspoek. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-548-10320-0 .
    • Devil's kitchen. Edited translation by Jochen Stremmel and Anja Franzen. Alexander, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-89581-183-8 .
  • 1984 Briar Patch
    • Protective wall. German by Jürgen Behrens. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1986, ISBN 3-548-10387-1 .
    • Thorn bush. New translation by Jochen Stremmel. Alexander, Berlin 2015, ISBN 978-3-89581-375-7 .
  • 1989 The Fourth Durango
    • God's forgotten city. German by Bernd Holzrichter. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-550-06170-6 .
    • God's forgotten city. Edited translation by Bernd Holzrichter. Alexander, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-89581-160-2 .
  • 1994 Ah, Treachery!
    • The one in the dark. German by Gisbert Haefs. Haffmans, Zurich 1995, ISBN 3-251-30057-1 .
    • The one in the dark. German and reviewed by Gisbert Haefs. Alexander, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-89581-143-2 .

Awards

Film adaptations

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Thomas, Ross
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Thomas, Ross Elmore (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American writer
DATE OF BIRTH February 19, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Oklahoma City , USA
DATE OF DEATH December 18, 1995
Place of death Santa Monica , USA