American Tabloid
We are behind, and below, the scenes of JFK's Presidential election, the Bay of Pigs, the assassination - in the underworld that connects Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago, D.C.... Where the CIA, the Mob, J. Edgar Hoover, Howard Hughes, Jimmy Hoffa, Cuban political exiles and various loose cannons conspire in a covert anarchy... Where the right drugs, the right amount of cash, the right murder, buys a moment of a man's loyalty... Where money, power, influence and even the Presidency of the United States are up for grabs... Where three renegade law enforcement officers - a former L.A. cop and two FBI agents - are shaping events with the virulence of their greed and hatred, riding full-blast shotgun into history... The same blistering language, relentless narrative pace and nothing-spared rendering of reality that have marked James Ellroy's other best-selling novels are here once again, and in electrifying abundance. And now he puts them to work in a novel more shocking and daring than anything he's written before: a secret history that zeroes in on a time still shrouded in secrets and blows it wide open.
Themes & atmosphere
What you might want to know about American Tabloid
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
From 1958 to the morning of the Kennedy assassination, three lawless operators chase work between the FBI, the mob, the CIA, and Cuba. Ellroy's secret history of how America got there.
American Tabloid is a fictional novel set against real American history from 1958 to 1963, culminating in the JFK assassination. James Ellroy weaves invented characters through documented events, including the CIA, Hoover's FBI, and Cuban exile politics.
Yes. James Ellroy uses a clipped staccato prose style with crime jargon, period slang, and a massive cast. Readers usually adjust to the rhythm but the density and pace make it more demanding than typical historical thrillers.
American Tabloid was written by James Ellroy, published in 1995 by Vintage.
American Tabloid is 592 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, American Tabloid takes most readers 9 to 13 hours to finish.
American Tabloid is a standalone novel by James Ellroy, not part of a series.
American Tabloid is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.