Mike Sager

Biography

Mike Sager is a best-selling author and award-winning reporter. A former Washington Post staff writer under Watergate investigator Bob Woodward, he worked closely, during his years as a contributing editor to Rolling Stone, with gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. Sager is the author of more than a dozen books, including anthologies, novels, e-singles, a biography, and university textbooks. He has served for more than three decades as a writer for Esquire. In 2010 he won the National Magazine Award for profile writing. Several of his stories have inspired films and documentaries, including Boogie Nights, with Mark Wahlberg, Wonderland with Val Kilmer and Lisa Kudrow, and Veronica Guerin, with Cate Blanchette. He is the founder and CEO of The Sager Group LLC, which publishes books, makes films and videos, and provides modest grants to creatives. For more information, please see www.mikesager.com. [Show Less]

Where to find Mike Sager online

Where to buy in print

Books

The Pope of Pot: And Other True Stories of Marijuana and Related High Jinks
Price: $8.99 USD. Words: 27,300. Language: English. Published: February 27, 2022 by The Sager Group. Categories: Nonfiction » True Crime » Drug trade, Nonfiction » Social Science » Anthropology / Cultural
The Pope of Pot: And Other True Stories of Marijuana and Related High Jinks is a pocket collection, by the award-winning journalist (and former Rolling Stone drugs correspondent) Mike Sager, highlighting his dispatches from the cannabis underground.
The Rise and Fall of a Super Freak: And Other True Stories of Black Men Who Made History
Price: $7.99 USD. Words: 31,130. Language: English. Published: October 23, 2021 by The Sager Group. Categories: Nonfiction » Biography » Cultural heritage, Nonfiction » History » Biography
The Rise and Fall of a Super Freak is a collection of stories, by award-winning journalist Mike Sager, about American Black men whose lives significantly affected the direction and zeitgeist of American culture. Included are stories about Rick James, the King of Funk; Rodney King, the motorist beat by LAPD; Hip-Hop's Eazy E; and Freeway Ricky Ross.
A Boy and His Dog in Hell: And Other True Stories
Price: $10.99 USD. Words: 113,910. Language: English. Published: July 2, 2021 by The Sager Group. Categories: Nonfiction » Travel » Essays & Travelogues, Essay » Sociology
A Boy and His Dog in Hell collects 19 true stories by Mike Sager—a best-selling author and veteran of the Washington Post, Rolling Stone, and Esquire. With Sager on point, the reader takes a journey through an America few ever see. Hang out with a crack gang, a 350-pound man, the smartest man in America, the greatest rodeo cowboy in the world, the Aryan Nations, NBA phenom Kobe Bryant, more.
Travels with Bassem: A Palestinian and a Jew Find Friendship in a War-Torn Land
Price: $10.01 USD. Words: 15,320. Language: English. Published: June 13, 2021 by The Sager Group. Categories: Nonfiction » Travel » Essays & Travelogues, Nonfiction » History » Middle East
A Jewish journalist and a Palestinian resistance organizer find friendship and understanding in a war-torn land.
Hunting Marlon Brando: A True Story
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 55,060. Language: English. Published: February 7, 2021 by The Sager Group. Categories: Nonfiction » Entertainment » Celebrity culture, Nonfiction » Entertainment » Entertainment industry
From the start, it sounds ridiculous: Go to Tahiti and find Marlon Brando. But the worldwide search for the legendary star of such classic movies as The Godfather and Apocalypse Now soon becomes an obsession. A totally true tale of tropical adventure, Hollywood superstardom . . . and a beautiful Tahitian translator, who puts Sager’s mission in jeopardy when she suddenly disappears.
Shaman: The Mysterious Life and Impeccable Death of Carlos Castaneda
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 22,720. Language: English. Published: September 4, 2020 by The Sager Group. Categories: Nonfiction » New Age » Spiritualism, Nonfiction » Biography » People of color
Some say he was a breakthrough academic and visionary shaman. Others say he was a sham. Either way, Carlos Castaneda shaped a generation of mystical thinkers and magic mushroom eaters. A year-long investigation into the mysterious life and impeccable death of Carlos Castaneda, as told by his wife, his adopted son, his mistresses, and his followers.
Vetville: True Stories of the U.S. Marines at War and at Home
Price: $6.99 USD. Words: 58,040. Language: English. Published: May 18, 2019 by The Sager Group. Categories: Nonfiction » History » War, Nonfiction » History » Military » Military / Afghan War (2001-)
This tetralogy of detailed and melodic long-form pieces by award-winning journalist Mike Sager charts the life story arc of a modern U.S. Marine: From training aboard Camp Pendleton on the eve of the Afghan invasion, to terror and heroism in battle, to the Wounded Warriors Barracks at Camp Lejeune, to a suburban duplex near San Diego, where an ex-Marine finds his silver lining in a dirty diaper.
Revenge of the Donut Boys: True Stories of Lust, Fame, Survival and Multiple Personality
Price: $10.99 USD. Words: 120,180. Language: English. Published: February 9, 2018 by The Sager Group. Categories: Nonfiction » Social Science » Anthropology / Cultural, Essay » Literature
From ground zero of the deadliest wildfire in California history, to gangsta-rap pioneer Ice Cube, to newly-minted billionaire Mark Cuban, to a swingers' “fantasy weekend," to the Newark, NJ, ghetto, these stories from Esquire and Rolling stone writer Mike Sager bring into sharp focus the state of modern America.A second edition of the author's bestselling collection. Updated with new material.
The Lonely Hedonist: True Stories of Sex, Drugs, Dinosaurs and Peter Dinklage
Price: $10.99 USD. Words: 72,780. Language: American English. Published: September 15, 2017 by The Sager Group. Categories: Essay » Literature, Nonfiction » Sex & Relationships  » History of sex
Bestselling author Mike Sager has been called “the Beat poet of American journalism." This is his sixth collection of true stories–sixteen intimate profiles of larger-than-life Americans both famous and obscure, including the founder an exclusive Hollywood sex club, a Montana rancher who found the most amazing dino fossil ever, the forgotten sixth member of the seminal rap group N.W.A., and more.
The Devil and John Holmes - 25th Anniversary Author's Edition: And Other True Stories of Drugs, Porn and Murder
Price: $10.99 USD. Words: 52,200. Language: English. Published: March 28, 2017 by The Sager Group. Categories: Nonfiction » True Crime » General crimes, Nonfiction » Sex & Relationships  » Sex & culture
"John Holmes was every man’s gigolo, a polyester smoothie with a sparse mustache, a flying collar and lots of buttons undone. Read the story that inspired the movies Boogie Nights, with Mark Wahlberg, and Wonderland, with Val Kilmer. Now with restored edits and updated information. The collection includes three stories about related topics, including the suicide death of porn starlet Savannah.
Janet’s World: The Inside Story of Washington Post Pulitzer Fabulist Janet Cooke
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 24,110. Language: English. Published: July 8, 2016 by The Sager Group. Categories: Nonfiction » Biography » Editors, journalists, & publishers, Nonfiction » History » Modern / 20th Century
Janet Cooke caused one of the biggest scandals in the history of journalism when her Pulitzer Prize-winning article, about an eight-year-old heroin addict, turned out to be a fake, along with her doctored resume.
Scary Monsters and Super Freaks: Stories of Sex, Drugs, Rock ‘N’ Roll and Murder
Price: $10.99 USD. Words: 178,450. Language: English. Published: July 5, 2016 by The Sager Group. Categories: Nonfiction » True Crime » General crimes, Nonfiction » Social Science » True crime
Mike Sager’s bestselling debut collection is now available as an e-Book with new material added. The nineteen true crime stories include tales of porn star John Holmes, superfreak Rick James, beaten motorist Rodney Glenn King, Rap empresario Eazy-E, and many more. Says E! Online: “Don’t pick this one up if you have somewhere to be the next morning."
High Tolerance: A Novel of Sex, Race, Celebrity, Murder… and Marijuana
Price: $6.99 USD. Words: 73,500. Language: English. Published: May 22, 2013 by The Sager Group. Categories: Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Crime thriller
In this artful page-turner, a beloved superstarlet, a controversial billionaire hip-hop mogul, and a television writer/producer idled by the demoralizing strike are linked together improbably by murder, domestic heartbreak, a sex video . . . and their inclusion on a secret subscription list for an exclusive designer strain of medical marijuana.
Next Wave: America's New Generation of Great Literary Journalists
Price: $10.99 USD. Words: 152,020. Language: English. Published: September 20, 2012 by The Sager Group. Categories: Nonfiction » Social Science » Anthropology / Cultural, Nonfiction » True Crime » General crimes
NEXT WAVE collects work by today’s finest young literary journalists– 19 creative reporters whose work combines exhaustive research with artful writing. Naysayers predicted the decline of long-form journalism. NEXT WAVE is proof to the contrary. Writers include: Wright Thompson, Vanessa Grigoriadis, Chris Jones, Ariel Levy, Dan P. Lee, Thomas Lake, Brian Mockenhaupt, Max Potter, Luke Dittrich.
The Someone You're Not: True Stories of Sports, Celebrity, Politics & Pornography
Price: $10.99 USD. Words: 101,440. Language: English. Published: September 14, 2012 by The Sager Group. Categories: Nonfiction » Entertainment » Celebrity culture, Nonfiction » Sports & outdoor recreation » Football & rugby » American football
Bestselling author Mike Sager’s fourth collection showcases his deftly-written journalism at its best and most mature, a riveting marriage of crime reportage and you-are-there literary anthropology. The centerpiece examines the rise and fall of football's RoboQB, Todd Marinovich. Also: Paris Hilton, Dana White, Vetville, Bobby Jindal, Ugly, Pete Carroll, an innocent man jailed for 29 years, more.

Mike Sager's tag cloud

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