Set in one of the great literary saloons of any generation, McDonald's story expertly weaves his relationship with New York icon, Elaine Kaufman, his struggle to stay clean, and his wild-eyed dreams of becoming a writer. "…this story is as compelling as the stories of the writers who made Elaine's their home away from home." --Susan CheeverBrian McDonald has a sharp eye and even a sharper ear for New York after dark." --Frank McCourt

Last Call at Elaine's: A Journey From One Side Of the Bar to the Other

Biographies & Memoirs

McDonald, Brian

Arts & Literature

St.Martin's Press

Safe Harbor: A Murder in Nantucket

Elizabeth Lochtefeld was a glowing, charismatic and driven woman who'd built a million-dollar fortune in Manhattan before settling into a new life in one of America's most elite resort communities. She'd planned to dedicate the rest of her life to charity-and to marry and finally start a family of her own. When Lochtefeld met thrity-seven year-old Tim Toolan-- a tall, strapping, handsome, and Columbia graduate and Wall Street ace who'd made it to Vice President at Smith Barney-she thought she'd found Mr. Right. She told friends she was in love. She hinted at marriage. But soon she saw past the Golden Boy facade, finding a deeply troubled man with a history of erratic bahavior -- a man given to violent mood swings who'd been fired from his position at Smith Barney after trying to steal an $80,000 Roman bust from a Park Avenue antiques show. Two days after she ended the affair, she lay dead on the floor of her Nantucket cottage.This is the story of love gone terribly wrong.

History

Americas

Elizabeth Lochtefeld was a glowing, charismatic woman who'd built a million-dollar fortune in New York City before retiring to the fashionable island of Nantucket. At age forty-four, she had everything in life except the one thing she wanted most: true love. When she met thirty-seven year-old Thomas E. Toolan III, a handsome Wall Street ace, she thought she finally found Mr. Right. She was dead wrong. Behind Tom's Golden Boy façade was a man with a dark history of erratic behavior--a man given to violent mood swings, who'd lost his job after trying to steal an $80,000 Roman bust from a Park Avenue antiques show…and that was just the beginning of his vicious downward spiral. Two days after putting an end to the affair, Beth disappeared, never to be seen alive again….

True Crime

St. Martin's True Crime

The affluent suburb of Cheshire, Connecticut, seemed like the perfect place for Dr. William Petit and his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, to raise their two lovely daughters... Until July 23, 2007, when, according to police, two ex-cons invaded the Petit home hoping to embark on a routine robbery-one that would ultimately prove deadly. What unfolded at 300 Sorghum Mill Drive was a tragic and horrifying sequence of events that shocked a community and made headlines across the nation. Before the morning was over, Mrs. Hawke-Petit and one of her daughters would be sexually assaulted, the entire house would go up in flames, and only Dr. Petit-his head bloodied, his legs bound-would manage to escape with his life. With the help of neighbors and local police, the two suspects were soon found and captured. Now, Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes await trial for murder IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.

In the Middle of the Night: The Shocking True Story of a Family Killed in Cold Blood

An intriguing memoir of a family of Irish-American cops in New York City traces the lives and careers of three generations of NYPD officers, from the author's maternal grandfather, who paid the price for standing up to corruption, to his precinct captain father, to his older brother, Frankie. Reprint.

My Father's Gun: One Family, Three Badges, One Hundred Years in the NYPD

Professionals & Academics

Plume

An intriguing memoir of a family of Irish-American cops in New York City traces the lives and careers of three generations of NYPD officers, from the author's maternal grandfather, who paid the price for standing up to corruption, to his precinct captain father, to his older brother, Frankie. 25,000 first printing. Tour.

Historical

Dutton Adult

Leaders & Notable People

Diane Pub Co.

Acclaimed by successful screenwriters and authors, Invisible Ink is a helpful, accessible guide to the essential elements of the best storytelling. Brian McDonald, an award winning screenwriter who has taught his craft at several major studios, supplies writers with tools to make their work more effective and provides readers and audiences a deeper understanding of the storyteller's art. When people think of a screenplay, they usually think about dialogue-the "visible ink" that is readily accessible to the listener, reader, or viewer. But a successful screenplay needs Invisible Ink as well, the craft below the surface of words. Invisible Ink lays out the essential elements of screenplay structure, using vivid examples from famous moments in popular movies as well as from one of his own popular scripts. You will learn techniques for building a compelling story around a theme, making your writing engage audiences, creating appealing characters, and much more. Praise for Invisible Ink: "...If I manage to reach the summit of my next story it will be in no small part due to having read Invisible Ink." -Andrew Stanton (cowriter Toy Story, Toy Story 2, A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc., and cowriter/director Finding Nemo and WALL-E) "...Brian McDonald uses his deep understanding of story and character to pass on essential truths about dramatic writing. Ignore him at your peril." -Jim Taylor (Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Sideways and Election) "... I recommend this fine handbook on craft to any writer, apprentice or professional, working in any genre or form." -Dr. Charles Johnson (National Book Award-winning author of Middle Passage) "If you want to write scripts, listen to Brian. The guy knows what he's talking about." -Paul Feig (creator of NBC's Freaks and Geeks, co-executive producer The Office) "With Invisible Ink Brian McDonald has written us a book to keep and heed forever because through the simple, graceful, graspable, original wisdom of it, we might just save our screenwriting lives." -Stewart Stern (Screenwriter of Rebel Without a Cause)

Invisible Ink: A Practical Guide to Building Stories That Resonate

Humor & Entertainment

Movies

Libertary Co.

At the heart of every great work is an essential commonality, which author and teacher Brian McDonald explores in The Golden Theme. McDonald's previous book, Invisible Ink, has been acclaimed by award winning authors and screenwriters. In The Golden Theme he turns to the question of what makes writing and storytelling essential to us. Readers and writers will benefit from his deep insight. "Brian McDonald is one of the world's wisest teachers of the elements that create great storytelling....If you a writer in any genre, read The Golden Theme. If you are a non-writing reader who just loves stories, read it. If you are a teacher, share it with your students. And give it to friends, who will thank you for the clarity Brian McDonald so generously brings to our lives." - from the Foreword by National Book Award winner Charles Johnson.

The Golden Theme: How to Make Your Writing Appeal to the Highest Common Denominator

Reference

Writing, Research & Publishing Guides

The Golden Theme is the study of writing's essential commonality—the question of what makes writing and storytelling vital to human nature—by award-winning writer/director/producer Brian McDonald.

Talking Drum, LLC

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by McDonald, Brian. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by McDonald, Brian

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by McDonald, Brian. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Last Call at Elaine's: A Journey From One Side Of the Bar to the Other

Safe Harbor: A Murder in Nantucket

Safe Harbor: A Murder in Nantucket

In the Middle of the Night: The Shocking True Story of a Family Killed in Cold Blood

My Father's Gun: One Family, Three Badges, One Hundred Years in the NYPD

My Father's Gun: One Family, Three Badges, One Hundred Years in the NYPD

My Father's Gun: One Family, Three Badges, One Hundred Years in the NYPD

Invisible Ink: A Practical Guide to Building Stories That Resonate

The Golden Theme: How to Make Your Writing Appeal to the Highest Common Denominator

The Golden Theme: How to Make Your Writing Appeal to the Highest Common Denominator