Great article in this month's Esquire

It's not by Jones, but it's still damned good.

http://www.esquire.com/features/mercenary0607

 

I'm through three pages and am floored by this. Just an amazing story. I'm saving the rest of the article for when my magazine arrives in the mail.

 

The story behind this story is worth a few pages itself. There was a lot of debate about it within the magazine -- mostly whether Tom Junod wanted to put himself in harm's way by writing it. I'm glad he did.

He's a great writer and a great guy.

 

I'm waiting to read the piece on more good bars....

 

Junod is to general-interest stories what Gary Smith is to sports. Interestingly, didn't Junod previously have a sports focus (at GQ, I believe) before he began at Esquire?

 

Michael -- I don't think he was a sports guy. He was at GQ. He came over when David Granger left to become Esquire's editor-in-chief, bringing with him guys like Junod, Scott Raab, Cal Fussman, and Charlie Pierce. It might be Charlie you're thinking of.

But you're right about his gifts. He's won a couple of National Magazine Awards and has been nominated several more times, including this year (for a story on those nursing home owners in the wake of Katrina).

 

Hell of a story. In lesser hands ... well, you shudder to think.

 

I think the genius of it is that the reader takes the same ride Junod did, believing one thing then another, only to be left scratching his head. Then there's the final paragraph. Three sentences sum up the whole thing and put it in perspective.

 

Holy shit. Tonight's deadline is now in jeopardy.

 

On another note, the shots of the lovely Vera Farmiga (she played the psychiatrist in The Departed) are very, very good.

 

Good story - surely some of it's false, or embellished.
Mostly true, though, I'm sure. There's folks like this out there.
I'm surprised he'll talk as much as he has.

 

Tom Junod has been one of my favorites since he was at GQ. 10 years or so ago he wrote a story about his dad that a friend and I still quote on occasion.

This story was fantastic - scary and well-written.