SOLD/Lawrence Hill Books (Chicago Review Press) biography/memoir/history
American Time Bomb: Attica, Sam Melville and a Son's Search for Answers
Joshua Melville
Here's what people are saying about American Time Bomb:
"Abbie Hoffman once asked Josh Melville, "Your dad changed the world with dynamite and you got nothing to say about it?" But Josh was thinking, "How should I feel about a man who wanted to save the world and gave up his only child to do it?"
"Caught between these two poles, the younger Melville spent decades on a quest to figure out how his famous father "Mad Bomber" Sam Melville lived and died and what motivated his choices. He obsessively navigates a tortured maze of Sam's radical friends, lovers, accomplices, prison mates, FBI agents, lawyers, and even the New York State Trooper who murdered him at Attica State Penitentiary, 1971, each of whom tells only part of the truth, at best.
"What does the fabled Sixties mean to the children of the enflamed radicals? The aptly named "American Time Bomb" is one tour-de-force answer. I couldn't put down this masterpiece of combined historical sleuthing and self-reflection."
--Mark Rudd was a founder of the radical Weather Underground, a federal fugitive for seven and a half years.
“Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife.” 22 Genesis 7. American Time Bomb is Isaac’s account. It differs dramatically from the authorized version.
--Ron Kuby, Chicago 7 attorney
"Abbie Hoffman once asked Josh Melville, "Your dad changed the world with dynamite and you got nothing to say about it?" But Josh was thinking, "How should I feel about a man who wanted to save the world and gave up his only child to do it?"
"Caught between these two poles, the younger Melville spent decades on a quest to figure out how his famous father "Mad Bomber" Sam Melville lived and died and what motivated his choices. He obsessively navigates a tortured maze of Sam's radical friends, lovers, accomplices, prison mates, FBI agents, lawyers, and even the New York State Trooper who murdered him at Attica State Penitentiary, 1971, each of whom tells only part of the truth, at best.
"What does the fabled Sixties mean to the children of the enflamed radicals? The aptly named "American Time Bomb" is one tour-de-force answer. I couldn't put down this masterpiece of combined historical sleuthing and self-reflection."
--Mark Rudd was a founder of the radical Weather Underground, a federal fugitive for seven and a half years.
“Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife.” 22 Genesis 7. American Time Bomb is Isaac’s account. It differs dramatically from the authorized version.
--Ron Kuby, Chicago 7 attorney
AUTHOR BIO
Joshua Melville grew up in New York and graduated from The High School of Performing Arts, appearing in the 1980 movie, “Fame.” He has written and produced screenplays for independent films, has had scripts optioned by major Hollywood producers, and wrote for a web TV show and a local TV talk show when he lived in Miami.
In the 1980s and ’90s Melville worked as a recording engineer and record producer in New York. His combined work with Grammy Award-winning recording artists earned him several Platinum records throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Today, Melville is an artists’ rights activist, a go-to music business expert and litigation consultant. Under the pseudonym of Moses Avalon, he is the author of five top selling music industry references. His first book, Confessions Of A Record Producer (BackBeat Books/Hal Leonard Publishing), is required or recommended reading in the music business curriculum of many schools, including, UCLA, Loyola, Fullsail and NYU. Melville is a court-recognized music business expert in New York, California, Florida, Puerto Rico and New York Federal Court and he has acted in an advisory capacity to multiple State Attorney General Offices and the California State Senate Judiciary Committee in Sacramento. His award winning website, which discusses controversial issues in the music business and his advocacy efforts can be visited at www.MosesAvalon.com. As Moses Avalon, he is a regular columnist for EQ, ALARM, and other industry magazines. His blog, MOSES SUPPOSES, reaches over 13,000 direct subscribers and approximately 50,000 readers though syndication. He has appeared on Court TV, MSNBC, CNN Money Line, Bill O’Reilly and other national TV shows. He is also a sought-after consultant and artists’ rights activist who has lectured multiple times about the music business at Harvard Law, NYU, UCLA, and dozens of other venues.
Melville was the first non-attorney to lecture on the ins and outs of recording contracts at the Chicago Bar, the Ohio Bar, and both Los Angeles and Florida Continuing Legal Education (CLE) groups.
As Moses Avalon, Melville has been a featured guest in over 100 national radio interviews, and has been quoted in articles appearing in such publications as: The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Hollywood Reporter, The Miami Herald, The Baltimore Sun, LA Weekly, New Times, Knoxville News and The San Francisco Chronicle. Syndicated Articles written as Moses Avalon have appeared in dozens of on-line and print publications.
Josh Melville lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Cindy and their two children Aja and Jack.
Joshua Melville grew up in New York and graduated from The High School of Performing Arts, appearing in the 1980 movie, “Fame.” He has written and produced screenplays for independent films, has had scripts optioned by major Hollywood producers, and wrote for a web TV show and a local TV talk show when he lived in Miami.
In the 1980s and ’90s Melville worked as a recording engineer and record producer in New York. His combined work with Grammy Award-winning recording artists earned him several Platinum records throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Today, Melville is an artists’ rights activist, a go-to music business expert and litigation consultant. Under the pseudonym of Moses Avalon, he is the author of five top selling music industry references. His first book, Confessions Of A Record Producer (BackBeat Books/Hal Leonard Publishing), is required or recommended reading in the music business curriculum of many schools, including, UCLA, Loyola, Fullsail and NYU. Melville is a court-recognized music business expert in New York, California, Florida, Puerto Rico and New York Federal Court and he has acted in an advisory capacity to multiple State Attorney General Offices and the California State Senate Judiciary Committee in Sacramento. His award winning website, which discusses controversial issues in the music business and his advocacy efforts can be visited at www.MosesAvalon.com. As Moses Avalon, he is a regular columnist for EQ, ALARM, and other industry magazines. His blog, MOSES SUPPOSES, reaches over 13,000 direct subscribers and approximately 50,000 readers though syndication. He has appeared on Court TV, MSNBC, CNN Money Line, Bill O’Reilly and other national TV shows. He is also a sought-after consultant and artists’ rights activist who has lectured multiple times about the music business at Harvard Law, NYU, UCLA, and dozens of other venues.
Melville was the first non-attorney to lecture on the ins and outs of recording contracts at the Chicago Bar, the Ohio Bar, and both Los Angeles and Florida Continuing Legal Education (CLE) groups.
As Moses Avalon, Melville has been a featured guest in over 100 national radio interviews, and has been quoted in articles appearing in such publications as: The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Hollywood Reporter, The Miami Herald, The Baltimore Sun, LA Weekly, New Times, Knoxville News and The San Francisco Chronicle. Syndicated Articles written as Moses Avalon have appeared in dozens of on-line and print publications.
Josh Melville lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Cindy and their two children Aja and Jack.
