Mitch Albom biography
Author Biography | Interview | Books by this Author | Readalikes
How to pronounce Mitch Albom: al-bum (as in record album)
Mitch Albom, 58, is a bestselling author, nationally-syndicated newspaper columnist for the Detroit Free Press, nationally-syndicated radio host for ABC and flagship station WJR-AM in Detroit, and television commentator who regularly appears on ESPN's Sports Reporters.
Mitch Albom is the author of seven books, including Tuesdays With Morrie, the New York Times bestseller that first appeared on that list in October 1997 and stayed atop the list for four straight years. Oprah Winfrey produced a major television movie for ABC based on Tuesdays With Morrie that aired in December 1999 and starred Jack Lemmon and Hank Azaria. A phenomenon in its own right, the movie was not only the most-watched on any network for that year, it also earned four Emmy Awards in 2000, including those for "Best Actor" (Lemmon) and "Best Supporting Actor" (Azaria). Tuesdays With Morrie has been turned into a play, which can be seen in theaters around the country. With more than five million copies now in print, Tuesdays With Morrie is also published in 36 countries, in 31 languages, and was a bestseller in Japan, Australia, Brazil, and England.
Albom's Tuesdays With Morrie story has been featured in many national publications, including People Magazine, TV Guide, and Redbook. Albom has also been featured on several national television programs, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, NBC's Today Show, the CBS Early Show, Larry King Live, Charlie Rose, Nightline and Good Morning America.
Albom's first novel, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, is the most successful US hardcover first adult novel ever. For One More Day debuted at No.1 on the New York Times Bestseller List and spent nine months on the list. In October 2006, For One More Day was the first book chosen by Starbucks in the newly launched Book Break Program, which also helped fight illiteracy by donating one dollar from every book sold to Jumpstart. Have a Little Faith was released in September 2009 and selected by Oprah.com as the best nonfiction book of 2009. His most recent titles, The Time Keeper and The First Phone Call from Heaven, both debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List.
In 2010, Albom was named the recipient of the Red Smith Award for lifetime achievement by the Associated Press Sports Editors.
He lives with his wife, Janine, in Detroit, MI.
Mitch Albom's website
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Mitch Albom talks about his uncle, the real life Eddie, and why he felt the need to write The Five People You Meet In Heaven as a personal tribute to Eddie.
The lead character in "The Five People You Meet In Heaven" is a grizzled war veteran named Eddie, who dies on his 83rd birthday. The character, Mitch Albom says, was inspired by his real-life uncle, Edward Beitchman, who was also a World War II veteran, who also died at 83, and also lived a life like that of the fictional character, rarely leaving his home city, and often feeling that he didn't accomplish what he should have.
Mitch Albom says.... I tell stories. For awhile I told stories through music and then I told stories in newspapers and later I told stories in books, the best known being Tuesdays with Morrie, a story about my old teacher who was living to the fullest even as he was dying.
But before I started telling stories, I heard them. My family loved to rattle them off, especially the senior members, grandparents and uncles and aunts, usually around a Thanksgiving table, always with plates of food close at hand. These were stories about family, history, war, some might have even been closer to fairy tales. Someone would inevitably say, "Oh, no, not THAT one again," but we would settle in and listen anyhow. I never minded. In fact, I loved it. Those stories made me feel part of something, gave ...
Full Interview
Books by Mitch Albom at BookBrowse
All the books below are recommended as readalikes for Mitch Albom but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
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Diana Athill
Diana Athill was born in 1917. She helped Andre Deutsch establish the publishing company that bore his name and worked as an editor for Deutsch for four decades. Athill's distinguished career as an editor is the subject of ... (more)
If you enjoyed:
Tuesdays With Morrie
Somewhere Towards the End
by Diana Athill
Joel ben Izzy
Though Joel has been telling stories all his life, he began his professional career in 1983, after graduating from Stanford with a degree in English, Creative Writing and Storytelling. After a year performing in and around ... (more)
The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness
by Joel ben Izzy
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Moonrise Over New Jessup
by Jamila Minnicks
"Jamila Minnicks pulled me into pages of history I'd never turned before."—Barbara Kingsolver
It is always darkest just before the day dawneth