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WelcomeFINALIST: DARK OAK MYSTERY AWARD For a literate, worldly Renaissance man at San Francisco's Fairmount University, Debs Kafka sure has a lot of problems. His relationship with his intoxicating girlfriend is on the skids. He’s plagued with doubt about the academic path he’s chosen, though he’s only a thesis away from a PhD in criminology. His department chair, a Catholic priest, has just been murdered. And he can’t stop thinking about baseball. (For more, click at right) "A stellar debut. Robert Elias is a fresh new voice in a crowded field.. . The writing is smooth and nuanced and the story is fresh and vivid. It makes you hope for a sequel--and soon.” -Sheldon Siegel, New York Times bestselling author of The Confession. GREETINGS AND THANKS FOR VISITING MY WEBSITE (www.robelias.com). In my latest book, the protagonist, Debs Kafka, is a throwback who has some real reservations about modern technology. In that sense, he's my alter-ego. Thus, as a "Luddite," I'm not supposed to have a website, yet here it is. I take consolation in the words of Walt Whitman: "Do I contradict myself? Very well, then, I contradict myself." I'm a professor of politics (at the University of San Francisco) who's taken a couple of detours in the last few years. The first was to write a book about our national pastime, Baseball and the American Dream. The second, and most recent, was to put aside non-fiction publishing to write my first (mystery) novel, The Deadly Tools of Ignorance (which, by the way, is a must-buy for any self-respecting reader or library). So, my website menu might seem a little unusual, but I invite you to take a look. Under "Writings" you'll find all of my fiction and non-fiction books, as well as some shorter works and some books I'm currently writing. Under "Biography" you'll find out more than you'd ever want to know about me. Under "Academic" you'll find information about my University life, including my courses and programs. Under "Newsletter" you'll find my newsletter (surprisingly enough), to which you're welcome to subscribe Under "Baseball" you'll encounter my not-so-secret passion, including my baseball course, writings, and interviews. |
Selected WorksAuthor Events
Book Readings
Listing of upcoming bookstore appearances Mystery Fiction
The Deadly Tools of Ignorance:
A Debs Kafka Mystery
A San Francisco murder mystery set in the worlds of academia, baseball and the Catholic Church Non-Fiction
Baseball & the American Dream:
Race, Class, Gender & the American Dream
Baseball as a mirror of American society Victims Still: The Political Manipulation of Crime Victims
How U.S. victim policy serves official interests. Rethinking Peace
Strategies for peace in the post-Cold War era. The Politics of Victimization:
Victims, Victomology & Human Rights
American criminal justice from a victim perspective. The Peace Resource Book
A comprehensive guide to issues, groups, and literature The Utopian Impulse
The utopian tradition in the early twenty-first century Victims of the System: Crime Victims & Compensation in American Politics & Criminal Justice
Victim compensation as symbolic politics American Democracy Debated
Introduction to American government instructor's manual Non-Fiction Journal
Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice
A transnational quarterly of peace, human rights and development Other Writings
"Field of Dreams"
Writing my debut mystery novel Academic Essays
Listing of academic essays and articles Baseball Essays
Short works on baseball Recommended
Good Books
Fiction and non-fiction books I recommend Short Story
"The Secret Life of Leon Trotsky"
What we don't know about the Russian revolutionary Works in Progress
Books in Progress
The Empire Strikes Out; Amsterdamned; Sold on Murder; The Legacy of Baseball |
