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Don Winslow

ドン・ウィンスロー

Don Winslow

Pen Names: MacDonald Lloyd（Used as a pseudonym for the novel A Winter Spy / Isle of Joy）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1953-10-31 （Staten Island, New York City, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Perryville, Rhode Island (raised) → Julian, California (residence / writing base) → New York (birthplace) → South Africa (worked as a State Department analyst) → Kenya (worked as a safari guide)

Career

Occupations
novelist, screenwriter, political activist, former private investigator, former State Department analyst
Active Years
1991-

Education

University of Nebraska–Lincoln
African history (major)
Degree: B.A.
Country: United States
Majored in African history as an undergraduate
—
Military history (master's)
Degree: M.A.
Earned a master's degree in military history (institution not specified in source)

Awards

Raymond Chandler Award
2012
Organization: Courmayeur Noir Festival
Result: 受賞
RBA Prize for Crime Writing
2015
Work: The Cartel
Organization: RBA (Spain)
Result: 受賞
Ian Fleming Steel Dagger
2016
Work: The Cartel
Organization: Crime Writers' Association (CWA)
Result: 受賞
Los Angeles Times Book Prize
2015
Work: The Cartel
Organization: Los Angeles Times
Result: 受賞
Edgar Award (finalist)
1992
Work: A Cool Breeze on the Underground
Category: Best First
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: 最終候補
Shamus Award (finalist / winner)
2000
Work: California Fire and Life
Category: Best Novel
Organization: Private Eye Writers of America
Result: 受賞（2000）・過去に最終候補あり

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Cartel

2015 Crime fiction / Noir

The second installment of Winslow's epic Cartel Trilogy, portraying the violent conflict between Mexican drug cartels and DEA agents, exploring corruption, vengeance and the human cost of the drug war.

drug warcorruptionrevengemorality and justice

The Power of the Dog

2005 Crime fiction / Historical noir elements

Follows DEA agent Art Keller in a long vendetta against a Sinaloa-like cartel; praised for its large-scale, realistic depiction of the drug trade.

cartel dynamicsrevengestate vs non-state actors

Savages

2010 Crime fiction

Tells the story of California-based drug dealers who clash with a Mexican cartel; a commercial success that was adapted into a film.

friendshipviolencedrug trade
Adaptations
  • [Film] Savages (film) / Oliver Stone (2012)

The Force

2017 Police procedural / Crime fiction

A novel about deep corruption within the NYPD, examining institutional violence and moral compromise.

police corruptionpower and ethicscycle of violence

City on Fire

2022 Crime family saga

The first book in a planned trilogy about feuding crime families in 1980s–90s Providence; critically acclaimed and optioned for TV.

familycrime feudurban American history

Bibliography

  • A Cool Breeze on the Underground (1991)
  • The Trail to Buddha's Mirror (1992)
  • Way Down on the High Lonely (1993)
  • A Long Walk Up the Water Slide (1994)
  • While Drowning in the Desert (1996)
  • Isle of Joy (A Winter Spy) (1996)
  • The Death and Life of Bobby Z (1997)
  • California Fire and Life (1999)
  • The Power of the Dog (2005)
  • The Winter of Frankie Machine (2006)
  • The Dawn Patrol (2008)
  • The Gentlemen's Hour (2009)
  • Savages (2010)
  • The Kings of Cool (2012)
  • The Cartel (2015)
  • The Force (2017)
  • Broken (2020)
  • City on Fire (2022)
  • City of Dreams (2023)
  • City in Ruins (2024)

Adaptations

  • Savages (2012 film, co-written by Winslow)
  • The Death and Life of Bobby Z (2007 film)
  • The Border (TV adaptation ordered by FX; pilot produced)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
hard-boiled, realism-oriented prosecinematic scene construction and fast pacingjournalistic, research-based sense of authenticity
Recurring Motifs
the drug war and its human costinstitutional corruptionrevenge and redemptionUS–Mexico border issues

Legacy

Don Winslow is a leading contemporary American crime novelist whose works on the drug war and police corruption have earned international acclaim and commercial success. His awards and adaptations raised public attention to genre fiction; later in his career he shifted focus to political activism and developed significant online influence.

Quotes

  • "You can build the biggest, best, most beautiful wall – it doesn't matter if the gates are open, and the gates are open 24/7."
    Source: The Guardian (interview) (2017)

Trivia

  • An avid bird watcher.
  • Announced retirement from book writing in 2022 to focus on political videos and activism.
  • Political videos released on social media have amassed hundreds of millions of views (reported over 250 million as of April 2022).
  • Savages (2010) was adapted into a film; Winslow co-wrote the screenplay.