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Peter Maas (June 27, 1929 – August 23, 2001) was an American journalist and author. He was born in New York City and attended Duke University. Maas had Dutch and Irish ancestry.
He was the biographer of Frank Serpico, a New York City Police officer who testified against police corruption. He is also the author of the number one New York Times bestseller, Underboss, about the life and times of Sammy "The Bull" Gravano.
His other notable bestsellers include The Valachi Papers, Manhunt, and In a Child's Name, recipient of the 1991 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime book. The Valachi Papers, which told the story of Mafia turncoat Joseph Valachi, is widely considered to be a seminal work, as it spawned an entire genre of books written by or about former Mafiosi. In May 1966, Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach had asked a district court to stop Maas from publishing his book on Valachi—the first time that a U.S. Attorney General had ever tried to ban a book. Maas was never permitted to publish his edition of Valachi's original memoirs, but was allowed to publish a third-person account based upon interviews he himself had conducted with Valachi. These formed the basis of the book The Valachi Papers, which was published in 1968 by Putnam.
He made a brief cameo as himself in an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street. In 1972 Maas attempted to convince retired mob boss Frank Costello to allow him to write a biography of Costello's life. They had a series of interviews before Costello finally decided to agree to the months of interviews that would be required for the book. However ten days later he died of a heart attack.
Maas died in New York City, aged 72, on August 23, 2001.
Bibliography 1967The Rescuer: The Extraordinary Life of the Navy's "Swede" Momsen and His Role in an Epic Submarine Disaster. ; (Note: The Terrible Hours pulls material from this book.) 1968The Valachi Papers ; filmed as The Valachi Papers 1973Serpico: The Cop Who Defied the System ; filmed as Serpico 1974King of the Gypsies ; filmed as King of the Gypsies 1979Made in America: A Novel 1983Marie: A True Story ; filmed as Marie, winner of a Christopher Award 1986Manhunt: The Incredible Pursuit of a CIA Agent Turned Terrorist ; The story of CIA agent Edwin P. Wilson. 1989Father and Son: A Novel 1990In a Child's Name: The Legacy of a Mother's Murder ; filmed as In a Child's Name 1994China White: A Novel 1996Killer Spy: Inside Story of the FBI's Pursuit and Capture of Aldrich Ames, America's Deadliest Spy 1997Underboss 1999The Terrible Hours: The Man Behind the Greatest Submarine Rescue in History – The story of Charles Momsen's rescue of the USS Squalus.
See also Charles Momsen, the subject of Maas' book The Terrible Hours: The Man Behind the Greatest Submarine Rescue in History
References
External links
Peter Maas obituary, The New York Times, August 24, 2001.