A chronicler of American crime and wealth with few peers, Dominick Dunne was a best-selling and controversial author and journalist whose coverage of such sensational spectacles as the O.J. Simpson and Claus von Bulow murder trials brought him to national prominence. An affluent but unhappy childhood had given him insight into the emotional landscape of the society figures he would cover later in life, but he began his professional life as a writer and producer for television and feature films. Bouts with alcoholism forced him to re-evaluate his life, and he launched a second career as the
