Welcome to my website.
Below, you'll find my library including 13 fiction and three non-fiction titles. All my works of fiction were written following my retirement after 60 years as a broadcast journalist. All are available exclusively on Amazon.com in paperback, audio book, or e-book formats which can be accessed through the blue buttons on each page. DM
Embedded Files
An alarming number of female television personalities across the country are victims of what appear to be random killings. But the similarities in these cases are striking. Are they connected? If so, who is doing it and why? Two police officers from separate cities, and a reporter working with them, set out on a multi-state investigation seeking to answer the questions.
The vast majority of police officers in this country are dedicated public servants and adhere to the motto “Protect and Serve.” Some are not, as far too many headlines have told us over the years. So, what if technological breakthroughs, designed in part to assist the police, are misused and abused by the police themselves? Imagine the kinds of things that could lead to?
Seeking Susan becomes a near obsession for two investigators suspicious of a series of hospital deaths in which a dozen elderly people died of the same cause in quick succession. Coincidence, or something sinister? They believe nurse Susan Betterson may know. But she’s disappeared. Their search leads them to St. Louis, Kansas City, the Philippines and San Francisco. Do they find her? Read Seeking Susan to find out.
Available exclusively at Amazon.com
Passages is the story of two people whose disparate lives began thousands of miles apart. She survived a Nazi death squad. He dodged mobster hitmen. But time, circumstance and danger brought their lives together to face villains from the past.
Available Now
The wounds we suffer are often unseen. Some are wounded by humiliation and animosity simply because they are seen as different. Others are wounded by the trauma from events over which they had no control. This is a story of both.
A child is awakened by the nighttime screams of a neighbor reliving the worst of the war that has just ended. Twenty-five years later, the two meet again in a world that has changed. But, have they?
A baby’s first days of life begin when his father puts him on the table in a high stakes poker game. Where does a kid go from that kind of a start? In Alex Menteur’s case, it went into the world of television news…sharp elbows and all. The objective? Success. The strategy? Whatever it takes.
Members of the high school class of 1987 meet at their 35-th reunion. They continue to wonder what happened to a popular classmate, Tommy Simon, who disappeared on graduation night. Does one of the classmates have the answer?
RADIOLAND
RADIOLAND
Was Burton McGraw really present at historic world events, popular radio broadcasts, or sensational newspaper stories? Did media have the power to transport him and make him a witness to major historic events? Was he time traveling? Dreaming? Hallucinating? Or was he held captive by what he called “Radioland?”
Barry White is a retired police detective, a "dick" in the jargon of the business. He looks for missing persons, unfaithful spouses, runaways. He's asked to investigate drug use at an exclusive school and finds himself in the middle of a teenage sex orgy. And, he has the photographs to prove it. That unleashes a multi-million dollar blackmail scheme and murder. So, why was he branded "one lucky dick?"
Europe in the early 1960’s was rife with international intrigue. Reporter Hank Tollar looks into the shadows, and finds spies, assassins, and secret agents, falls in love with a woman who has mysterious motives, and is challenged by an American consular official who is not exactly what he claims to be.
Two brutal murders and a dead end. Veteran homicide detective Frank Clemente has little to go on but clings to some tenuous threads that take the reader from Nazi Germany, and its Holocaust horrors, to 21st century St. Louis and a reaffirmation that time does not heal all wounds.
Tom “Trav” McGee is an 80 year old retired journalist called upon by an old colleague to help her find, or have declared dead, her long missing husband. If he’s dead, it has to be official before she can collect insurance. Against his better instincts, McGee agrees to help. It puts him on a circuitous path that leads to an international illicit opioid operation. He’s 80! What in the world is he doing in the middle of all of this? That’s what he wants to know
Secrets
A young skyjacker bails out of a commercial airliner with a million dollars in cash. He lands in the desert and is arrested two days later. He is tried and sentenced to a long prison term. But, what happened to the money? That’s what everyone is asking. Only he knows. It’s his secret.
MEDIA COVERAGE
Interview with the author and John Michael Marty of WSMI Radio
Television interview about "Secrets"
Television interview about "Secrets"
Non-fiction Titles
A memoir reflecting half a century in journalism including covering the Cold War, Civil Rights, national politics, and Miss Nude America.
A memoir reflecting half a century in journalism including covering the Cold War, Civil Rights, national politics, and Miss Nude America.
This is a humorous spoof of all those "how to" books. Basically, the idea is to "correct" an obvious faux pas, or to provide excuses to get you out of awkward situations.
Coming of Age II is an updated and revised edition of my 2018 title...Coming of Age...Liver Spots and All. It's a humorous look at aging. Yes, there are some things to laugh about.
Contact information: Don Marsh @ dwmarsh1@att.net
Amazon.com
Reviews & Comments
Passages
Just finished Passages! Loved it!!
Beth Perez Martin (via Facebook)
The Fabulist
Once again I enjoyed one of author Don Marsh's novels. Was aware that your career was a dog eat dog work place . I hope you didn’t get or have to give too many shark bites.
Lee, Virginia
The Reunion
Just finished reading Don Marsh's newest novel, The Reunion. If you're looking for a bit of Agatha Christie-ish Whodunit (or did ANYBODY Dunit), you might pick this one up. A collection of odd characters, a high school reunion and a mystery: What DID become of 18-year-old Tommy Simon who vanished the night of his high school graduation party? I'm not telling. Thanks, Don, for a fun read.
Bill Smith, St Louis
The Reunion
This is one helluva mystery with characters created by Mr. Marsh that we went to high school with. Totally amazing and totally engaging. I lost sleep again!!!
Bob Winters, St Louis
The Reunion
Just finished The Reunion...Loved it.
Mary Kay Jung, St Louis
Radioland
Fabulous. Loved it!
Bob Winters, St. Louis
One Lucky Dick
Your writing makes me feel like I am part of the story right away. Very user friendly
Lee Prior, Vienna, VA
One Lucky Dick
St. Louis Post Dispatch
Seems that nothing can stop Don Marsh from writing.
The longtime local television and radio broadcaster has just released "One Lucky Dick," a novel about a private detective — or "dick," in the parlance of pulp fiction and film noir — who finds himself embroiled with sex, drugs, blackmail and murder.
This marks the fifth novel from Marsh, who made his fiction debut in September 2021 with "A Wink and a Nod." In the following 14 months, he then published "The Damned and the Doomed," "Secrets" and "The Shadow Knows."
"I’m having fun in this new career, inventing plots and people," Marsh said.
He also has written three non-fiction books, including a memoir titled "Coming of Age, Liver Spots and All."Marsh began his STL broadcasting career in 1971 at KTVI (Channel 2), where he was a main news anchor until 1994. He worked at KDNL (Channel 30) until 1998. From 2005 to 2019, he was a show host at KWMU (90.7 FM).
The Shadows Know
I enjoyed it so much that I had trouble putting it down - read it from cover to cover in what seemed like two very brief sessions. I liked the complexity of the story line and the characters. It was interesting, too, to note the significant amount of historical detail and references in this book. It added a lot to my interest and enjoyment. It was a very enjoyable read!
JimWolf...Pittsburgh, Jan. 2022
St. LouisPost Dispatch
By Harry Levins Special to the
Post-Dispatch
“The Shadows Know”
A novel by Don Marsh
Early in his long career as a St. Louis radio and television newsman, Don Marsh signed on as a reporter in what was then West Germany with AFN, the Armed Forces Network.
AFN gave GIs stationed in Germany an electronic taste of home. AFN gave Marsh a real-life taste of life in 1960s Germany — a taste he puts to the test in his latest thriller, “The Shadows Know.”
Cast as the hero is Hank Tollar, a pencil-and-pad reporter for the Stars and Stripes, the daily newspaper for GIs abroad. In a complicated plot, Tollar finds himself inside the middle of a violent campaign by French terrorists in Germany to oust Charles de Gaulle and return Algeria to French rule.
Marsh’s wildly improbable plot ranges across Germany and into France, then winds up in combat in Vietnam after a brief layover in Baltimore. Readers will find themselves entangled in a side plot involving hero Tollar’s relationship with a strikingly attractive German-Czech woman who has secrets of her own.
Still, give Marsh credit for his take on life in a West Germany with too many bad memories. As a German photographer tells newcomer Tollar: “As you get to know more and more people, you won’t find any who will admit to any Nazi connections … family … friends. They don’t even admit having fought against the Allies. Everyone I talk to fought the Russians on the Eastern Front. I guarantee you the people in the East are saying they fought against the Allies.”
I just finished your book last night... I enjoyed it very much... good story, Learned some history, well written !!
Ray Crosta...New Jersey, Jan. 2022
Secrets
Allison
Spellbinding. Once again, Don Marsh has written a compelling story that the reader can't put down.
August 2, 2021
Format : Paperback | Verified Purchase
The Damned and the Doomed
I’ve had this book on my agenda to read, and I finally started on it two days ago. I had no idea when I got it started how it was going to drag me in and hold my attention so well. You know I’ve seen documentaries I’ve seen movies about the camps ups, the horrible atrocities against the Jews Jews, and Nazi persecution. But your book has brought me into an understanding like I never had before. I certainly can’t call it. A fun read, but certainly a read that I needed to experience. It may just be a mystery, but to me the education has made it so much more. Don, this is really a terrific book. Thanks for writing it.
John Michael Marty
Litchfield, IL
The Damned and the Doomed
Mark J. Bogart
Great Novel. Well written story that can not be put down with unforeseen twist at end. Look forward to the author’s next book. I highly recommend.
June 10, 2021
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The Damned and the Doomed
Larry B
A great book that proves history repeats itself if you aren’t careful.
Overall, I liked the book-I thought it was very interesting and it kept me in suspense throughout!
May 20, 2021
The Damned and the Doomed
Format : Paperback | Verified Purchase
An excellent book with vivid descriptions and historically correct. A gripping story that was hard to put down. You can tell the author spent a lot of time in Germany.
The Damned and the Doomed
Amazon Customer
Historical and present-day intrigue
April 1, 2021
A Wink and a Nod
Eric von Schrader
A Crime Novel That Sneaks Up on You
December 15, 2020
This novel begins with an unusual premise: a narrator and protagonist who is 80 years old. This may not sound promising, but it works. The first third of the book unspools the story, a woman looking for help with finding out what happened to her missing husband, and introduces a range of characters who surround the disappearance.
Things get really interesting when narration switches to some of those characters, who share their perspectives on events and each other. Secrets and betrayals emerge. Then, by the end, there is, of course, a twist.
As I got into A Wink and a Nod, I found myself wanting to stay up a bit later each night to see where it was going.
An enjoyable mystery in the hardbitten tradition.
A Wink and a Nod
John Marty
Terrific crime novel with a twist
December 2, 2020
Don Marsh has written a page turner! Characters you’ll love and a story to keep you engaged til the surprising end!
Format : Paperback | Verified Purchase
Coming of Age, Liver Spots & All: A Humorous Look at the Wonders of Getting Old
David Cohen
A different view on aging
October 6, 2018
Format : Paperback | Verified Purchase
Don is a friend and a former colleague. His writing is sharp, the book is entertaining and his sense of observation actions is as keen as ever. I loved this book
Coming of Age, Liver Spots & All: A Humorous Look at the Wonders of Getting Old
Roger W. Bailey
Very entertaining for those of us over 60 and anyone hoping to live longer.
We'll all get here ( if we live long enough)
September 21, 2018
Format : Paperback | Verified
Coming of Age, Liver Spots & All: A Humorous Look at the Wonders of Getting Old
Larry B
I must say what a fun read it was
June 20, 2018
Format : Paperback | Verified Purchase
I just finished reading Don Marsh’s “Coming of Age.. Liver Spots & All”. As a man who “came of age” a while ago, I must say what a fun read it was. The book is not only informational but Marsh has a good sense of humor. It is nice to find out I’m not making this part of the journey of life solo. I feel like part of a special, but dwindling group. This book confirmed an ending passage from the “Desiderata” which says, “With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy”.
Coming of Age, Liver Spots & All: A Humorous Look at the Wonders of Getting Old
Kindle Customer-- August 5, 2018
He is best known now for his radio interviews on KWMU's St. Louis on the Air
Coming of Age, Liver Spots & All: A Humorous Look at the Wonders of Getting Old
August 09, 2018
Times Newspapers
"Old age ain't for sissies" — that axiom may seem trite and overused, but Don Marsh makes a convincing case for the truth of the matter in his new book, "Coming of Age, Liver Spots & All."
At age 80, Marsh has the experience and senior discount "creds" to write all 36 chapters of this book. That comes through as he mixes personal anecdotes, often very humorous, with worthwhile advice for those who have not yet come to terms with the alarming number of candles on the old birthday cake.
"Getting old can be tough," said Marsh. "It's just not a merry-go-round ride. I've had a couple of surgeries – a couple of scares. But I wanted to write this book with some humor to make it all palatable. There's a lot that's laughable at this stage of life.
"I'm amused by all the TV ads now for drugs and pills that will help prolong your life," noted Marsh. "Then they add all the disclaimers about possible dangerous side effects. You come to realize that trying to take care of yourself could get you killed."
Marsh has been a journalist for most of his long life. He is best known now for his radio interviews on KWMU's, "St. Louis on the Air," which airs on weekdays at noon. Before that, he was a respected evening TV news anchor in St. Louis where he has covered some of the region's major events, including the incredible flood of a quarter century ago.
DON MARSH Coming Of Age, Liver Spots & All (click for larger version)
Marsh also has been a familiar face in several Gateway City neighborhoods. He and his wife, Julie, raised a family in Webster Groves where they lived for 35 years. They have since taken up residence in the Central West End and now in the Lafayette Square area.
One chapter of Marsh's book talks about how hard it is to discard things when it's time to move and to downsize. He calls "acquiring stuff" to be one of the troubling downsides of longevity. Get rid of it, Marsh counsels in a rather harsh, matter-of-fact fashion.
"The kids don't want that crap," Marsh writes. "It means nothing to them. And, truth be known, the very first thing they will do when the time comes, is toss it. Save them the trouble."
Failure to get rid of the old photos, 45 rpm records, vintage furniture, army uniforms and framed letters can be difficult for oldsters. Do it. Don't store it. That may tempt the kids to put you in storage. It happens, Marsh warns.
Retirement: A Final Curtain?
According to Marsh, a worthwhile retirement takes some thought and some planning. The final curtain can come down quickly if there are no plans for part-time work, volunteering and keeping a sense of purpose.
"You owe it to your wife, if you're an old guy," said Marsh. "Do something. If you just sit around and read the obituaries to make sure you are not there, at some point your wife is going to ask who that lunkhead on the couch is."
In the chapter, "Mirror, Mirror," the veteran reporter laments the scourge of balding, broken arteries, sagging jowls, double chins, nose hairs, ear hairs, wrinkles, crinkled skin on scaly forearms and much more.
"Soft lighting is the only way to go in any room in which there is a mirror," according to Marsh. "It ain't pretty to see all that sagging, wrinkled skin, and atrophied muscle presented in one package framed by thinning, graying hair and anchored by swollen ankles. No selfies here, thank you very much."
A young Don Marsh interviews American pianist Van Cliburn in May 1963 in Munich. Marsh was a civilian reporter with the American Forces Network. After talking for several minutes, Marsh asked Cliburn if he ever played the piano alone and tickled the ivories with a little jazz or popular music. "He looked at me, stunned, put a long finger on my microphone, got up and walked away. End of interview," Marsh recalled. (click for larger version)
Marsh discourages older folks from acquiring smart phones and the latest computer technology, unless he insists, you are willing to take instructions from some 13-year old.
"I do admit that I have a smart phone for emergencies and a GPS," said Marsh. "I think they work, because I have never had to use the phone in an emergency and I have never gotten lost and had to use the GPS."
On the more serious side, Marsh uses his reportorial skills to mine advice for seniors – advice for avoiding scams and preparing for crossing the bar to the afterlife, whatever that may be. He gives a number of end-of-life options.
"The last thing most rational people feel comfortable with is envisioning their own lifeless body and its disposal," notes Marsh. "But we all know, we can't just let our loved ones sit us up in a chair by the fireplace and stay there forever. I don't think we need to go into why."
Seniors become more vulnerable to scams as they age. Marsh catalogs a long list of potential predatory schemes: phone sales frauds, reverse mortgages, extended care nursing home policies, free gift and vacation swindles. Read the fine print, even if that requires a magnifying glass.
Millennials & Crab Apples
Marsh's chapters on the strange ways of millennial kids and the antics of aging crab apples are among his funniest.
He seems alternately amused and disturbed by the number of millennials now living in their parents' basements. He is alternately mystified and horrified by the younger generation's obsession with mobile technology.
"We don't have the same multi-tasking skills of millennials who can text while walking through Best Buy, riding a bike or, shudder, while driving at 60 miles an hour on a crowded highway ... these are skills to be admired or feared," Marsh writes.
Despite some real misgivings about the millennials, Marsh respects their openness and tolerance. He advises that seniors need to get with the program. Seniors need to curb their resistance to change and accept equality and compassion when it comes to race, ethnicity and sexual identity.
An obvious case in point: the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and LGBT movements that are in full flower. The train has left the station, and there is no turning back. Same sex marriage is part of today's new world, according to Marsh. Deal with it.
Marsh said he sees entirely too many older white men grumping and trying to take America back to what it was in the 1950s. It's futile. It's embarrassing.
"Is it any wonder that today's younger people think that we are crabby, cranky, cantankerous, stubborn and intolerant. They are not much interested in the way things used to be. They are more interested in what's happening now, and what's going to be," Marsh observes.
"They will make of the future what they will," he adds. "Just like we did."
How to Be Rude Politely
Larry Underwood
Hilariously Skillful Fibbing
July 29, 2010
Format : Paperback | Verified Purchase
I read somewhere that the average person tells a least a couple of lies a day; most of them fall into the "white lie" category, which the author of this book, Don Marsh, may be considered the King. Marsh's handy guide to getting out of unwanted social engagements is hilarious, but if executed with a straight face, may be quite useful for those trying to avoid too much annoying public interaction.
Let's face it; when faced with the prospect of going to some stupid dinner party with people you really don't want to see, or hanging out at home to watch Seinfeld re-runs, the obvious choice is to be the master of our own domain! If you saw that particular episode, thanks for bearing with me; I couldn't resist.
Some of the wonderfully elaborate excuses from the droll Mr Marsh are brilliant, if you have the ability to avoid blowing your cover by cracking up in front of the target; therein lies my biggest challenge. This may take some practice before I can use it on a real, live person. In the meantime, this is a real eye-opener for me; I've heard many similar stories from my so-called friends after I've offered them opportunities to attend my rollicking parties over the years, as they've cleverly declined, "due to circumstances beyond their control". Hmm.
Oh well; if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
How to Be Rude Politely
tom bryson
hilarious
June 30, 2010
Format : Paperback | Verified Purchase
Just finished "How to be Rude." What a terrific read...lots of laughs and some remarkable episodes like the ones I've personally lived through. Loved the one about visiting the couple with the new baby.
How to Be Rude Politely
Kindle Customer
Compares to Robert Benchley
May 30, 2010
Format : Paperback
How to Be Rude Politely
Written by Mickey McTague, a former writer for Bob Hope.
"Your laugh out loud (and I did this on the bus while reading your book) with illustrations by my friend, Daniel Pearlmutter, was such an entertaining and delightful read!
Your writing style, and thinking, brings to mind one of my favorite humorists, Robert Benchley (The Treasurer's Report, THE BENCHLEY SHORTS in movies) and even to some degree, S.J. Pereleman, who wrote for the Marx Brothers: there's no doubt Don you could have written comedy for Bob Hope, as I did years ago."
How to Be Rude Politely
William W. Marsh
A save-your-reputation handbook
May 7, 2010
Format : Paperback | Verified Purchase
This book could be a face-saving reference work for those who occasionally find themselves in awkward situations that call for quick maneuvering, maybe even a fib or two, to salvage a friendship, a job, or even a marriage. This book also covers situations that call for sticking it to people who deserve it but whose friendship you'd like, for one reason or another, to preserve. Read it in one sitting or in segments, but, be sure to keep it handy for that special situation when there's no one around to throw you a lifeline and you've got to rely completely on your own wile. A word of caution, however: don't read it in a crowded waiting room (as I did) or anyplace within earshot of someone you'd like to impress with your savoir faire. I found myself chuckling uncontrollably, unable to stifle an occasional guffaw, and finally forced to leave the room bent over, feigning a coughing fit. (The author's next book should contain a tip or two on how to escape terminal embarrassment in such situations.)
Flash Frames: Journey of a Journeyman Journalist
Live VP Las Vegas
Must read for inspiration not just on the professional level but personal as well
Flash Frames: Journey of a Journeyman Journalist
April 12, 2019
Format : Paperback
What I like about the book which I read 11 years ago when it came out, was learning about how Don got to be one of the most light people ever on st-louis television. As far as I was concerned he was Mr. Everyman. Serious, humourous, tongue in cheek, you name it, Don had a broad audience and that should include all of us reading his book.
Flash Frames: Journey of a Journeyman Journalis
Kindle Customer
Good Companion to Roger Mudd
June 27, 2008
Format : Paperback
I just wanted readers who are interested in media issues, comment and critique to know that this book is an interesting companion read with Roger Mudd's "The Place to Be." His book centers on his professional rise at CBS and includes the various trials and tribulations he faced at the network level. Flash Frames covers the same period as Mudd with remarkable similarity as to the kinds of stories covered and how they were covered. Mudd's book, on the one hand, tells his story from the network perspective. Flash Frames from the perspective of journalism on the local level. Reading both will give readers a vivid sense of how news, news management and journalists evolved over the last 50 years resulting, for better or worse, in what news as presented on the network and local level is today.
Flash Frames: Journey of a Journeyman Journalist
Larry Underwood
A Fascinating Journey
July 30, 2010
Format : Paperback | Verified Purchase
Don Marsh is a journalist who has been practicing his craft since the early days of the Kennedy Administration. His recollections are a fascinating series of "flash frames" which capture the essence of his journalistic career, from his apprenticeship as a young man with the American Forces Network, stationed in Frankfurt, Germany, to his current location, covering local St Louis news since the early 1970s.
Often, the "local stories" Marsh covered had national and international significance, and Marsh did his job with great skill and professionalism, doing everything in his power to present each story in a fair and objective manner. Even the assignments that were somewhat dubious (interviewing Miss Nude America in all her glory, for example), are given their due, and his whimsical spin on some of the more outrageous cast of characters he's dealt with over the years is refreshingly honest. Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin are portrayed as being a couple of self-absorbed jerks (no surprise here), but Marsh does this in an even-handed, and matter of fact way; there's no ax to grind; no hidden agendas; this guy is genuine, and his professionalism always shines through as he takes the reader through each story.
In the end, it's clear Don Marsh has had a very remarkable career; his self-efacing perspective of his accomplishments as a "journeyman journalist" are far understated. He's witnessed a great deal of history over the past half century, and he's done a highly professional job of presenting the events to his viewing audience in an objective and even-handed manner. There's no hype with this journalist; just professional reporting from a class act.
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