Lisa Belkin Explained

Lisa Belkin is an American journalist and author.^[1] She is best known for Show Me a Hero: A Tale of Murder, Suicide, Race, and Redemption, her 1999 book about a public housing battle in Yonkers, New York.^[2]

Show Me a Hero received positive reviews. Publishers Weekly wrote that it was a "vivid slice of urban politics, racial tension and the difficulties inherent in realizing the American dream."^[3] Kirkus Reviews declared it a "riveting policy chronicle and cautionary tale that illustrates the urgency of rethinking our public housing policy."^[4] The New York Times praised Belkin for maintaining a reportorial objectivity.^[5] Show Me a Hero served as the basis for the 2015 HBO miniseries, starring Oscar Isaac.^[6] Her first book, First, Do No Harm: The Dramatic Story of Real Doctors and Patients Making Impossible Choices at a Big-City Hospital, was a New York Times 1993 Notable Book of the Year.^[7]

Belkin has worked as a journalist for Yahoo News, The New York Times, and HuffPost.^{[8] [9] [10]} She hosted a radio show on XM, an outgrowth of her "Life's Work" column.^{[11] [12]}

She is an adjunct faculty member at Columbia's School of Journalism.^[13]

Books

• First, Do No Harm: The Dramatic Story of Real Doctors and Patients Making Impossible Choices at a Big-City Hospital (1993)
• Show Me a Hero: A Tale of Murder, Suicide, Race, and Redemption (1999)
• Life's Work: Confessions of an Unbalanced Mom (2002)
• Tales From the Times (2004), editor
• Genealogy of a Murder: Four Generations, Three Families, One Fateful Night (2023)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Lisa Belkin Website. December 5, 2014. Lisa Belkin.
2. Web site: Show Me a Hero by Lisa Belkin. Pan Macmillan.
3. Web site: Nonfiction Book Review: Show Me a Hero: A Tale of Murder, Suicide, Race, and Redemption by Lisa Belkin, Author Little Brown and Company $24.5 (320p) ISBN 978-0-316-08805-3. PublishersWeekly.com.
4. Web site: SHOW ME A HERO by Lisa Belkin | Kirkus Reviews. www.kirkusreviews.com.
5. Web site: A Costly Noble Idea. archive.nytimes.com.
6. Web site: Show Me A Hero. HBO.
7. Web site: Notable Books of the Year 1993. December 5, 1993. NYTimes.com.
8. Web site: Lisa Belkin, Chief National Correspondent for Yahoo. www.yahoo.com.
9. Web site: Lisa Belkin. August 15, 2015. NYTimes.com.
10. Web site: Lisa Belkin | HuffPost. www.huffpost.com.
11. Web site: 'Show Me a Hero' writer bringing story to NW, AZ Jewish Post. Arizona Jewish Post.
12. Web site: Lisa Belkin | Creative Nonfiction. www.creativenonfiction.org.
13. Web site: Lisa Belkin | School of Journalism. journalism.columbia.edu.