Reese Erlich - Biography

Biography

Erlich was born and raised in Los Angeles. In 1965 he enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, and later became active in the anti-Vietnam War movement. In October 1967 Erlich and others organized Stop the Draft Week They were arrested and became known as the "Oakland Seven." In their trial they were acquitted of all charges, being successfully represented by Charles Garry.

In 1968 he first visited Cuba for the first time, which led to a continuing interest in that country that would eventually lead to a book called Dateline Havana (2009)

Erlich first worked as a staff writer and research editor for Ramparts, a national investigative reporting magazine published in San Francisco from 1963 to 1975. His magazine articles have appeared in San Francisco Magazine, California Monthly, Mother Jones, The Progressive, The Nation, and AARP's Segunda Juventud.

Erlich's book, Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn't Tell You, co-authored with Norman Solomon, became a best seller in 2003. His book, The Iran Agenda: the Real Story of U.S. Policy and the Middle East Crisis, was published in October 2007 with a foreword by Robert Scheer. In a San Francisco Chronicle book review, Ruth Rosen wrote, "Some people are treated as pariahs when they tell the truth; later, history lauds them for their courage and convictions. Reese Erlich is one of those truth tellers." Erlich's book "Dateline Havana: The Real Story of US Policy and the Future of Cuba" came out in January 2009. Erlich worked with Walter Cronkite on four public radio documentaries. Cronkite has written, "Reese Erlich is a great radio producer and a great friend."

Since 1995, Erlich has produced Jazz Perspectives for public radio stations and online through Jazzcorner.com. Jazz Perspectives are produced features profiling jazz, blues and Latin musicians.

Erlich is listed in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the Media.