The Work

"In Sklar's memoir, a journalist and Oscar-nominated screenwriter reflects on his professional and personal journey....A beautifully written account of a principled life."-Kirkus, starred review

"Sklar creates a sensitive, illuminating portrait of his life through loving accounts of the people who have truly moved and changed him."-Publishers Weekly, Editor's Pick

In this moving non-fiction collection, Oscar-nominated screenwriter Sklar (JFK, with Oliver Stone) leads readers on an unpredictable personal journey through seven decades of our collective history and politics.

Sklar's wide-ranging essays take us from the hysteria and fear of the 1950s Hollywood blacklist to his collaboration with writer-director Oliver Stone on the screenplay of JFK and the glamour of the Academy Awards. From the Sixties counter culture of California to the Black Gullah-Geechee culture of a South Carolina Sea Island cut off from mainstream America. From the Japanese internment camps of World War II to the coffee fields of 1980s war-torn Nicaragua. From thoroughbred horses running at Saratoga Race Course to a mangy street dog looking for love in the zócalo of Oaxaca, Mexico. At every stop on this memorable journey, Sklar draws vivid portraits of unforgettable brave souls doing the hard work to create a more peaceful, just, and loving world.