Jennifer Toth
| Jennifer Toth | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jennifer Ninel Toth 1967 London |
| Occupation | journalist, writer |
| Notable work(s) | The Mole People |
| Spouse | Craig Whitlock (m. 1996) |
Jennifer Toth is a journalist and author.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Born in 1967 in London, she studied history, political science and philosophy in London, New York and St. Louis. After a 1987-8 internship at Gateway Heritage (now called simply Gateway), the periodical of the Missouri Historical Society, she graduated with a MA in journalism from Columbia University. 1990-2 she worked as a journalist for the Los Angeles Times in Washington, D. C. and New York, and afterwards for the Raleigh News & Observer.[1]
In 1993, she published her study entitled The Mole People: Life In The Tunnels Beneath New York City, featuring interviews with some dwellers of the "Freedom Tunnel." Allegedly, her life was threatened by one of the Mole people whom she befriended, who thought she witnessed him killing a crack addict. She consequently fled New York City.
[edit] Controversy
Some believe that her study on the lives of mole people was fabricated.
A widely-read reference to urban legends, Cecil Adams's The Straight Dope, devoted two columns to the dispute. The first,[2] published on January 9, 2004 after contact with Toth, noted the large amount of unverifiability in Toth's stories while declaring that the book's accounts seemed to be truthful. The second,[3] published on March 9, 2004 after contact with Brennan, was more skeptical of Toth's truthfulness.
The strongest criticism came from Joseph Brennan, a New York subway enthusiast who declared that "Every fact in this book that I can verify independently is wrong."[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] Bibliography
- The Mole People: Life In The Tunnels Beneath New York City (1993) (ISBN 1-55652-190-1)
- Orphans of the Living: Stories of America's Children in Foster Care (1997) (ISBN 0-684-80097-7)
- What Happened to Johnnie Jordan?: The Story of a Child Turning Violent (2002) (ISBN 0-684-85558-5)
- Bajo El Asfalto (Spanish translation of The Mole People) (2001) (ISBN 84-8109-297-5)
[edit] References
- ^ Biography from the sleeve notes of the 1994 German edition of Mole People, ISBN 3-86153-079-1
- ^ Adams, Cecil (2004-01-09). "Are there really "Mole People" living under the streets of New York City?". The Straight Dope (Chicago Reader, Inc.). http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040109.html.
- ^ Adams, Cecil (2004-03-05). "The Mole People revisited". The Straight Dope (Chicago Reader, Inc.). http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040305.html.
- ^ Brennan, Joseph (1996). "Fantasy in The Mole People". Abandoned Stations. http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/mole-people.html.
[edit] External links
- Views of Freedom Tunnel, which is featured in her book
- Are there really "Mole People" living under the streets of New York City?, The Straight Dope, January 9, 2004
- The Mole People revisited, The Straight Dope, March 5, 2004
- Booknotes interview with Toth on What Happened to Johnnie Jordan? The Story of A Child Turning Violent, May 12, 2002.
