MARK SHAW BOOKS
Informative • Inspiring • Controversial
Informative • Inspiring • Controversial
ABOUT MARK SHAW
Mark Shaw, a noted historian and the author of the bestselling The Reporter Who Knew Too Much chronicling the life and times and mysterious death of celebrated journalist Dorothy Kilgallen, is a former criminal defense attorney and ESPN, USA Today and ABC trial analyst for the Mike Tyson, O. J. Simpson and Kobe Bryant cases. He is also a respected investigative reporter who has published nearly 30 books including biographies of Tyson, spy Jonathan Pollard and Holocaust survivor Cecelia Rexin as well as seven touching on the JFK assassination.
Mr. Shaw’s new book, Abuse of Power: Connecting Robert Kennedy’s Assassination with the Murders of JFK and Dorothy Kilgallen Exposes Who Was Responsible and Why Sirhan Sirhan Deserves a New Trial, is being published December 2, 2025. His previous book Fighting for Justice proved through a primary source corruption within the Warren Commission (interview about book available here) while Collateral Damage connected the deaths of Marilyn Monroe, Dorothy Kilgallen and JFK. Presentations and interviews about his last four books have garnered more than 15 million YouTube views and counting.
Mark’s alma mater Purdue University is archiving his body of work alongside those of Neil Armstrong and Amelia Earhart press release. Additional information about Dorothy Kilgallen’s career is here.
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On December 15, 1985, powerful mafia don Carlos Marcello, referring to JFK’s death, told a fellow Texas prison inmate, in part, that, “Yeah, I had the son of a bitch killed.” This shocking audio-taped confession, based on the motive of revenge per FBI files released in early 2025, changes everything about not only the president’s assassination but also reveals Marcello’s complicity in the deaths of journalist Dorothy Kilgallen in 1965 and the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy three years later.
The credible audiotaped admission by Marcello validates fifteen years of research by noted historian and bestselling author Mark Shaw in his last four books as true crime meets murder mystery in this groundbreaking historical exposé where the connection between three of America’s most puzzling deaths is exposed for the first time. Shaw reveals a common sense account regarding what really happened when JFK, Kilgallen, and RFK died with the latter involving an apparent miscarriage of justice where Sirhan Sirhan may have been wrongfully convicted.
To that end, Shaw’s evidence, which may be covered up by a recent governmental investigation even though those involved are aware of Marcello’s confession, points to his use of three patsies, Lee Harvey Oswald, Kilgallen’s romantic interest Ron Pataky turned Judas, and Sirhan who served as decoys. Each was caught in the snare of this deadly mastermind when he eliminated JFK, Kilgallen, the most credible reporter to have investigated JFK’s death, and RFK while J. Edgar Hoover hid the truth by protecting Marcello from any possible investigation. Regarding Sirhan, the new evidence proves that he deserves a retrial, one that could rock the nation’s perception of historical truth.
Without question, Abuse of Power will stand the test of time as the definitive source for those seeking logical, primary source accounts of the life and times, and the deaths of three prominent American icons.
How does an explosive “whistleblower” account from a Warren Commission (WC) member never identified before destroy once and for all the biggest lie in American history, the “Oswald Alone” theory? On what basis did the member admit, “It’s more than Oswald. There is internal corruption on the Commission. I do not agree with the Report”?
Is the “whistleblower” the same one who surreptitiously passed Jack Ruby’s WC testimony to journalist Dorothy Kilgallen prior to its release date? And how did President Lyndon Johnson and J. Edgar Hoover strong arm the commission to prevent any investigation of the truth about who killed JFK and why?
Based on fifteen years of research, answers to these questions and more are uncovered in Fighting for Justice, bestselling author and noted historian Mark Shaw’s improbable journey to exposing cover-ups of the JFK assassination while proving Marilyn Monroe and Kilgallen were murdered.
Why is What’s My Line? TV star and Pulitzer-Prize-nominated investigative reporter Dorothy Kilgallen one of the most feared journalists in history? Why has her threatened exposure of the truth about the JFK assassination triggered a cover-up by at least four government agencies and resulted in abuse of power at the highest levels?
Denial of Justice—written in the spirit of the bestselling true crime murder mystery, The Reporter Who Knew Too Much—tells the inside story of why Kilgallen was such a threat leading up to her unsolved murder in 1965. Shaw includes facts that have never before been published, including eyewitness accounts of the underbelly of Kilgallen’s private life, revealing statements by family members convinced she was murdered, and shocking new information about Jack Ruby’s part in the JFK assassination that only Kilgallen knew about, causing her to be marked for danger.
Peppered with additional evidence signaling the potential motives of Kilgallen’s arch enemies J. Edgar Hoover, mobster Carlos Marcello, Frank Sinatra, her husband Richard, and her last lover, Denial of Justice adds the final chapter to the story behind why the famous journalist was killed, with no investigation to follow despite a staged death scene.
For more than fifty years, the exhaustive 18-month investigation of the JFK assassination by What's My Line? television star, celebrated journalist, and revered investigative reporter Dorothy Kilgallen has been buried due to a cover-up by those threatened with a tell-all book she was writing about the JFK assassination for Random House. When the famed journalist, called by the New York Post, "the most powerful female voice in America," was found dead in her Manhattan apartment in November 1965 of an alleged drug overdose, no investigation occurred despite a staged death scene and suspicions by those closest to her that she had been murdered.
Now the full thrust of Kilgallen's search for the truth is exposed for the first time. Relying on Kilgallen's toxic columns blasting the "Oswald Alone" theory, her flawed autopsy report and never-before-seen videotaped interviews with Kilgallen's two hairdressers, one who found her body, and Jack Ruby co-counsel Joe Tonahill, who permitted her the only interviews Ruby gave to a reporter at his trial, Mark Shaw’s book presents a true crime “whodunit” murder mystery with multiple suspects abounding including Frank Sinatra, J. Edgar Hoover, Mafia Don Carlos Marcello and a “mystery man” the What’s My Line? star met shortly before she died. While focusing on motive for Dorothy Kilgallen's shocking death, the author presents, through Kilgallen's eyes, the most compelling evidence about the JFK assassination since the House Select Committee on Assassinations investigation in the 1970s.
Most importantly, The Reporter Who Knew Too Much points to one startling verdict: Kilgallen was denied justice following her death. That is, until now.
A former criminal defense attorney and legal analyst for CNN, ESPN, and USA Today for the Mike Tyson, O.J. Simpson and Kobe Bryant cases, Mark Shaw is an investigative reporter and the author of more than 30 books whose latest is “Abuse of Power and before that, “Collateral Damage” and “Fighting for Justice. Previously he had published the bestseller, "The Reporter Who Knew Too Much" and "Denial of Justice." More about Dorothy Kilgallen may be learned at TheDorothyKilgallenStory.org.
Mr. Shaw has also written "The Poison Patriarch," "Miscarriage of Justice," "Beneath the Mask of Holiness.," "Melvin Belli: King of the Courtroom," "Stations Along the Way" and "Down for the Count." He has penned articles for The New York Daily News, USA Today, Huffington Post and the Aspen Daily News, which he co-founded. More about Mr. Shaw, who lives in the San Francisco area, may be learned at markshawbooks.com
To date, Mark’s presentations and interviews about “The Reporter Who Knew Too Much” and “Denial of Justice,” have garnered more than fifteen million YouTube views. In November 2019, the presentation about “Denial of Justice” at the prestigious Allen Library in Dallas went viral in early 2020 climbing from 10,000 views to nearly eight million in ten days.
By the end of 2021, Mark’s body of work and personal effects, including his books about the JFK assassination, research books, research notes and documents, videotaped interviews and presentations including those during his days as a television personality and network legal analyst, etc. were available since his alma mater, Purdue University, has honored him by becoming the archival repository of “The Mark Shaw Papers,” through its “Special Collections” department. Press release
Regarding his books, Mark says, “My purpose is to make people stop and think about historical subjects and important issues confronting society today. Spiritual guru Thomas Merton once said, “If a writer is so cautious that he/she never writes anything that cannot be criticized, he/she will never write anything that can be read. If you want to help other people, you have got to make up your mind to write things that some people will condemn.” Amen!”
“If a writer is so cautious that he/she never writes anything that cannot be criticized, he/she will never write anything that can be read.” — Thomas Merton
Whether it’s been careers sweeping across the horizons of the legal field, radio, television, the movies or the literary panorama, Mark Shaw has never stopped his attempt to live a life full of adventure. As he likes to say, “Keep the faith, you never know when there's a miracle right around the corner.”
During a journey packed with such miracles, defining moments and true blessings, Mark, in late 2020, was honored when his alma mater Purdue University, decided to become the archival repository for his body of work alongside the collections of Amelia Earhart and Neil Armstrong. For details here is the Purdue press release
The second youngest of four children, Mark was born in the small town of Auburn, Indiana to Marvin and Vera Shaw. His brother Jack, a Purdue University graduate, became president of DirectTV before retiring in 2002 and subsequently was named a member of the university’s Board of Trustees. In all, more than 10 of Mark’s relatives have, to date, graduated from Purdue.
Shaw's first employments as a youngster were washing cars, TV Guide magazines, sacking groceries, and working construction, but his eye was on anything new he could try. This curiosity would lead him to more than thirty occupations including chemicals salesman, Chicago Rush Street bartender, criminal defense lawyer, newspaper co-founder and columnist, television personality, television producer, film producer, television legal analyst and author. He has lived in several parts of the country including Auburn, Indianapolis, Aspen, New York City, Los Angeles, Corona del Mar, (CA), San Francisco, Nashville (IN), Sausalito and San Anselmo (CA), East Lansing (MI), Superior, Colorado, Burlingame (CA) and most recently, Santa Clara, (CA) near where his wife Wen-ying Lu is Head of Cataloging at the Santa Clara University Libraries
Mark graduated from Purdue University in 1968 having spent five years and three summer schools there earning a B.S. in Industrial Management. He was a member of the golf team and Beta Theta Pi fraternity.
In 1972, Mark graduated from the Indiana University School of Law at Indianapolis. He was a student intern for a law firm while completing his course work. After passing the bar examination and returning from Germany and Italy, he became a public defender in the Indianapolis court system.
For the next few years, Shaw enjoyed a successful private practice focused mainly on high-profile murder cases, one of which he tried with the famed F. Lee Bailey. In the early 1980s, he became a member of the California Bar. In 2008, Shaw received a Master’s Degree in Theological Studies from San Francisco Theological Seminary in San Anselmo, California. with a specialized interest in spiritual conversion and religious art.
In late 1976, Mark, to the shock of the legal community, left the practice of law in Indianapolis and moved to Aspen, Colorado. There, along with friends David Danforth and Lee Duncan, he co-founded the Aspen Daily News, a newspaper surviving to this day. During that time, the murder trial of famous singer Andy Williams’ wife Claudine Longet became an international sensation. Upon the recommendation of F. Lee Bailey’s agent, Mark became the legal analyst for ABC’s Good Morning America. He reported from the trial on daily on the month-long trial and predicted the outcome. After the trial, Ms. Longet permitted Shaw the only exclusive interview she provided
Impressed with his on-air personality, GMA hired Shaw as their “on the road” during the late 1970s. He traveled around the country filming human interest stories. Among them was a dangerous in an F-4 fighter jet, coverage of the annual “Ugly Dog Contest” and “Miss Nude California” pageant, and reporting the 200th July 4 celebration at the Declaration of Independence in Washington D. C.
In 1979, when famed producer David Suskind sought a co-host for his prime time CBS primetime television program, People, to join former Miss America Phyllis George, he chose Mark. Based in New York City, Mark filmed segments with actor/race driver Paul Newman by riding with him in his race around a Watkins Glen track, enjoyed a scary ride on a California rollercoaster with celebrity actress Kristy McNichol, and joined British actor Robert Morley at a famous Manhattan restaurant for a tasty dinner during his filming of the hit movie comedy, “The Great Chefs of Europe.” People aired on Monday nights at 8:00 p.m. but was short-lived due to poor ratings against Monday Night Football.
After moving to California in 1980, Shaw was hired to be one of the hosts of The World of People syndicated television program based in San Francisco before appearing as “Mr. Science” on twenty-six episodes of the Disney Channel program, The Scheme of Things. In 1981, Mark was also a correspondent for Entertainment Tonight, and interviewed, among others, pop singer Cyndy Lauper and the Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson. Later he co-hosted “Mid-Morning Los Angeles” on Channel 9 with Meredith MacRae as well as KABC’s “Good Morning LA” with Cyndy Garvey, wife of LA Dodger’s first basement Steve Garvey.
In Los Angeles, Mark Academy Award winning actor James Stewart through his church and persuaded him to host a 1984 Fox television show Mark created called “A Beverly Hills Christmas” with James Stewart featuring the history of the songs of Christmas. The program featured Mr. Stewart, Lucille Ball, Burt Reynolds, Walter Matthau, Denise Williams, Lee Greenwood and George Burns with Mark as producer. After returning to Indiana in the early 1990s, Shaw was executive producer for the film “Freeze Frame,” starring Shannen Doherty of Beverly Hills 90210 fame, and co-executive producer of “Diving In, starring Burt Young and Kristy Swanson. The latter was distributed through Paramount Home Video.
In 1992, Mark was hired by ABC, London Channel Four, ESPN and USA Today as legal analyst for the Mike Tyson rape trial. He also wrote a daily column for USA Today and correctly predicted the outcome. During the early 2000s, Shaw analyzed the O. J. Simpson and Kobe Bryant trials for ESPN and appeared on ESPN specials featuring Larry Bird, Don Larsen and Jack Nicklaus. He also hosted “Afternoons with Mark Shaw,” two radio talk show based in Bloomington and Indianapolis, Indiana, respectfully.
During his entertainment career, Shaw has interviewed such luminaries as Paul Newman, Arnold Palmer, F. Lee Bailey, James Stewart, Lucille Ball, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, gambling legends Amarillo Slim and “Texas Dolly” Brunson, Burt Reynolds, the Eagles, Hunter Thompson, Robert Duvall, George Plimpton, pop singer Cyndy Lauper and super-model Cheryl Tiegs. During his days in Aspen, he also met his “look-a-like,” famous singer John Denver and before that, in Cincinnati, Ohio, interviewed famed astronaut Neil Armstrong.
To date, Mark Shaw has published nearly 30 books. Based on his perspective of the Mike Tyson trial, he wrote the first one, Down For the Count, published in 1992. Subsequent books include Bury Me In A Pot Bunker with golf designer Pete Dye, Testament To Courage, based on a Holocaust journal, The Perfect Yankee with Don Larsen, and Forever Flying with famed aviator R. A. “Bob” Hoover.
Mark also published Miscarriage of Justice, the Jonathan Pollard Story, Nicklaus, Golf’s Greatest Champion, Clydesdales, the World’s Most Magical Horse, Stations Along the Way, based on a brave German woman’s account of her days during WW II, From Birdies to Bunkers with golf designer Alice Dye, Larry Legend chronicling Boston Celtics great Larry Bird’s first of NBA coaching, Let the Good Times Roll, about famous Indiana-born musicians, and Beneath the Mask of Holiness, a biography of spiritual guru Thomas Merton. In 2018, he published the novel, Courage in the Face of Evil, based on a true story as told in a Holocaust journal.
To date, Shaw has published five books touching on the JFK assassination including Melvin Belli, King of the Courtroom in 2007 and The Poison Patriarch: How the Betrayals of Joseph P. Kennedy Caused the Assassination of JFK in 2013. Nearly three years later, Shaw penned the bestseller, The Reporter Who Knew Too Much about the life and times and the death of legendary media icon Dorothy Kilgallen and her coverage of the assassination. He followed up that book with Denial of Justice which exposed never-before-published evidence about the assassination and Ms. Kilgallen being denied justice when she was murdered.
During the publication of his many books, Mark, who has received thousands of emails from readers of his books and those who have watched his presentations and interviews, has also been featured on hundreds of podcasts and such prestigious radio broadcasts as Coast to Coast with George Noory while speaking at universities, libraries and other venues.
Mark was the founder of Indianapolis and then Aspen-based “Books For Life Foundation,” a literary organization assisting the publishing aspirations of prospective authors and poets. During its tenure, he worked with more than 1000 writers around the world mentoring their efforts. To assist with the process, he wrote five books on the practical aspects of writing and publishing including Book Report: Publishing Strategies, Writing Tips and 101 Literary Ideas for Aspiring Authors and Poets. He also wrote Grammar Report, Self-Publishing Report, Poetry Report, and Writer’s Report.
In 2015, Shaw combined his publishing ideas in the book, How to Become a Published Author: Idea to Publication. He continues to work with aspiring authors as a literary consultant and has conducted “How to Become a Published Author or Poet: Idea to Publication” seminars at libraries, universities, bookstores and writer’s centers in the United States and in Paris and Taiwan.
Based on his book about publishing, Shaw has lectured at the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum in Indianapolis, Indiana for several years. Attorneys are educated regarding not only how to become published but also how to represent aspiring authors.
Shaw is a member of the Indiana and California bar and the International George Bernard Shaw Society.
Besides Mark writing his books, he assists
aspiring authors around the world with
their publishing dreams.
To see how you might work with Mark,
Mark Shaw is available to speak on either the topic, How To Become a Publisher Author or any of his nearly 30 published books. Based on his adventurous background, Mark’s presentations about the book publishing process are inspirational, informational, educational, and humorous in nature. He has conducted his workshops and seminars to writer’s groups, professional organizations, lawyers continuing legal education forums, and at libraries, colleges and universities around the world including the American University in Paris and in Taiwan.
Regarding his published books, Mark may speak about such luminaries as Thomas Merton, Jonathan Pollard, Larry Bird, Pete and Alice Dye, Mike Tyson, Joseph, John and Robert Kennedy, the JFK assassination, the life and times and death of Dorothy Kilgallen, the subject of Mark’s bestselling book, "The Reporter Who Knew Too Much," and Marilyn Monroe, whose life and times and death are chronicled in "Collateral Damage."
To engage Mark as a public speaker about the book publishing process or anyone of his many books, .
“The Poison Patriarch”
“A clearly written . . . polemic on the corruption of power, built around an intriguing theory
– Kirkus Reviews
“The Reporter Who Knew Too Much”
“The Compelling Story of Dorothy Kilgallen, the celebrated journalist once called “the most powerful female voice in America”
- Nick Pileggi, author of Wise Guy and Casino
“Denial of Justice”
“A worthy sequel to the mysterious whodunit that snuffed out the brave reporter, “Denial of Justice” is a true crime thriller that seeks to undo the label attached to Ms. Kilgallen’s untimely demise. Mark Shaw has done an admirable and exemplary job in his work. Do not miss!”
– San Francisco Book Review
To date, Mark Shaw has been interviewed on more than 100 media programs by hosts such as Coast to Coast radio’s George Noory, Talker’s Magazine’s Michael Harrison, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo and Gianni Russo on “The Hollywood Godfather” podcast. Mark also appeared on the "The New JFK Show" as well as many other programs videotaped for YouTube.
listen to Mark’s interviews with George Noory:
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