William McKeen

Who is William McKeen?

William McKeen is professor and chairman of the Department of Journalism at Boston University.

McKeen has written and/or edited a dozen books and is a leading pop-culture authority. Outlaw Journalist is his acclaimed biography of writer Hunter S. Thompson. The Miami Herald called the book "essential", and the New York Observer said it was "the best record to date of Thompson's life". Writing in the Washington Post, Jonathan Yardley said, “[McKeen] gets it all in: the boozing and drugging, the histrionics, the womanizing, the violence, but also the intelligence, the loyalty, the inherent decency”. Christopher Hitchens, writing the lead review in The Sunday Times of London, called it "admirable" and "haunting". Anita Thompson, the writer's widow, posted a message on her Web site: "As Hunter's wife, I strongly recommend this book to you."

McKeen's latest book is Mile Marker Zero, a non-fiction narrative about the writers, artists, musicians and actors in Key West in the 1970s.