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In My Father's Name
From Simon & Schuster comes an unforgettable autobiography from Mark In My Father's Name .
Mark Arax recounts the incredible events that transpired twenty years after his father's unsolved murder, during which he returned to Fresno under an assumed name and uncovered the startling disclosure that preceded his father's tragic death.
Mark Arax recounts the incredible events that transpired twenty years after his father's unsolved murder, during which he returned to Fresno under an assumed name and uncovered the startling disclosure that preceded his father's tragic death.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
8 people are currently reading
266 people want to read
About the author
Mark Arax
12 books99 followersIn the world of journalism, Mark Arax stands out as a rarity. On one hand, he is a skilled investigative reporter who unearths secrets from the depths of shadow governments. On the other hand, he is a gifted writer whose feature stories and books are distinguished by the “poetry of his prose.”
His Los Angeles Times stories revealing state sanctioned murder and cover-up in California prisons were praised by The Nation magazine as “one of great journalistic achievements of the decade.” Fellow writers at PEN and Sigma Delta Chi have singled out the lyrical quality of his writing in award-winning stories on life and death in California’s heartland. In a review of his most recent book, “West of the West,” the Washington Post called Mark a “great reporter…. tenacious and unrelenting.”
Like the legendary Carey McWilliams, Mark digs deep in the dirt of the Golden State, finding tragedies hidden from most Californians. With equal passion, he chronicles the plight of both farm workers and farmers. His stories on the land are told from the close up of a native whose own family narrative is found in the same soil. His grandfather Aram's first job in America was picking the fruits and vegetables of the San Joaquin Valley; his father, Ara, was born on a raisin farm outside Fresno.
Mark’s first book, “In My Father’s Name,” is a stirring memoir that weaves together the history of his Armenian family and hometown of Fresno with his decades-long search to find the men who murdered his father in 1972. A full-page review in the New York Times Sunday Book Review saw Mark’s journey to wrest the truth from his haunted past as a kind of "Moby Dick" struggle.
His second book, the bestselling “The King of California,” co-authored with Rick Wartzman, tells the epic story of the Boswell farming family and the building of a secret American empire in the middle of California. Named one of the top ten books of the year by the L.A. Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, "The King of California" won a 2004 California Book Award and the 2005 William Saroyan International Writing Prize.
His third book, a 2009 collection of stories called “West of the West: Dreamers, Believers, Builders and Killers in the Golden State,” received critical acclaim in the Atlantic Monthly and Los Angeles Times and a starred review in Publishers Weekly, which compared Mark’s “sure and supple essays” to the great social portraits of Joan Didion and William Saroyan.
"It is Arax's personal connection to the land,” the review noted, “that pushes his collection past mere reportage to a high literary enterprise that beautifully integrates the private and idiosyncratic with the sweep of great historical forces."
A top graduate of Fresno State and Columbia University, Mark left the Los Angeles Times in 2007 after a public fight over censorship of his story on the Armenian Genocide. He has taught literary non fiction at Claremont McKenna College and Fresno State University and served as a senior policy director for the California Senate Majority Leader. The father of three children who lives on a suburban farm in Fresno, Mark still throws a mean batting practice to his Little League players.
His Los Angeles Times stories revealing state sanctioned murder and cover-up in California prisons were praised by The Nation magazine as “one of great journalistic achievements of the decade.” Fellow writers at PEN and Sigma Delta Chi have singled out the lyrical quality of his writing in award-winning stories on life and death in California’s heartland. In a review of his most recent book, “West of the West,” the Washington Post called Mark a “great reporter…. tenacious and unrelenting.”
Like the legendary Carey McWilliams, Mark digs deep in the dirt of the Golden State, finding tragedies hidden from most Californians. With equal passion, he chronicles the plight of both farm workers and farmers. His stories on the land are told from the close up of a native whose own family narrative is found in the same soil. His grandfather Aram's first job in America was picking the fruits and vegetables of the San Joaquin Valley; his father, Ara, was born on a raisin farm outside Fresno.
Mark’s first book, “In My Father’s Name,” is a stirring memoir that weaves together the history of his Armenian family and hometown of Fresno with his decades-long search to find the men who murdered his father in 1972. A full-page review in the New York Times Sunday Book Review saw Mark’s journey to wrest the truth from his haunted past as a kind of "Moby Dick" struggle.
His second book, the bestselling “The King of California,” co-authored with Rick Wartzman, tells the epic story of the Boswell farming family and the building of a secret American empire in the middle of California. Named one of the top ten books of the year by the L.A. Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, "The King of California" won a 2004 California Book Award and the 2005 William Saroyan International Writing Prize.
His third book, a 2009 collection of stories called “West of the West: Dreamers, Believers, Builders and Killers in the Golden State,” received critical acclaim in the Atlantic Monthly and Los Angeles Times and a starred review in Publishers Weekly, which compared Mark’s “sure and supple essays” to the great social portraits of Joan Didion and William Saroyan.
"It is Arax's personal connection to the land,” the review noted, “that pushes his collection past mere reportage to a high literary enterprise that beautifully integrates the private and idiosyncratic with the sweep of great historical forces."
A top graduate of Fresno State and Columbia University, Mark left the Los Angeles Times in 2007 after a public fight over censorship of his story on the Armenian Genocide. He has taught literary non fiction at Claremont McKenna College and Fresno State University and served as a senior policy director for the California Senate Majority Leader. The father of three children who lives on a suburban farm in Fresno, Mark still throws a mean batting practice to his Little League players.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 1, 2021
I thought this book gave me a very good insight into Fresno and the corruption that unfolded during that era. My dad writes about the family that I knew, and after reading it, I know to a greater detail. I actually picked up this book when I was 10 and read parts of it, so most of it was familiar as if the memory of it was still fresh in my head.
October 19, 2025
Central Valley son of Armenian immigrants turned big city journalist comes home to solve his father’s murder, and ends up exposing the corruption poisoning his hometown. This was a fascinating book and would make an excellent movie!!!
January 24, 2011
Mark Arax was 15 when his father was gunned down in the bar he owned. Two decades later Arax, an investigative reporter, is determined to uncover the details and secrets surrounding his father's life and death. Arax is driven to discover himself through his discovery of the man his father had been. The result is a fascinating, comprehensive account of not only his family history, but the history of Fresno California. Arax describes the culture, politics, and personalities that enabled the circumstances leading to his father's murder.
February 21, 2009
This is one of few non-fictional books that I thoroughly enjoyed. I especially like how Mark Arax broke the book into 3 parts: a family, a town, a murder. And by doing so, showed the most important aspects of his life with ease.
It's written with a lot of heart. And it was nice and interesting to know how Armenians survived after the genocide. And I felt proud. Proud that Mark Arax is Armenian like me.
I "swallowed" this book, I read it so fast.
It's written with a lot of heart. And it was nice and interesting to know how Armenians survived after the genocide. And I felt proud. Proud that Mark Arax is Armenian like me.
I "swallowed" this book, I read it so fast.
October 14, 2020
I wanted to like this more - Arax gave such a fabulous talk about it for an author interview I heard. I think he learned more about the murder after he published the book and I kept wanting to read about those incidences.
January 8, 2025
I really enjoyed this book primarily because I grew up in Fresno and new many of the people. The Author dramatically showed the underbelly of corruption during that period of time.
September 23, 2018
3.5 stars
On one hand, this is one of the better books I have read about Fresno - not so much for its history but for its resonant descriptions of its people and its institutions. Fresno is a provincial, ambivalent place: my guess is, few readers were surprised by the unmasking of dirty cops, dirty businessmen, and dirty press.
On the other hand, this book attempts to span genres, incorporating elements of true crime, family history, and autobiography, resulting in a final draft that was, maybe, too ambitious. Autobiography and family history are tough ones to get right, I think: there is always the risk of overindulgence, of boring your audience. This book is at its best when it sticks to the author's strength of investigative journalism.
On one hand, this is one of the better books I have read about Fresno - not so much for its history but for its resonant descriptions of its people and its institutions. Fresno is a provincial, ambivalent place: my guess is, few readers were surprised by the unmasking of dirty cops, dirty businessmen, and dirty press.
On the other hand, this book attempts to span genres, incorporating elements of true crime, family history, and autobiography, resulting in a final draft that was, maybe, too ambitious. Autobiography and family history are tough ones to get right, I think: there is always the risk of overindulgence, of boring your audience. This book is at its best when it sticks to the author's strength of investigative journalism.
July 28, 2014
Great read!!!
I could not imagine being a young person & loosing a parent to a horrible crime. Like Mark, it would probably run my life to find the ones responsible. I also enjoyed how he gave insight to the Armenian way of life.
I don't like to belittle towns/cities, but Fresno CA has always been kind of an abyss or a pit. Went there once in my teen years & swore I'd never return. Now I know why!
I could not imagine being a young person & loosing a parent to a horrible crime. Like Mark, it would probably run my life to find the ones responsible. I also enjoyed how he gave insight to the Armenian way of life.
I don't like to belittle towns/cities, but Fresno CA has always been kind of an abyss or a pit. Went there once in my teen years & swore I'd never return. Now I know why!
April 10, 2014
I wanted to read this book because it's about Fresno and the Central Valley, as well as about Arax's father's murder and his quest to find the truth about it. I found the parts about the Valley's history interesting, but the rest of the book was a bit of a slog.
August 29, 2017
Another book with a family tie-in... Interesting story.
June 18, 2009
A remarkable book of self discovery.
April 25, 2011
A journalist investigates his father's long ago murder and discovers that his father was involved in the Fresno underworld. Stunning.
January 7, 2013
Very good. A whole different perspective of Fresno in the 70's than what I was aware of growing up. Also, gave me a better idea of what it meant to be Armenian in Fresno then.
July 12, 2013
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'd intended to read it years ago, but somehow got sidetracked. The details regarding Fresno's colorful past are astounding.
August 4, 2008
Not a book I would highly recommend but if you are familiar with Fresno, it is pretty interesting.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews