An intense five hours in Barga this afternoon for the American writer David Baldacci. He was here to collect the highest honour the Comune of Barga can bestow – the gold St Christopher medal.
Upon arriving in the city he was met at the gates by the Mayor of Barga Umberto Sereni and accompanied on a whistlestop tour of Barga Vecchia calling in at the bookshop Poli which has been running a literary festival “Tra le Righe” all this month (articles here) and have many copies of David’s latest books in Italian.
Then quickly on to the barganews book exchange (site here) where there are one or two copies of his well read books, this time in English. A quick call into Capretz for a welcoming aperitivo and then on to the Scacciaguai restaurant for lunch.
A brief respite and then on to the serious business of the day the awards ceremony at the Villa Salvi on via del Pretorio. As well as the prestigious Gold medal awarded for services to Barga, a number of other presents were given to the American writer including a signed print from the artist Nick Kraczyna (site here) and a document showing the Baldacci family tree going back seven generations in Barga.
By six pm he was once more on the move and down to Porta Reale where his car was waiting to whisk him off – his brief visit to Barga over but not forgotten.
David Baldacci – the writer – In 1996, his first novel Absolute Power was published and became an immediate best seller. It tells the story of a fictional American President and his Secret Service agents who are willing to murder people in order to cover up the accidental death of a woman with whom the President was having an affair. It was made into a film, Absolute Power (1997), starring Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman.
Baldacci has gone on to publish fourteen more novels: Total Control, The Winner, The Simple Truth, Saving Faith, Wish You Well, Last Man Standing, The Christmas Train, Split Second, Hour Game, Camel Club, The Collectors, Simple Genius, Stone Cold, and the young adult novel Freddy and the French Fries: Fries Alive!
Baldacci has authored seven original screenplays, and his works have been published in magazines, newspapers, and journals throughout the world. All of his books have become national and international bestsellers, translated into over 37 languages and sold in more than 85 countries.
Over 40 million copies of Baldacci’s books are in print worldwide. To top off the excitement, Baldacci is reliable in not only creating twists at the end of his stories, but also bringing the entire complicated climax to a totally satisfying ending – something which we do not often receive in this real world.
The research for his novels is as fascinating as the scenarios he creates. He’s rich enough to hire an office building full of researchers, but he does it all himself.
Baldacci has nurtured sources he’s too discreet to name and who have shared with him information he would never reveal. “People who have expertise just love to share it. That’s human nature.”
He counts former and active Secret Service agents, ex-Marines, a former member of the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team, a former attorney general, a former Homeland Security chief and several former presidents among his sources.
“Once you gain their confidence and trust, they’re pretty open about how they do their job or how their agency functions or doesn’t function, the constraints they feel. I’ve never asked for classified information,” Baldacci says. “People have given me classified information, but always with the disclaimer ‘This can never end up in a book.’ And it never does.”
The David Baldacci site can be found here
Click on the link below to hear the St. Christopher award ceremony with (almost) simultaneous translation from Italian into English thanks to Michael Biaggi PLUS a brief interview with David Baldacci just as he was leaving the award ceremony
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Baldacci’s thank you speech was a model of grace and modesty. O’Connor, that’s really a great opening shot from the perspective of the statue.