People like Dennis McDougal

Dennis McDougal (born November 25, 1947) is an American author and newspaper journalist. He has been called "L.A.'s No. 1 muckraker." His book, Privileged Son, was described as "illuminating reading for anyone interested in 20th-century Los Angeles or modern-day newspapering" by The New York Times. A native of Southern California, he lives near Memphis, Tennessee.

Dennis McDougal is originally from Pasadena, California. After attending public school in the Los Angeles suburb of Lynwood, he received a bachelor of arts degree in English from University of California, Los Angeles, where he later earned a master's degree in journalism.

From 1967 to 1969, McDougal was on active duty with the Naval Reserves. He served aboard the U.S.S. Annapolis in the South China Sea. In an interview with blogger Luke Ford, McDougal recalls his experience, much of which formed the basis for his first fiction novel The Candlestickmaker, published in 2011: