The Season; Inside Palm Beach and America's Richest Society
New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1999. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. x, 326 pages. Illustrated endpapers. Index. Illustrations (color). Signed on the title page by the author. Ronald Borek Kessler (born December 31, 1943) is a journalist and author of 21 non-fiction books about the White House, U. S. Secret Service, FBI, and CIA. Seven of his books have appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list. From 1970 to 1985, Kessler was an investigative reporter for The Washington Post. In 1972, he won a George Polk Memorial award because of two series of articles he wrote—one on conflicts of interest and mismanagement at Washington area non-profit hospitals, and a second series exposing kickbacks among lawyers, title insurance companies, realtors, and lenders in connection with real estate settlements. That Kessler series resulted in congressional passage in 1974 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), which outlaws kickbacks for referral of settlement services in connection with real estate closings. In 1979, Kessler won a second Polk Award, this one for National Reporting for a series of articles exposing corruption in the General Services Administration. Kessler's Washington Post stories reporting that Lena Ferguson had been denied membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) because she is black led to her acceptance by the DAR, appointment to head the DAR Scholarship Committee, and widespread changes in the organization's policies to increase membership by blacks. Since leaving The Washington Post, Kessler has authored 21 nonfiction books. Seven reached the nonfiction New York Times Best Seller list. More