Michael J. Ybarra
Michael Jay Ybarra (September 28, 1966 – June 30 or July 1,
Life and career
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Ybarra graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1990 with a B.A. in political science. It was during his undergraduate years at UCLA that he started writing professionally for the Los Angeles Times, followed by the Chicago Tribune. During his brief stint at the Chicago Tribune, he interviewed future President Barack Obama.[6] After graduating from UCLA, Ybarra moved to Washington, D.C., where he wrote for The Washington Post. He left to return to school and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1992 with an M.A. in political science.
Ybarra had a 25-year career as a journalist and author. An article he wrote for The Washington Post, "Activists Attest to Romania's Idea of Democracy", was entered into the
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Presentation by Ybarra on Washington Gone Crazy, November 13, 2004, C-SPAN |
In the early 1990s, Ybarra began working for The Wall Street Journal as a staff reporter in its
While on a trip to
Death and legacy
Ybarra died on June 30, 2012, in a climbing accident on the Sawtooth Ridge in Yosemite National Park. Ybarra’s sister, Suzanne, said the family had reported him missing on Sunday after he did not return from what was supposed to be a two-day solo climb.[14] Upon Ybarra's death, The Wall Street Journal released the following statement: "Michael Ybarra was an extraordinary journalist. In the best traditions of his profession he enlightened and engaged readers on a wide array of topics in clear, vivid prose. His passion for the outdoors was evident not only in his writing for the Leisure & Arts and Book sections — reviews and essays written with such verve you felt you were right beside him on a mountain face or in a kayak — but in the way he lived. We mourn his passing, and send our thoughts and prayers to his family."[15]
As a writer, he left behind a large body of published work spanning more than two decades. A portion of Ybarra's personal collection of climbing books is housed at the California Institute of Technology in the Sherman Fairchild Library as "The Michael J. Ybarra Memorial Collection." Bret Israel, Sunday Calendar editor of the Los Angeles Times, established a scholarship at UCLA in Ybarra's memory for humanities students studying abroad. Ybarra's Pat McCarran memorabilia is available to the public at the Nevada Historical Society in Reno. His papers for Washington Gone Crazy are at the Hoover Institution at Stanford.
Selected bibliography
Books
- Washington Gone Crazy: Senator Pat McCarran and The Great American Communist Hunt (1st ed. Hanover, N.H.: Steerforth Press, 2004), pp. 818. ISBN 1586420658.
Articles
- "El Capitan: The Movie." Alpinist Issue 40, Autumn 2012. October 2012.
- "How to Survive a Rushing River." The Wall Street Journal May 21, 2012.
- "The Nose in a Day." The Wall Street Journal February 2, 2012.
- "The Climbing Life." Alpinist Issue 36, Autumn 2011. October 2011: 27–30
- "Nature as artist's muse." Los Angeles Times April 21, 2008.
- "Taking on the law." Los Angeles Times October 5, 2003.
- "The New India Of High-Tech Companies And Investors Is Trying To Overcome Its Old World Image." Upside September 2001: 42–51
- "It's Finally Time: The Age of Schlesinger." Los Angeles Times November 16, 2000.
- "Blacklist Whitewash." The New Republic January 5, 1998.
- "San Francisco Journal; A Time to Rejoice In Mantle of Power." The New York Times January 9, 1996.
Footnotes
- ^ As Ybarra set out on Saturday, 29 June, and was climbing alone, there is uncertainty about the exact date of his death. The New York Times says it happened on "the weekend" of 29 June to July 1, as does The Union Democrat. Huffpost intimates that his fall occurred on Sunday, 1 July.
- ^ Miles, Kathleen (2012-07-05). "Extreme Sports Writer Falls To His Death". HuffPost. Retrieved 2019-10-28.
- ^ "Climber falls to death by Yosemite". The Union Democrat. Retrieved 2019-10-28.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-10-28.
- ISBN 1586420658.
- ^ Ybarra, Michael J (1990-02-07). "Activist In Chicago Now Heads Harvard Law Review". Articles.chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2012-12-19.
- ^ Ybarra, Michael (2000-10-09). "The Novelist as Wonder Boy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-12-19.
- ^ Ybarra, Michael J. "Interview: Norman Mailer." Calgary Herald', March 2003.
- ^ Ybarra, Michael J. (2011-11-10). "The Old Man, His Mountains". Online.wsj.com. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2012-12-19.
- ^ Ybarra, Michael J. (1998-06-14). "A Most Unlikely Star". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-12-19.
- ^ "Book Prizes – Los Angeles Times Festival of Books". Events.latimes.com. April 23, 2005. Archived from the original on May 23, 2013. Retrieved 2012-12-19.
- ^ Hevesi, Dennis (July 6, 2012). "Michael J. Ybarra, Extreme-Sports Reporter, Dies at 45". New York Times. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
- ^ "12 millionth visitor expected release". Lbjlib.utexas.edu. Archived from the original on 2014-01-16. Retrieved 2012-12-19.
- ^ Hevesi, Dennis (2012-07-06). "Michael J. Ybarra, Author and Extreme-Sports Reporter, Is Dead at 45". The New York Times.
- ^ Ovide, Shira (2012-07-05). "Writer Michael J. Ybarra, 45, Is Killed Near Yosemite". Online.wsj.com. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2012-12-19.