Peter Maas was born on June 27, 1929, in New York City, and he was an American journalist and author with a rich heritage being of Dutch and Irish descent. He attended Duke University and had a long and illustrious career as a writer, focusing on true crime stories and biographies.
Maas is perhaps best known for his work as the biographer of Frank Serpico, a New York City Police officer who blew the whistle on police corruption, as well as his book Underboss, which tells the story of Sammy "The Bull" Gravano's life and times. In addition to these notable works, Maas wrote several other bestselling books, including The Valachi Papers, Manhunt, and In a Child's Name, which won the 1991 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime book.
The Valachi Papers, which was published in 1968, is widely regarded as a seminal work in the genre of true crime writing, as it helped to popularize the idea of writing about the Mafia and other organized crime groups. The book's success spawned a wave of similar books written by or about former Mafiosi, and it remains a classic in the genre to this day.
Maas was married three times, first to Audrey Gellen Maas, with whom he adopted a son, John-Michael Maas. Audrey passed away in 1975. Maas later married his third wife, Suzanne, with whom he had a son, Terrence. He passed away on August 23, 2001, at the age of 72, in New York City.
