Rebels and Outliers

John M. Glionna was a Seoul-based Los Angeles Times foreign correspondent from 2008 to 2012 and covered South Korea, North Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Pacific Islands. Later, as the paper’s Las Vegas bureau chief, Glionna covered the American West. He has written extensively about California and co-taught a journalism course at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Glionna is now a freelance writer who divides his time between Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. He is the author of Outback Nevada: Real Stories from the Silver State.

“This is a fantastic collection. Really, how does Glionna find these people? It is his secret sauce, the step-stone to telling singular American stories. I remember, and treasure, a bunch of them. I hope he keeps finding them so we can marvel at the way life unfolds in so many quirky and challenging ways, especially across the American the West.” —Roger Smith, former Los Angeles Times national editor “Rebels and Outliers overflows with tales of dreamers, schemers, misfits and renegades. John Glionna delivers their stories with his customary verve, compassion and humor. Each essay bristles with life and passion and the joy we all crave. Together, they are an unparalleled ode to the 21st century American West.” —James Rainey, media reporter, Los Angeles Times  “Each tale expertly tells the story of an interesting or unusual person or thing that Glionna has encountered over his years traveling through the western US on behalf of a number of publications such as the Los Angeles Times and the Las Vegas Review Journal. The stories clearly illustrate Glionna’s devotion to the craft of writing—he is a master storyteller and it shows in his work.” —Richard Moreno, author of Frontier Fake News: Nevada Sagebrush Humorists and Hoaxsters, 2007 Nevada Writers Hall of Fame Silver Pen Award recipient