Ashes in the Rain Selected Essays Author:Al Martinez In 1987, Al Martinez, of the Los Angeles Times, won the prestigious National Headliner Award as the best columnist in the United States, an honor which, in the Award's 54-year history, placed him alongside other American writers such as Damon Runyon, Ernie Pyle, Edward R. Murrow, Stewart Alsop and Mike royko. Also in 1987, Martinez was named... more » best columnist in California by the California Newspaper Publishers Association. The year before in 1986, Al Martinez was voted among the top three essays columnists in America by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. A native Californian, Martinez attended San Francisco State, left to serve as scout and combat correspondent with the 7th Marine Regiment in the Korean War, and began his newspaper career with the Richmond Independent, a small Bay Area daily. Three years later, he joined the Oakland Tribune where he was an essay columnist, for eight years before joining the Los Angeles Times in 1984, the year his profiles on three powerful Southern California Latinos helped bring a Pulitzer Prize to the Times for public service.« less