User:Peter besas

Peter Besas. (June 5, 1933 –          ) American journalist and author. Moved to Madrid in 1965 where he was Bureau Chief for the show business newspaper "Variety" for 30 years and wrote numerous books about Spain and Madrid. Born in Berlin, Besas emigrated to New York from Germany with his parents in 1940. He did his schooling at Stuyvesant High School and then at the College of the City of  New York. He moved to Madrid, Spain, in 1965 where he became editor-in-chief first of "Castellana Magazine" and then for five years became contributor and eventually editor of "Guidepost Magazine" (1965-69). In 1969 he was appointed Madrid Bureau chief of the New York-based show business weekly "Variety" and starting 1974 also became its Director of Latin American Operations. He also contributed articles to many local Spanish and international publications ranging from airline magazines and rare book journals to the "Reader’s Digest". Among his freelance jobs were those of Area Editor for “Fodor’s Travel Guide to Spain” (1967-1980), revisor of Frommer’s “$5 & $10 Guide to Spain” and author of the Spanish section of Peter Cowie’s “International Film Guide” (London) 1990-2002. Books published “Strange Vignettes of Old Madrid” Madrid: 1969 “Behind the Spanish Lens” Denver: Arden Press, 1985 “The Written Road to Spain” Madrid, 1988 “Inside Variety” Madrid: Ars Millenii, 2000. “Hidden Madrid” Madrid: Ediciones La Librería, 2007. (3rd ed. 2011) (Co- author, Mark Besas)* “Inns of Old Madrid” Madrid: Ediciones La Librería, 2009.* “Hidden Madrid, Part II” Madrid: Ediciones La Librería, 2009. (co-author Mark Besas)* “Compendium of German-Language Books of Travel in Spain: 1750-1900” Madrid: Ediciones La Librería, 2010 “La Cripta de los Libros” Madrid: Ediciones La Librería, 2012. “Nazis in Madrid” Madrid: Ediciones La Librería, 2015.*


 * Spanish language editions of these books were published simultaneously.