David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and film director. As a playwright, Mamet has won a
Pulitzer Prize and received
Tony nominations for
Glengarry Glen Ross (1984) and
Speed-the-Plow (1988). As a screenwriter, he has received
Oscar nominations for
The Verdict (1982) and
Wag the Dog (1997). Mamet's books include:
The Old Religion (1997), a novel about the lynching of
Leo Frank;
Five Cities of Refuge: Weekly Reflections on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy (2004), a
Torah commentary with Rabbi
Lawrence Kushner;
The Wicked Son (2006), a study of
Jewish self-hatred and
antisemitism;
Bambi vs. Godzilla, a commentary on the movie business;
The Secret Knowledge: On the Dismantling of American Culture (2011), a commentary on cultural and political issues; and
Three War Stories (2013), a trio of novellas about the physical and psychological effects of war.