Justin’s Newsletter: September 2025
Vol. 5, Issue 9 — 40th birthday edition :(
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What’s Up With Me
The hits keep coming in this brutal year of our lord 2025. In September, we lost one of the good ones. Sid Kirkpatrick, who was a regular reader of this newsletter, was one of a kind, and taken way too soon. He was the author of many influential and bestselling books (check them out, more info below). He took me under his wing, mentored me, supported me, and encouraged me in my various ventures. Some of my favorite memories are of golfing and fishing with him—in Florida, Canada, DC, and LA. Just won’t be the same without you. Miss you, Sid. You deserved better. Stay tuned for my obituary about Sid in Pasadena Now and for details about his memorial service.
I was interviewed by Brian Biery on his show “Power of One” about the state of journalism and about my career. Watch it here.
Watch the latest episode of “Pasadena Monthly with Justin Chapman.” This episode features a review of the month’s top stories, a history segment, and an interview with author Chip Jacobs, whose latest book is Later Days. Read more here.
Around Town
Sid’s Great Reads
All of Sid Kirkpatrick’s books were great, but these were my favorite:
In 1991’s Turning the Tide: One Man Against the Medellín Cartel, he and Peter Abrahams relayed the story of a conflict in the Bahamas between American professor Richard Novak, who was studying hammerhead sharks on Norman’s Cay, and drug lord Carlos Lehder and the infamous Colombian cartel. Novak discovered the island was being used and controlled by the cartel for drug-running—and decided to do something about it.
In 1992’s Lords of Sipán, Kirkpatrick recounted how Peruvian archeologist Dr. Walter Alva overcame looters, smugglers and government interference to unearth one of South America’s richest pre-Columbian sites. The book documents the discovery, looting, smuggling, illegal international sale and eventual recovery of artifacts from ancient tombs in Peru.
In 2010’s Hitler’s Holy Relics: A True Story of Nazi Plunder and the Race to Recover the Crown Jewels of the Holy Roman Empire, art historian-turned-Army sleuth Walter Horn investigated Nazi plunder and Germanic mysticism in the aftermath of World War II.
Spotlight on My Past Stories
Check out my 2019 cover story in Pasadena Weekly about author Chip Jacobs and his first novel, Arroyo, the precursor to his newest book, Later Days.
And read all of my journalism here.