Like a Running Dog, Vol. 1: Los Angeles, 1970-1972

by Michael Blake

Fall of 1970. A thousand-year cold snap has descended on the Southwest as 24-year-old Michael Blake, in the midst of his senior year at the University of New Mexico, decides to drop out and move to Los Angeles. Accompanied by his dog Kelly and with a phone number for a New Mexico rock band living in L.A., Blake begins his climb to fame. The climb, however, is steep and Blake soon learns that whatever progress he is making is being chipped away by the tedium of everyday survival, unbearable living situations, and rejection. Still, Blake manages to get his foot in at the Los Angeles Free Press and to write his first screenplay. Like A Running Dog is written in the poetic and unpretentious style for which Michael Blake has become known and loved. The autobiography is replete with humorous and melodramatic situations shared by most of his contemporary artistic peers. It recounts an underground scene fueled by ideological beliefs, strong desires to change the world and, on occasion, ego clashes and personal vendettas. A must-read for anybody whose sense of curiosity is intact.

107 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2002

About the author

The author of several novels, including the New York Times #1 Bestseller Dances With Wolves and winner of the 1991 Academy Award.