Amy Wallace
Writer worked on family's books of lists
Amy Wallace, 58, a writer who collaborated with her family on the popular "Book of Lists" series and also published her own works of fiction and nonfiction, died Aug. 10 at her home in Los Angeles, said her brother, David Wallechinsky. He said she had a heart condition. Ed Winter, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner's office, said a determination on the cause of death is pending toxicology and other tests.
After her father, bestselling novelist Irving Wallace, and her brother teamed to write "The People's Almanac" in 1975, they invited her to help write and edit "The Book of Lists," released in 1977. Feeding an appetite for trivia and factoids in the '70s and '80s, the prolific Wallaces published several more follow-up nonfiction books. Titles included "The Book of Lists, No. 2" (1980), "The Book of Predictions" (1980) and "The Intimate Sex Lives of Famous People" (1981). Amy's mother, Sylvia, also a writer, collaborated on some.
Amy Wallace's solo works include the novel "Desire" (1990), "The Prodigy: A Biography of William Sidis" (1986) and "Sorcerer's Apprentice" (2002), a memoir of her relationship with countercultural anthropologist Carlos Castaneda.
She was born in Los Angeles on July 3, 1955. Her father wrote mainly fiction, and her mother was an editor for the Hollywood fan magazine Photoplay.
