“When I told other authors about the cyclone of national publicity Michael was able to churn up for my debut book, they said, ‘No one in publishing does that anymore.’ My response was, ‘Well, you haven’t met Michael.’ What struck me was the genuine fondness journalists, book reviewers, and radio producers had for him as a human being. They sensed, as did I, that he got behind a book not because it was a job, but because deep in his heart he believed in it.”

– Ariel Sabar, author of My Father’s Paradise, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award