William Pfaff
Encyclopedia
William Pfaff is an American
author
, op-ed
columnist
for the International Herald Tribune
and frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books
. He was born in Council Bluffs
, Iowa
, and is of German, English, and Irish origin. He currently resides in Paris
.
and graduated from the University of Notre Dame
in 1949, having majored in literary and political studies.
He became an editor of the lay-Catholic Commonweal
magazine, leaving in 1955 for extensive travel in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
After a brief passage at ABC News
in New York, he was invited to join Free Europe.
In 1961 he became one of the earliest members of the Hudson Institute
.
Robert Heilbroner
wrote in 1964:
Between 1971 and 1992 he published more than seventy “Reflections” (“a political-literary form of your own invention,” his editor, William Shawn, wrote to him), on international politics and society in The New Yorker magazine.
He has written a newspaper column since 1978, currently published in more than 20 countries.
His magazine articles have appeared in The New York Review of Books, Harper’s, Foreign Affairs, World Policy Journal, The National Interest, and other publications in the United States, and elsewhere in Commentaire (Paris), Neue Zürcher Zeitung and DU magazine (both Zurich), Politica Exterior (Madrid), Europäische Rundschau (Vienna), Blätter für deutsche und internationale Politik (Berlin), and other journals.
The American historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
has called him “Walter Lippmann
’s authentic heir.”
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, op-ed
Op-ed
An op-ed, abbreviated from opposite the editorial page , is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper's editorial board...
columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
for the International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
and frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books
The New York Review of Books
The New York Review of Books is a fortnightly magazine with articles on literature, culture and current affairs. Published in New York City, it takes as its point of departure that the discussion of important books is itself an indispensable literary activity...
. He was born in Council Bluffs
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs, known until 1852 as Kanesville, Iowathe historic starting point of the Mormon Trail and eventual northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trailsis a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States and is on the east bank of the Missouri River across...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, and is of German, English, and Irish origin. He currently resides in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Early life
He grew up in Iowa and GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
and graduated from the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
in 1949, having majored in literary and political studies.
Career
He served in infantry and Special Forces units of the United States Army during and after the Korean War.He became an editor of the lay-Catholic Commonweal
Commonweal
Commonweal is a American journal of opinion edited and managed by lay Catholics. It is headquartered in The Interchurch Center in New York City.-History:...
magazine, leaving in 1955 for extensive travel in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
After a brief passage at ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
in New York, he was invited to join Free Europe.
In 1961 he became one of the earliest members of the Hudson Institute
Hudson Institute
The Hudson Institute is an American think tank founded in 1961, in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist, military strategist, and systems theorist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporation...
.
Publishings
His first book, THE NEW POLITICS: America and the End of the Postwar World (with Edmund Stillman) was published in 1961. Seven others have followed.Robert Heilbroner
Robert Heilbroner
Robert L. Heilbroner was an American economist and historian of economic thought. The author of some twenty books, Heilbroner was best known for The Worldly Philosophers , a survey of the lives and contributions of famous economists, notably Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and John Maynard...
wrote in 1964:
“I suspect that in the future it will no longer be possible to qualify as a wholly serious thinker if one has not, to whatever small degree, made one’s peace or accommodation with [his] harsh message.”
Between 1971 and 1992 he published more than seventy “Reflections” (“a political-literary form of your own invention,” his editor, William Shawn, wrote to him), on international politics and society in The New Yorker magazine.
He has written a newspaper column since 1978, currently published in more than 20 countries.
His magazine articles have appeared in The New York Review of Books, Harper’s, Foreign Affairs, World Policy Journal, The National Interest, and other publications in the United States, and elsewhere in Commentaire (Paris), Neue Zürcher Zeitung and DU magazine (both Zurich), Politica Exterior (Madrid), Europäische Rundschau (Vienna), Blätter für deutsche und internationale Politik (Berlin), and other journals.
The American historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
Arthur Meier Schlesinger, Jr. was an American historian and social critic whose work explored the American liberalism of political leaders including Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy. A Pulitzer Prize winner, Schlesinger served as special assistant and "court historian"...
has called him “Walter Lippmann
Walter Lippmann
Walter Lippmann was an American intellectual, writer, reporter, and political commentator famous for being among the first to introduce the concept of Cold War...
’s authentic heir.”
Books
- The Irony OF Manifest Destiny: The Tragedy of American Foreign Policy, New York, Walker and Company (2010).
- The Bullet's Song: Romantic Violence and Utopia (2004)
- Fear, Anger and Failure: A Chronicle of the Bush’s Administration’s War against Terror from the Attacks of September 11, 2001 to Defeat in Baghdad (2004)
- Barbarian Sentiments: America in the New Century (2000) (a revision of Barbarian Sentiments: How the American Century Ends (1989))
- The Wrath of Nations: Civilization and the Furies of Nationalism (1993)
External links
- William Pfaff website
- Who is Sarkozy? by William Pfaff from The New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of Books is a fortnightly magazine with articles on literature, culture and current affairs. Published in New York City, it takes as its point of departure that the discussion of important books is itself an indispensable literary activity...