World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Barton David Gellman

バートン・デイヴィッド・ゲルマン

Barton David Gellman

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1960-01-01 （Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Judaism
Residence History
Philadelphia (birthplace) → Jerusalem (bureau chief assignment) → New York City (residence) → Washington, D.C. (long-term employment)

Career

Occupations
Journalist, Author
Active Years
1984-
Affiliations
Brennan Center for Justice (NYU Law), Princeton University (visiting lecturer / fellow), The Century Foundation, The Washington Post, Time (contributing editor), The Atlantic
Influenced By
George F. Kennan (subject of study)

Education

Princeton University (Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs)
Woodrow Wilson School / Public and International Affairs
Degree: BA (summa cum laude)
Year of Graduation: 1982
Country: United States
Graduated summa cum laude
University College, Oxford (University of Oxford)
Politics
Degree: Master's (Rhodes Scholar)
Year of Graduation: 1985
Country: United Kingdom
Attended as a Rhodes Scholar

Awards

Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting
2002
Work: Coverage of the September 11 attacks (as part of The Washington Post team)
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board / Columbia University
Result: 受賞
Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting
2008
Work: Reporting on Vice President Dick Cheney (series, with Jo Becker)
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board / Columbia University
Result: 受賞
Pulitzer Prize for Public Service
2014
Work: Revelations of widespread secret surveillance by the NSA (The Washington Post team; Gellman anchored the team)
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board / Columbia University
Result: 受賞（共同）
Emmy Awards (as editorial consultant)
2015
Work: PBS Frontline 'USA of Secrets' (editorial consultant)
Organization: Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
Result: 受賞（複数）
Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting
2008
Work: Investigative reporting on Cheney
Organization: Harvard University
Result: 受賞
Los Angeles Times Book Prize
2008
Work: Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency
Organization: Los Angeles Times
Result: 受賞
Gerald Loeb Award for Large Newspapers
2014
Work: Series of stories on the NSA
Organization: UCLA Anderson School of Management
Result: 受賞（共有）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Contending with Kennan: Toward a Philosophy of American Power

1985 Politics / History 256 pages

A study of post-World War II containment doctrine and the ideas of George F. Kennan.

American foreign policyContainment doctrine

Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency

2008 Nonfiction / Investigative journalism 448 pages

An investigative account of Vice President Dick Cheney's exercise of power and influence within the administration, expanded from a Washington Post series.

Concentration of powerExecutive decision-making
Adaptations
  • [Television / film adaptation (optioned)] Angler

Dark Mirror: Edward Snowden and the American Surveillance State

2020 Nonfiction / Investigative reporting 480 pages

A detailed reportage based on documents leaked by Edward Snowden, tracing the development of U.S. surveillance systems and the rise of the surveillance-industrial complex.

SurveillanceNational securityCivil liberties and privacy
Translations
  • Der dunkle Spiegel. Edward Snowden und die globale Überwachungsindustrie (German edition)

Bibliography

  • Contending with Kennan: Toward a Philosophy of American Power (1985)
  • Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency (2008)
  • Dark Mirror: Edward Snowden and the American Surveillance State (2020)

Adaptations

  • Film/TV project based on Angler (optioned by HBO; screenplay later noted in industry 'Black List', production status variable)

Translations of Works

  • German edition of Dark Mirror (Der dunkle Spiegel)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Meticulous investigative reportingFact-based narrative and long-form reportage
Recurring Motifs
Secrecy vs. transparencyPower and surveillancePursuit of public accountability

Legacy

A leading investigative reporter whose scoops on national security and surveillance deepened public understanding and spurred debate about the modern surveillance state. Recipient of multiple Pulitzers and major journalism awards, and contributor to journalism education.

Academic Societies

  • Princeton University (lectures / visiting appointments)
  • The Century Foundation (senior fellow)

Archives

  • The Washington Post archives
  • Reporting materials held by major publishers and public archives

In Popular Culture

  • Industry interest in adaptations of Angler (optioned projects)

Quotes

  • Taken together, the revelations have brought to light a global surveillance system that cast off many of its historical restraints after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Secret legal authorities empowered the NSA to sweep in the telephone, Internet and location records of whole populations.
    Source: The Washington Post (Barton Gellman, 2013) (2013)

Trivia

  • As a high-school newspaper editor he fought censorship when a principal seized and burned an issue; he later sued the school district.
  • Attended Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.
  • Has contributed to multiple Pulitzer Prizes as an individual and as a member or leader of teams.
  • Partner is Dafna Linzer; previously married to Tracy Ellen Sivitz; father of four children.