World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

David George Nasaw

デイヴィッド・ジョージ・ナソー

David George Nasaw

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1945-07-18 （Cortland, New York, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Judaism
Residence History
Roslyn, New York → New York City

Career

Occupations
historian, author, professor
Active Years
1970-
Affiliations
CUNY Graduate Center, Leon Levy Center for Biography (advisory board chair), Radical History Review (co-founder)
Influenced By
Jean-Paul Sartre (subject of dissertation)

Education

Bucknell University
Degree: B.A.
Period: 1963–1967
Year of Graduation: 1967
Country: United States
Columbia University
Degree: Ph.D.
Period: 1967–1972
Year of Graduation: 1972
Country: United States
Dissertation: "Jean-Paul Sartre: Apprenticeship in History (1925–45)"

Awards

Bancroft Prize
2001
Work: The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst
Category: 伝記／アメリカ史
Organization: Columbia University (administered)
Result: 受賞
J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize
2001
Work: The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst
Category: 伝記／ノンフィクション
Organization: Nieman Foundation (Harvard)
Result: 受賞
Ambassador Book Award
2001
Work: The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst
Category: 伝記
Organization: Ambassador Book Award (sponsoring organizations)
Result: 受賞
Ann M. Sperber Biography Award for Journalism
2001
Work: The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst
Category: 伝記（ジャーナリズム関連）
Organization: Ann M. Sperber Award committee
Result: 受賞
American History Book Prize (New-York Historical Society)
2006
Work: Andrew Carnegie
Category: 伝記／アメリカ史
Organization: New-York Historical Society
Result: 受賞
American History Book Prize
2006
Work: Andrew Carnegie
Category: 歴史
Organization: American History Book Prize
Result: 受賞
Pulitzer Prize (Finalist)
2007
Work: Andrew Carnegie
Category: 伝記
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board
Result: 最終候補
Pulitzer Prize (Finalist)
2013
Work: The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy
Category: 伝記
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board
Result: 最終候補

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Starting Your Own High School (editor)

1972 education history / practical guide

Edited volume documenting the Elizabeth Cleaners Street School, containing accounts and guidance on alternative education practice.

alternative educationpractical education history

Schooled to Order: A Social History of Public Schooling in United States

1979 history of education

A social history of American public schooling that uncovers episodes such as the newsboys' movements and other aspects of childhood labor and education.

educational institutionschild laborurban history
Adaptations
  • [film (inspiration)] Newsies / Kenny Ortega (1992)

Children of the City: At Work and at Play

1985 social history

A historical study examining the work and play of children in urban environments.

children's historysocial change

Going Out: The Rise and Fall of Public Amusements

1993 cultural history

Examines the history of popular amusements such as movies and dance, exploring the relationship between public space and commercial culture.

popular culturehistory of amusementspublic space

The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst

2000 biography / press history

Comprehensive biography of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, examining power, the press, and personal ambition.

media historypower and capitalbiography

Andrew Carnegie

2006 biography / business history

A biography of Andrew Carnegie that discusses his life and the intersections of capitalism, philanthropy, and politics.

capitalismphilanthropybiography

The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy

2012 biography / political history

A major biography of Joseph P. Kennedy that portrays the intersections of American politics, family, and economics.

political historyfamily historybiography

The Last Million: Europe's Displaced Persons from World War to Cold War

2020 modern history / international history

Study of displaced persons in postwar Europe and the international political responses from World War II through the early Cold War.

refugee historyinternational politicspostwar reconstruction

The Wounded Generation: Coming Home After World War II

2025 social history / postwar history

Analysis of returning World War II veterans' postwar lives and societal impacts (published 2025).

postwar societyveteransreintegration

Bibliography

  • Starting Your Own High School (ed.) (1972)
  • Schooled to Order: A Social History of Public Schooling in United States (1979)
  • Children of the City: At Work and at Play (1985)
  • Going Out: The Rise and Fall of Public Amusements (1993)
  • The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst (2000)
  • Andrew Carnegie (2006)
  • The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy (2012)
  • The Last Million: Europe's Displaced Persons from World War to Cold War (2020)
  • The Wounded Generation: Coming Home After World War II (2025)

Adaptations

  • The research in Schooled to Order helped inspire the film 'Newsies'.

Style & Themes

Literary Style
scholarly yet narrative historical writingevidence-based, detail-oriented prose
Recurring Motifs
popular amusements and the mediaintersection of entrepreneurship and philanthropycities and social change

Legacy

A leading historian of American cultural, social, and business history from the early twentieth century through the postwar era. His detailed biographies and media histories have influenced both academia and general readers; he is also noted for his critique of philanthropy and examinations of popular culture.

Academic Societies

  • American Historical Association

Archives

  • Leon Levy Center for Biography (collections / related materials)

In Popular Culture

  • Research that influenced the film/musical 'Newsies'

Quotes

  • Writing history is not an art but a craft; it requires interpretation and fifty sources and integrating and assembling this material into a story told by an individual voice.
    Source: The New York Times (interview) (2002)

Trivia

  • Married novelist/filmmaker Dinitia Smith in 1978.
  • Father of twin sons born in 1980 (Peter Caleb Nasaw and Daniel Allen Nasaw); Daniel is a journalist.
  • Brother Jonathan Lewis Nasaw is a thriller novelist.
  • His research helped inspire the Disney film 'Newsies'.