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Kai Bird

カイ・バード

Kai Bird

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1951-09-02 （Eugene, Oregon, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Eugene, Oregon → Jerusalem → Beirut → Dhahran → Cairo → Mumbai → New York City

Career

Occupations
Biographer, Columnist, Journalist, Research Fellow, Lecturer
Active Years
1973-
Affiliations
CUNY Graduate Center (Leon Levy Center for Biography), The Nation (former associate editor/columnist), Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (Fellow)

Education

Carleton College
History
Degree: B.A.
Period: 1969–1973
Year of Graduation: 1973
Country: United States
B.A. in History
Northwestern University (Medill School of Journalism)
Journalism
Degree: M.S.
Period: 1973–1975
Year of Graduation: 1975
Country: United States
M.S. in Journalism

Awards

Thomas J. Watson Fellowship
1973
Organization: Thomas J. Watson Foundation
Result: 受賞
Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellowship
1981
Organization: Alicia Patterson Foundation
Result: 受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
1984
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
MacArthur Grant (Research and Writing)
1993
Organization: John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Result: 助成（1993–1995）
Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography
2006
Work: American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
Category: 伝記
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board
Result: 受賞（共著：Martin J. Sherwin と）
National Book Critics Circle Award
2005
Work: American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
Organization: National Book Critics Circle
Result: 受賞（共著）
Duff Cooper Prize
2008
Work: American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
Organization: Duff Cooper Prize trustees
Result: 受賞（共著）
National Book Critics Circle Award (finalist)
2010
Work: Crossing Mandelbaum Gate: Coming of Age Between the Arabs and Israelis, 1956–1978
Category: 自伝
Organization: National Book Critics Circle
Result: ファイナリスト

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer

2005 Biography / History

A detailed biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer that intertwines his scientific achievements, political challenges, and personal life against the backdrop of the Cold War and nuclear development.

Nuclear weaponsCold WarScience and politics

The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames

2014 Biography / Non-fiction

A biography of CIA officer Robert Ames that examines his role in U.S.-Middle East relations and chronicles his career and death.

Middle East diplomacyIntelligence agenciesPeace processes

Crossing Mandelbaum Gate: Coming of Age Between the Arabs and Israelis, 1956–1978

2010 Memoir / History

A memoir that blends Kai Bird's personal coming-of-age experiences in the Arab world with broader historical context of the region.

IdentityMiddle East historyMemory and nation

The Chairman: John J. McCloy and the Making of the American Establishment

1992 Biography / Political history

A biography of John J. McCloy that explores the formation of America's 20th-century political and economic establishment.

PoliticsStructures of powerForeign policy

The Color of Truth: McGeorge Bundy and William Bundy, Brothers in Arms

1998 Biography / History

A study of McGeorge and William Bundy that traces U.S. foreign policy through their public and private lives.

Foreign policyPower and the individualPolitics during the Vietnam era

Hiroshima's Shadow: Writings on the Denial of History and the Smithsonian Controversy

1998 Edited volume / History

An edited collection of essays on Hiroshima, the denial of history, and controversies surrounding the Smithsonian exhibition.

Historical memoryWar remembrancePublic history

The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter

2021 Biography / Politics

A reexamination of Jimmy Carter's presidency, assessing his political legacy and the unfinished aspects of his administration.

Presidential studiesHuman-rights diplomacyPolitical assessment

Bibliography

  • The Chairman: John J. McCloy and the Making of the American Establishment (1992)
  • The Color of Truth: McGeorge Bundy and William Bundy, Brothers in Arms (1998)
  • Hiroshima's Shadow: Writings on the Denial of History and the Smithsonian Controversy (1998, ed.)
  • American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer (2005, co-authored)
  • Crossing Mandelbaum Gate: Coming of Age Between the Arabs and Israelis, 1956–1978 (2010)
  • The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames (2014)
  • The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter (2021)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Investigative narrative non-fictionFact-driven biographical proseFusion of historical context and personal history
Recurring Motifs
Cold War and nuclear issuesMiddle East politics and diplomacyInterplay of power and the individual

Legacy

Kai Bird is internationally recognized as a biographer of Cold War, nuclear, and Middle East subjects; his Pulitzer-winning American Prometheus influenced contemporary standards in biography.

Trivia

  • His father was a U.S. Foreign Service officer; Bird spent parts of his childhood in the Middle East and South Asia.
  • His given name was inspired by a Chinese refugee, Kai-Yu Hsu, whom his father met.
  • He graduated from Carleton College (1973) and Northwestern University’s Medill School (1975).
  • Won the Pulitzer Prize for American Prometheus (co-authored with Martin J. Sherwin).