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Nicholas D. Kristof

ニコラス・ドナベット・クリストフ

Nicholas Donabet Kristof

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1959-04-27 （Chicago, Illinois, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Yamhill, Oregon (raised) → Scarsdale, New York (resident) → New York City (work base)

Career

Occupations
journalist, author, columnist
Active Years
1984-
Affiliations
The New York Times, Board of Overseers, Harvard University (former member), American Philosophical Society, Association of American Rhodes Scholars (board of trustees)
Memberships
American Philosophical Society

Education

Harvard College
Government
Degree: BA
Period: 1977–1981
Year of Graduation: 1981
Country: United States
Phi Beta Kappa
Magdalen College, Oxford
Law
Degree: BA（first-class honours、のち慣例によりMA）
Period: 1981–1983
Year of Graduation: 1983
Country: United Kingdom
Rhodes Scholar; earned first‑class honours
American University in Cairo
Arabic studies
Period: 1983–1984
Country: Egypt
Studied Arabic for the 1983–84 academic year

Awards

Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting
1990
Work: Reporting on pro‑democracy student movement and Tiananmen Square protests (with Sheryl WuDunn)
Organization: Columbia University (Pulitzer Prize)
Result: Winner
Pulitzer Prize for Commentary
2006
Work: Columns focusing on genocide in Darfur and voiceless people worldwide
Organization: Columbia University (Pulitzer Prize)
Result: Winner
George Polk Award
Organization: George Polk Awards
Result: Winner
Dayton Literary Peace Prize (Lifetime Achievement)
2009
Organization: Dayton Literary Peace Prize
Result: Winner
Emmy Award (News/Documentary — team)
2021
Work: Heartache in the Hot Zone: The Front Line Against Covid-19
Organization: National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
Result: Winner
Anne Frank Award
2008
Organization: Anne Frank Award
Result: Winner
Goldsmith Award for Career Excellence in Journalism
2013
Organization: Harvard University (Goldsmith Awards)
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power

1994 non‑fiction, journalism

A journalistic account of China's rise and the political and social tensions accompanying it.

China's modernizationpolitical change

Thunder from the East: Portrait of a Rising Asia

1999 non‑fiction, international reporting

Profiles of economic and social transformation across Asia.

economic developmentsocial change

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

2009 non‑fiction (feminism, human rights)

Examines oppression of women worldwide—trafficking, gender violence—and proposes ways to transform oppression into opportunity. Bestseller and adapted into a documentary.

women's rightshuman traffickinggender equality
Adaptations
  • [documentary] Half the Sky (documentary) (2012)

A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity

2014 non‑fiction (philanthropy, social change)

Explores how philanthropy and social interventions can transform lives and create opportunity.

philanthropysocial change

Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope

2020 non‑fiction (social issues)

A reportage on economic and social hardship among America's working class and paths toward recovery.

inequalitysocial resilience
Adaptations
  • [documentary] Tightrope (feature documentary) (2019)

Bibliography

  • China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power
  • Thunder from the East: Portrait of a Rising Asia
  • Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide
  • A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity
  • Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope

Adaptations

  • Half the Sky (documentary, 2012)
  • Tightrope (feature documentary, 2019)
  • Reporter (film derived from Win a Trip program, premiered Sundance 2009)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
on‑the‑ground investigative reportageop‑ed style emphasizing human rights and social justice
Recurring Motifs
poverty and inequalitywomen and gender issueshumanitarian crises in conflict zones

Legacy

Kristof has drawn global attention to neglected humanitarian issues—Darfur, trafficking, women's rights—through international reporting and opinion columns. With multiple Pulitzers and other honors, he is regarded as an influential voice in contemporary journalism, though his approach has also attracted criticism for possible oversimplification and Western 'white savior' framing.

Academic Societies

  • American Philosophical Society

Archives

  • The New York Times archive
  • Harvard University archives (related materials)

In Popular Culture

  • Reporter (documentary, based on Win a Trip with Nick Kristof program)
  • Documentary adaptations of Half the Sky

Quotes

  • He has been called 'the moral conscience of our generation of journalists.'
    Source: The Washington Post profile (2011)
  • "There is no one in journalism... who has done anything like the work he has done to figure out how poor people are actually living around the world."
    Source: Bill Clinton (2009 statement) (2009)

Trivia

  • With wife Sheryl WuDunn, one of the first married couples to win a Pulitzer Prize (1990).
  • Longtime New York Times columnist known for reporting on human rights and conflict zones.
  • In 2016 he chased and tackled a burglar in a Philadelphia hotel; the incident made national headlines.