Los Angeles Times Book Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 31 (2010) Winner
Thomas Powers
トーマス・パワーズ
Thomas Powers
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1940-12-12 （New York City, United States）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- New York City (1970s and earlier) → Vermont (current)
Career
- Occupations
- author, journalist, intelligence expert, historian (modern history)
- Active Years
- 1964-
- Affiliations
- Steerforth Press (co-founder), The New York Review of Books (contributor)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tabor Academy | — | — | — | 1954–1958 | United States |
| Yale University | — | English | B.A. | 1960–1964 | United States |
Tabor Academy
Period:
1954–1958
Year of Graduation:
1958
Country:
United States
Completed secondary education
Yale University
English
Degree:
B.A.
Period:
1960–1964
Year of Graduation:
1964
Country:
United States
Earned a degree in English
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting | Articles on Diana Oughton | — | The Pulitzer Prizes | 受賞 |
| 1984 | Olive Branch Award | Cover story on the Cold War in The Atlantic | — | Unknown (for a cover story in The Atlantic) | 受賞 |
| 2007 | Berlin Prize | — | — | American Academy in Berlin | 受賞 |
| 2010 | Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History | The Killing of Crazy Horse | 歴史 | Los Angeles Times | 受賞 |
Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting
1971
Work:
Articles on Diana Oughton
Organization:
The Pulitzer Prizes
Result:
受賞
Olive Branch Award
1984
Work:
Cover story on the Cold War in The Atlantic
Organization:
Unknown (for a cover story in The Atlantic)
Result:
受賞
Berlin Prize
2007
Organization:
American Academy in Berlin
Result:
受賞
Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History
2010
Work:
The Killing of Crazy Horse
Category:
歴史
Organization:
Los Angeles Times
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Diana: The Making of a Terrorist
1971 Non-fiction (crime/social analysis)Investigative reporting on Diana Oughton, a member of the Weather Underground, tracing her radicalization and personal history.
political radicalizationformation of terrorismAmerican society in the 1960s–70s
The Man Who Kept the Secrets: Richard Helms and the CIA
1979 Non-fiction (intelligence history)A study of Richard Helms and the CIA, revealing the inner workings of the agency and its Cold War activities.
intelligence operationsCold War historypower and secrecy
Heisenberg's War: The Secret History of the German Bomb
1993 Non-fiction (history of science)Examines Werner Heisenberg and developments in nuclear physics in the 1930s–40s, questioning the science and ethics during wartime.
history of sciencenuclear weapons developmentscientific ethics
The Killing of Crazy Horse
2010 Non-fiction (history)Traces the life and death of Native American leader Crazy Horse, portraying the history of the Plains Sioux and American westward expansion.
Native American historyAmerican West historywar and cultural conflict
Intelligence Wars: American Secret History from Hitler to Al-Qaeda
2002 Essays/Reviews (intelligence history)A collection of essays and reviews from publications like the NY Review of Books, examining aspects of America's secret history.
intelligence historypublic memory and secrecypostwar history
Bibliography
- Diana: The Making of a Terrorist
- The War at Home
- The Man Who Kept the Secrets: Richard Helms and the CIA
- Thinking About the Next War
- Heisenberg's War: The Secret History of the German Bomb
- The Confirmation
- Intelligence Wars: American Secret History from Hitler to Al-Qaeda
- The Military Error: Baghdad and Beyond in America's War of Choice
- The Killing of Crazy Horse
- Getting Sacagawea Right (article, The New York Review of Books, 2023)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- journalistic, detailed reportagenarrative non-fictionanalytical and evidence-based prose
- Recurring Motifs
- secrecy and concealmentexercise of powerwar and national interestNative American perspectives (in later works)
Legacy
Thomas Powers is a highly regarded journalist and author on intelligence history and modern American history. The Man Who Kept the Secrets is widely regarded as a seminal work on intelligence, and The Killing of Crazy Horse received praise as a notable history book.
Archives
- The New York Review of Books contributor archive
In Popular Culture
- Works on Crazy Horse are sometimes referenced in Native American studies and related documentaries
Quotes
-
Powers is "a great journalistic anthropologist. In possibly the best book ever written about the C.I.A., The Man Who Kept the Secrets, Powers took the reader on a fascinating journey into the world of secret intelligence gathering and covert action."
Source: Evan Thomas (The New York Times review) (2010)
Trivia
- Won the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting.
- Helped found Steerforth Press in 1993.
- Won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History in 2010 for The Killing of Crazy Horse.
- Born in New York City and later resided in Vermont.