George Packer
Encyclopedia
George Packer is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 journalist, novelist and playwright.

Biography

Packer's parents, Nancy Packer and Herbert Packer, were both academics at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

; his maternal grandfather was George Huddleston
George Huddleston
George Huddleston was a U.S. Representative from Alabama, father of George Huddleston, Jr.Born on a farm near Lebanon, Tennessee, Huddleston attended the common schools....

, a congressman from Alabama. His sister, Ann Packer
Ann Packer (author)
Ann Packer is an American novelist and short story writer, perhaps best known for her critically acclaimed first novel The Dive From Clausen's Pier. She is the recipient of a James Michener Award and a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship...

, is also a writer. Packer graduated from Yale College
Yale College
Yale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges.-Residential colleges:...

, where he lived in Calhoun College
Calhoun College
Calhoun College is a residential college of Yale University.-Early history:In 1641, John Brockston established a farm on the plot of land that is now Calhoun College...

, in 1982, and served in the Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...

 in Togo
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...

.
His essays and articles have appeared in Boston Review
Boston Review
Boston Review is a bimonthly American political and literary magazine. The magazine covers, specifically, political debates, literature, and poetry...

, The Nation, World Affairs
World Affairs (journal)
World Affairs is a bimonthly magazine covering international relations. It is the official journal of the American Peace Society. The magazine has been published since 1837 and was re-launched in January 2008 as a new publication. Each issue contains articles offering diverse perspectives on global...

, Harper's, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

, and The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...

, among other publications. Packer is a columnist for Mother Jones
Mother Jones (magazine)
Mother Jones is an American independent news organization, featuring investigative and breaking news reporting on politics, the environment, human rights, and culture. Mother Jones has been nominated for 23 National Magazine Awards and has won six times, including for General Excellence in 2001,...

and has been a staff writer for The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...

since May 2003.

Packer was a Holtzbrinck Fellow Class of Fall 2009 at the American Academy in Berlin
American Academy in Berlin
The American Academy in Berlin is a research and cultural institution in Berlin whose stated mission is to foster a greater understanding and dialogue between the people of the United States and the people of Germany.The American Academy was founded in September 1994 by a group of prominent...

. The title of his project there is Enlightenment and War.

Packer's most recent book, The Assassins' Gate: America in Iraq, analyzes the events that led to the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...

 and reports on subsequent developments in that country, largely based on interviews with ordinary Iraqis.

He was a finalist for the 2004 Michael Kelly Award.

Books

  • The Village of Waiting
    The Village of Waiting
    After serving with the Peace Corps in Togo in 1982-3, George Packer wrote The Village of Waiting about his experiences there. The book chronicles Packer's time as an English teacher in the small village of Lavie , as well as his visits to the capital Lomé and several other African countries...

    (1988). New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (1st Farrar edition, 2001). Pb. ISBN 0-374-52780-6
  • The Half Man (1991). Random House ISBN 0-394-58192-X
  • Central Square (1998). Graywolf Press ISBN 1-55597-277-2
  • Blood of the Liberals (2000). Farrar, Straus and Giroux ISBN 0-374-25142-8
  • The Fight is for Democracy: Winning the War of Ideas in America and the World (2003, as editor). Harper Perennial. Pb. ISBN 0-06-053249-1
  • The Assassins' Gate: America in Iraq (2005) Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2005 ISBN 0-374-29963-3
  • Betrayed: A Play (2008) Faber & Faber
  • Interesting Times: Writings from a Turbulent Decade (2009). ISBN 978-0374175726

Articles

[Richard Holbrooke's plan to avoid the mistakes of Vietnam in Afghanistan]. [An assessment of the post 9/11 decade]

Magazine Articles About the Iraq War


Other Topics

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