Mary Eberstadt
Encyclopedia
Mary Tedeschi Eberstadt is an American author
and a research fellow
at Stanford University
’s Hoover Institution
. She also serves as consulting editor of Policy Review
, the Hoover Institution’s bimonthly journal. Her work focuses on issues in American society, culture, and philosophy.
Eberstadt graduated magna cum laude in 1983 from Cornell University
, where she was a four-year Telluride Scholar.
She is also the author of numerous influential essays, including "Why Ritalin Rules," "Home-Alone America," "Eminem is Right," "How the West Really Lost God," and "Is Food the New Sex?" and "The Vindication of Humanae Vitae," "How Pedophilia Lost its Cool," and "Christianity Lite."
New York Times columnist David Brooks has twice awarded Eberstadt's writing a “Sidney,” his annual award for best essay writing of the year. Columnist George Will has called Eberstadt "intimidatingly intelligent," and author George Weigel has called her “our premier analyst of American cultural foibles and follies, with a keen eye for oddities that illuminate just how strange the country’s moral culture has become.”
Eberstadt’s first book, Home-Alone America, argued that separating children from family members at early ages is linked to childhood problems such as obesity and rising rates of mental and behavioral disorders. The book also connected these problems to contemporary popular culture, particularly as reflected in adolescent music (including the award-winning chapter, “Eminem is Right”). National Review called the book “important”and “thought-provoking.” R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President, of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, called it “a book that should be read by every concerned parent, pastor, and policy maker.”
In 2007, Eberstadt published and contributed the introductory essay to Why I Turned Right: Leading Baby Boom Conservatives Chronicle their Political Journeys, which featured personal essays by prominent conservative writers, editors, and pundits, including P.J. O’Rourke, Dinesh D’Souza, Stanley Kurtz, Tod Lindberg, Joseph Bottum, Sally Satel, Heather Mac Donald, Peter Berkowitz, Danielle Crittenden, Richard Starr, David Brooks, and Rich Lowry. Christopher Buckley called the book “A thoroughly engaging, witty, and instructive series of essays by the best and rightest of our generation."
In 2010, Eberstadt published her first work of fiction, The Loser Letters: A Comic Tale of Life, Death, and Atheism. Scot McKnight of beliefnet wrote that “[C.S.] Lewis now has a rival: The Loser Letters.” The Catholic Post called it “an instant classic.” P.J. O’Rourke wrote that “Mary Eberstadt is the rightful heir and assignee of C.S. Lewis, and her heroine in The Loser Letters is the legitimate child (or perhaps grandchild) of ‘the patient’ in The Screwtape Letters.”
From 1990 to 1998, Eberstadt was executive editor of National Interest magazine. Between 1985 and 1987, she was a member of the Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. State Department and a speechwriter for then Secretary of State George P. Shultz
. In 1984-85 she was a special assistant to Ambassador Jeane J. Kirkpatrick
. Eberstadt is also a former managing editor of the Public Interest.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and a research fellow
Research fellow
The title of research fellow is used to denote a research position at a university or similar institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a principal investigator...
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...
’s Hoover Institution
Hoover Institution
The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace is a public policy think tank and library founded in 1919 by then future U.S. president, Herbert Hoover, an early alumnus of Stanford....
. She also serves as consulting editor of Policy Review
Policy Review
Policy Review is one of America's leading conservative journals. It was founded by the Heritage Foundation and was for many years the foundation's flagship publication. In 2001, the publication was acquired by the Stanford University-based Hoover Institution, though it maintains its office on...
, the Hoover Institution’s bimonthly journal. Her work focuses on issues in American society, culture, and philosophy.
Eberstadt graduated magna cum laude in 1983 from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, where she was a four-year Telluride Scholar.
Professional career
Throughout her career, Eberstadt has written for a variety of magazines and newspapers, including National Review Online, Policy Review, The Weekly Standard, Commentary, the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Times, First Things, and the American Spectator.She is also the author of numerous influential essays, including "Why Ritalin Rules," "Home-Alone America," "Eminem is Right," "How the West Really Lost God," and "Is Food the New Sex?" and "The Vindication of Humanae Vitae," "How Pedophilia Lost its Cool," and "Christianity Lite."
New York Times columnist David Brooks has twice awarded Eberstadt's writing a “Sidney,” his annual award for best essay writing of the year. Columnist George Will has called Eberstadt "intimidatingly intelligent," and author George Weigel has called her “our premier analyst of American cultural foibles and follies, with a keen eye for oddities that illuminate just how strange the country’s moral culture has become.”
Eberstadt’s first book, Home-Alone America, argued that separating children from family members at early ages is linked to childhood problems such as obesity and rising rates of mental and behavioral disorders. The book also connected these problems to contemporary popular culture, particularly as reflected in adolescent music (including the award-winning chapter, “Eminem is Right”). National Review called the book “important”and “thought-provoking.” R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President, of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, called it “a book that should be read by every concerned parent, pastor, and policy maker.”
In 2007, Eberstadt published and contributed the introductory essay to Why I Turned Right: Leading Baby Boom Conservatives Chronicle their Political Journeys, which featured personal essays by prominent conservative writers, editors, and pundits, including P.J. O’Rourke, Dinesh D’Souza, Stanley Kurtz, Tod Lindberg, Joseph Bottum, Sally Satel, Heather Mac Donald, Peter Berkowitz, Danielle Crittenden, Richard Starr, David Brooks, and Rich Lowry. Christopher Buckley called the book “A thoroughly engaging, witty, and instructive series of essays by the best and rightest of our generation."
In 2010, Eberstadt published her first work of fiction, The Loser Letters: A Comic Tale of Life, Death, and Atheism. Scot McKnight of beliefnet wrote that “[C.S.] Lewis now has a rival: The Loser Letters.” The Catholic Post called it “an instant classic.” P.J. O’Rourke wrote that “Mary Eberstadt is the rightful heir and assignee of C.S. Lewis, and her heroine in The Loser Letters is the legitimate child (or perhaps grandchild) of ‘the patient’ in The Screwtape Letters.”
From 1990 to 1998, Eberstadt was executive editor of National Interest magazine. Between 1985 and 1987, she was a member of the Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. State Department and a speechwriter for then Secretary of State George P. Shultz
George P. Shultz
George Pratt Shultz is an American economist, statesman, and businessman. He served as the United States Secretary of Labor from 1969 to 1970, as the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury from 1972 to 1974, and as the U.S. Secretary of State from 1982 to 1989...
. In 1984-85 she was a special assistant to Ambassador Jeane J. Kirkpatrick
Jeane Kirkpatrick
Jeane Jordan Kirkpatrick was an American ambassador and an ardent anticommunist. After serving as Ronald Reagan's foreign policy adviser in his 1980 campaign and later in his Cabinet, the longtime Democrat-turned-Republican was nominated as the U.S...
. Eberstadt is also a former managing editor of the Public Interest.
Publications
- Home-Alone America: The Hidden Toll of Day Care, Behavioral Drugs and Other Parent Substitutes (Penguin/Sentinel, 2004) ISBN 1595230041
- Why I Turned Right: Leading Baby Boom Conservatives Chronicle Their Political Journeys - Editor (Simon and Schuster/Threshold, 2007) ISBN 1416528555
- The Loser Letters: A Comic Tale of Life, Death, and Atheism (Ignatius Press, 2010) ISBN 1586174312