Peter Allen Golden is an American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, and

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

ger. He is the author of 9 full-length works of non-fiction and fiction, and five books of

interactive fiction '' Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives, either in the ...

. He is best known for his writings on the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

and his interviews with

world leaders ''World Leaders'', also known as ''Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments'', is a public domain directory published weekly by the United States Central Intelligence Agency. It lists different state officials for each country ...

Early life and education

Golden was born in

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

, New Jersey, to

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

parents. He lived in Stuyvesant Village in Union Township, Union County, New Jersey. He moved to

South Orange, New Jersey South Orange, officially the Township of South Orange Village, is a suburban township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village's population was 16,198, reflecting a decline of 766 (4.5%) fro ...

, where he attended South Orange Junior High School before moving to Maplewood and graduating from

Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to: *Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama) *Columbia High School (Georgia) *Columbia High School (Florida) *Columbia High School (Idaho) *Columbia High School (Illinois) *Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...

. He attended

Ohio University Ohio University is a Public university, public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confeder ...

for two years then transferred to

University at Albany, SUNY The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is one ...

, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy.Smith, Bea. "Author has written his first love story" ''Worrall Community Newspapers,'' Dec. 2, 2010
Reprinted on Author's Website
)

Career

Nonfiction writing

In his 1992 book ''Quiet Diplomat,'' Golden described how, in 1975, U.S. President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

and U.S. Secretary of State

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...

asked industrialist and political insider

Max Fisher Max Martin Fisher (July 15, 1908 – March 3, 2005) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was a benefactor/alumnus of the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University. He spent much of his life raising money for philanthropic ...

to help heal a diplomatic rift between the United States and Israel over relations with Egypt."Max Fisher, 96, Philanthropist And Adviser to Presidents, Dies"
''The Associated Press'' (in ''The New York Times'') March 4, 2005 He also reported on a 1965 visit Fisher made to U.S. President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

’s Gettysburg farm during which Eisenhower told him that he regretted pushing Israel to pull out of the Sinai. This fact was essentially unknown to historians until Golden wrote about it, and Fisher’s claim was backed up by President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

, who during his interview with Golden said: "Eisenhower. . . in the 1960s told me—and I am sure he told others—that he thought the action that was taken t Suezwas a mistake."Lerner, Dr. Josep
"Eisenhower Regretted He Pushed for Sinai Withdrawal"
''Independent Media Review Analysis'' June 8, 2007Lerner, Dr. Josep
"Pres. Eisenhower regretted he pushed Israel to pull from Sinai"
''Israel Behind The News'' March 4, 2005 In 2000, Golden co-wrote a memoir called ''I Rest My Case'', chronicling the life of J. Stanley Shaw, one of the preeminent bankruptcy attorneys in the United States.Richardson, Cle

''The Daily News (New York)'' March 4, 2005 Some of his writings have appeared in ''Detroit Free Press Magazine, New Jersey Monthly, Microsoft eDirections, Beyond Computing, The Forward,'' and ''Capital Magazine''."Albany Author Puts Computer User Inside"
''Times Union (Albany)'' Page C1 May 21, 1987 His blog, titled ''Boardside: Dispatches from the Education Wars,'' was a provocative online diary that chronicled his experiences serving as a Board of Education member in the

Guilderland Central School District Guilderland Central School District (GCSD) is a school district encompassing most of the Town of Guilderland and parts of Bethlehem, New Scotland, and Knox. The district serves approximately 4,828 K-12 students across seven school buildings ...

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...

. According to the ''

Times Union (Albany) The ''Times Union'' is an American daily newspaper, serving the Capital Region of New York. Although the newspaper focuses on Albany and its suburbs, it covers all parts of the four-county area, including the cities of Troy, Schenectady and Sar ...

'', New York State School Boards Association spokeswoman Barbara Bradley said that school board members are within their rights to create blogs like Golden's, and, although she was not aware of any others in New York state in the year 2007, she expected many more in the future.Waldman, Scott
"An insider's view of a school board: Blog gives Guilderland's Peter Golden a platform to comment on education"
''Times Union (Albany),'' Page C1 July. 8, 2007 For ''Quiet Diplomat'' and ''O Powerful Western Star,'' Golden interviewed the following notable world leaders:Grondahl, Paul
"Author Explores World of Private Diplomacy"
''Times Union (Albany),'' Page H6 June. 21, 1992 * U.S. President

* U.S. President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

* U.S. President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

* U.S.S.R. President

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

* U.S. Secretary of State

* U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig * U.S. Secretary of State

George Shultz George Pratt Shultz (; December 13, 1920February 6, 2021) was an American economist, businessman, diplomat and statesman. He served in various positions under two different Republican presidents and is one of the only two persons to have held fou ...

* U.S. Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger * Israeli Prime Minister

Yitzhak Shamir Yitzhak Shamir ( he, יצחק שמיר, ; born Yitzhak Yezernitsky; October 22, 1915 – June 30, 2012) was an Israeli politician and the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms, 1983–1984 and 1986–1992. Before the establishment ...

* Israeli President & Prime Minister

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...

* Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin His history of the Cold War titled ''O Powerful Western Star'' was published in 2012. In 2016, Golden served as ghostwriter for ''Keep Swinging: A Memoir of Politics and Justice'' detailing the life of Senator Joseph L. Bruno.

Fiction writing

In the 1980s, Golden wrote five

novels for computers as part of a joint venture between Imagic and Bantam called the Living Literature series. His first interactive computer novel, ''Another Bow,'' was a Sherlock Holmes mystery set aboard the S.S. Destiny and was a Waldenbooks best-seller for many weeks. In March 2011, ''Comeback Love'' was purchased for publication by Atria books, an imprint of

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

. It was published in early 2012."Publishers Marketplace: Dealmaker: Susan Golomb (Agent)"
''Publisher’s Marketplace'' March 10, 2011 His next novel, ''Wherever There is Light'', was published on Nov. 3, 2015 by Atria books, an imprint of

. On April 10, 2018, ''Nothing Is Forgotten'' was published. Golden is working on a historical thriller about the

John F. Kennedy 1960 presidential campaign The 1960 presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy, then junior United States senator from Massachusetts, was formally launched on January 2, 1960, as Senator Kennedy announced his intention to seek the Democratic Party nomination for the presid ...

Reactions and criticisms

Writing for ''

Commentary Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...

'' magazine,

Leonard Garment Leonard Garment (May 11, 1924 – July 13, 2013) was an American attorney, public servant, and arts advocate. He served U.S. presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford in the White House in various positions from 1969 to 1976, including Counselor ...

, former special counsel to President

, described Golden's ''Quiet Diplomat'' as a “meticulously researched and gracefully written book” that “gives us a concrete view of the emergence of American Jews into the mainstream of national politics since World War II.”Garment, Leonard
"Mediator"
''Commentary'' Feb. 1993. P 58 - 61.
Reprinted on Author's Website
) Writing for ''

The Jerusalem Report ''The Jerusalem Report'' is a fortnightly print and online news magazine that covers political, security, economic, religious and cultural issues in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Founded as an independent weekly publication in 199 ...

'', J.J. Goldberg called Golden's ''Quiet Diplomat'' “a disturbing, challenging book. It suggests, without answering, a wide range of questions about the relationship between the American Jewish community and its ‘leadership,’ and between the Diaspora community and the state of Israel. What is the Jewish community's role in U.S.-Israel relations? Can Israel trust representatives over whom it has no control? Whom do these “Jewish leaders” represent? In the end, Fisher and eter Goldenleave their readers free to draw their own conclusions.”Goldberg, J.J
“Fisher’s Tale”
''The Jerusalem Report'' Sep 24, 1992 pp. 46. Criticizing Golden’s ''Boardside'' blog, John Dornbush, then serving as

Board of Education Vice President, told the ''

'' that the website was inappropriate and that “It shows a lack of respect for others on the board.” On the other hand, Board member Barbara Fraterrigo told the same reporter that Golden's blog is a reflection of free speech in the modern age and is another means to give the public information. New York State School Boards Association spokeswoman Barbara Bradley also told the same reporter that "School board members have a right to speak as individuals" and "This is another vehicle for them."

Awards and honors

In 1989 Golden won the

New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...

’s Media Award for a critical profile he wrote of Judge Joseph Harris.

Personal life

Golden is married to Annis Golden, a communication professor at SUNY Albany. He has one son. He served as a board of education member of the

Bibliography

Nonfiction * ''Quiet Diplomat: A Biography of Max M. Fisher'' (1992) * ''I Rest My Case: My Long Journey from the Castle on the Hill to Home'' A Memoir by J Stanley Shaw with Peter Golden (2000) * ''Shoshanna'' (2009) * ''O Powerful Western Star'' (2012)Connally, Siobhan
"Five Questions for Jan. 18, 2011: Peter Golden"
''The Record (Troy)'', Jan 18, 2011 Novels *''Comeback Love'' (2012) *''Wherever There is Light'' (2015) *''Nothing Is Forgotten'' (2018) Interactive fiction *''Another Bow'' (1985)

References

External links

Peter Golden Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Golden, Peter Allen 1953 births American bloggers Interactive fiction writers Jewish American writers Living people Writers from Newark, New Jersey 21st-century American Jews University at Albany, SUNY alumni