William Rivers Pitt (November 9, 1971 – September 26, 2022) was an American author, editor, and

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

political activist.

Background

William Rivers Pitt was born in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

; his father, Charles Redding Pitt, became chair of the Alabama State

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. He was educated in English literature at Holy Cross College, a Catholic college in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. He taught English literature,

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes domain ...

, and

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

at a small

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

before joining the staff of the non-profit news organization

Truthout Truthout is a non-profit news organization which describes itself as "dedicated to providing independent reporting and commentary on a diverse range of social justice issues". Truthout's main areas of focus include mass incarceration, prison a ...

Writing career

Pitt's book '' War on Iraq: What Team Bush Doesn't Want You to Know'', with

Scott Ritter William Scott Ritter Jr. (born July 15, 1961) is an American author and pundit and a former United States Marine Corps intelligence officer and United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) weapons inspector. He served as a junior military analyst d ...

, was published by Profile Books in 2002. It was an in-depth examination of the Bush administration's false WMD arguments set against testimony and data from a weapons inspector who oversaw the destruction of Iraq's stockpiles in the 1990s. In reviewing this book, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' called it "the most comprehensive independent analysis of the state of knowledge about Iraq's weapons programmes until the new team of inspectors went back." In December of 2002, the book appeared on the ''New York Times'' best-seller list, was an international best-seller, and was translated into 13 languages. Pitt's book ''The Greatest Sedition Is Silence: Four Years in America''," was published by Pluto Press in 2003. It is an analysis of U.S. politics in areas outside the push for war in Iraq, covering topics such as the Enron collapse, the media and ''Fox News'', but primarily concentrates on the aftermath of the attacks of September 11. Pitt also published ''Our Flag, Too: The Paradox of Patriotism'' with Context Books in 2003. Pitt's book ''House of Ill Repute: Reflections on War, Lies, and America's Ravaged Reputation,'' was published by

PoliPoint Press PoliPoint Press (or P3Books) was a San Francisco Bay Area publishing company that was founded to print the writings of University of Phoenix founder John Sperling. In 2004 it published its first book, Sperling's ''The Great Divide'', a book of e ...

in 2006. It serves as a second volume to Pitt's first book by compiling the myriad ways the Bush administration lied the U.S. into an invasion of Iraq, and documents the steep cost in blood, treasure and reputation brought by the war. Pitt's book ''The Mass Destruction of Iraq: The Disintegration of a Nation: Why It Is Happening, and Who Is Responsible'', was published by Truthout in 2014. The book was co-authored by Truthout reporter

Dahr Jamail Dahr Jamail (born 1968) is an American journalist who was one of the few unembedded journalists to report extensively from Iraq during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He spent eight months in Iraq, between 2003 and 2005, and presented his stories on ...

, who traveled to Iraq after "Shock and Awe" and spent months as an unembedded journalist reporting from Fallujah and other hot spots in the war. Pitt and Jamail combined to create a searing indictment of the war, and of those who championed it in Washington D.C. ''Mass Destruction'' is the last volume of Pitt's trilogy on the war.

Personal life

Pitt died on September 26, 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitt, William Rivers 1971 births 2022 deaths American bloggers American online publication editors Writers from Washington, D.C. Writers from Alabama Writers from Massachusetts 21st-century American essayists