David Talbot (born September 22, 1951) is an American journalist, author, editor, activist and independent historian. Talbot is known for his books about the "hidden history" of U.S. power and the liberal movements to change America, as well as his public advocacy. He was also the founder and former editor-in-chief of the online magazine ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

''. Talbot founded ''Salon'' in 1995. The magazine gained a large following and broke several major national stories. Since leaving ''Salon'', Talbot has researched and written on the Kennedy assassination and other areas of what he terms 'hidden history'. Talbot has worked as a senior editor for ''Mother Jones'' magazine and a features editor for ''

The San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and has been published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst and the flagship of the H ...

'', and has written for ''Time'' magazine, ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' and other publications. In addition to his work as an independent historian, Talbot has been deeply engaged in political activism, especially in his hometown, San Francisco, where he has campaigned for many progressive candidates and has been called "a leader in the fight to keep San Francisco affordable." On his blog, Talbot offers frequent opinions on national and local topics.

Early life and education

Talbot was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. His father was actor Lyle Talbot. He attended the Harvard School for Boys but did not graduate after falling afoul of the school's headmaster and ROTC program during the Vietnam War. He attended the

University of California at Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located in Monterey Bay, ...

Career

After graduating, he returned to Los Angeles, where he co-wrote with Barbara Zheutlin a history of the Hollywood Left, ''Creative Differences: Profiles of Hollywood Dissidents'' and freelanced for Crawdaddy,

and other magazines. He later was hired by '' Environmental Action'' Foundation in Washington, D.C. to write ''Power and Light,'' a book about the politics of energy. After he returned to California, he worked as an editor at Mother Jones magazine before San Francisco Examiner publisher Will Hearst hired him to edit the newspaper's Sunday magazine, Image. It was at the ''Examiner'' where Talbot developed the idea for Salon, convincing several of his newspaper colleagues to join him.

''Salon''

'' is a web magazine based in San Francisco. Talbot has characterized ''Salon'' as aiming to be a "smart tabloid." In 1996, ''Time'' magazine picked ''Salon'' as the web site of the year. Originally created to cover books and popular culture, the web site became increasingly politicized during the Clinton impeachment drama in the late 1990s. ''Salon'' broke from the mainstream press by defending the Clinton presidency and investigating the right-wing prosecutorial apparatus headed by Kenneth Starr and Rep. Henry Hyde, whose own infidelity ''Salon'' exposed. Before stepping down as ''Salons CEO and editor-in-chief in 2005, Talbot stabilized the financially rocky web enterprise. Talbot returned briefly as ''Salon'' CEO in 2011 but has since left the company.

''Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years''

After leaving Salon, Talbot resumed his career as an author of popular history books. Talbot's book, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' bestseller, ''Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years'', offers a potentially controversial view of the Kennedy presidency and assassination, and explores Bobby Kennedy's search for the truth about his brother's murder. Talbot is now working on a feature documentary based on ''Brothers''.

''Devil Dog''

Talbot's book ''Devil Dog: The Amazing True Story of the Man Who Saved America'' chronicles the life and exploits of antiwar U.S. Marine Major General Smedley Darlington Butler. The book, which was part of an illustrated history series called ''Pulp History'', is a collaboration with

Zap Comix ''Zap Comix'' is an underground comix series which was originally part of the Counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the late 1960s. While a few small-circulation self-published satirical comic books had been printed prior to this, ''Zap' ...

artist

Spain Rodriguez Manuel Rodriguez (March 2, 1940 – November 28, 2012), better known as Spain or Spain Rodriguez, was an American underground cartoonist who created the character Trashman. Influences His experiences on the road with the motorcycle club, the ...

. It focuses on the true story of Major General Smedley Butler, who fought in imperial wars all around the globe as a self-described "gangster for capitalism" before finally returning home where, during the

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

presidency, he finally got to truly defend democracy. Butler "saved America," in the words of the book, by thwarting an attempted

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

coup against FDR. ''Devil Dog'', which was published by Simon & Schuster in fall 2010, won praise from ''The New York Times'', which called the ''Pulp History'' series "rip-roaring nonfiction tales with enough purple prose, gory illustrations and va-va-va-voom women to lure in even reluctant teenage male readers".

''Season of the Witch''

Talbot's book '' Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror, and Deliverance in the City of Love'', about the wild and bloody birth of " San Francisco values", was published in spring 2012. ''Season of the Witch'' received starred reviews in ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' and ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'', and was described as "enthralling, news-driven history" (''San Francisco Chronicle''), "energetic, highly entertaining storytelling" (''Boston Globe''), and "an enthralling – and harrowing – account of how the 1967 Summer of Love gave way to 20 or so winters of discontent" (''Washington Post'').

''The Devil's Chessboard''

Talbot's 2015 book ''The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government'' is a biography examining the career of

Allen Dulles Allen Welsh Dulles ( ; April 7, 1893 – January 29, 1969) was an American lawyer who was the first civilian director of central intelligence (DCI), and its longest serving director. As head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the ea ...

. According to Talbot, Dulles orchestrated the assassination of Kennedy at the behest of corporate leaders, who perceived the president to be a threat to national security, lobbied

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

to have himself appointed to the

Warren Commission The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established by President of the United States, President Lyndon B. Johnson through on November 29, 1963, to investigate the A ...

, then arranged to have

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at age 12 for truan ...

take sole responsibility for the act. The book charges that the conspirators in JFK's death also murdered Bobby Kennedy, as they perceived him to be "a wild card, an uncontrollable threat" who would reveal the plot. The book has stirred debate about the history of the CIA. In a review for the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'', Glenn C. Altschuler stated, "Talbot's indictment is long, varied and sensational." Altschuler wrote: "Animated by conspiracy theories, the speculations and accusations in his book often run far ahead of the evidence, even for those of us inclined to believe the worst about Allen Dulles." Elsewhere, the book has been praised, including by ''

'', whose starred review called it "a frightening biography of power, manipulation and outright treason. ..all engaged American citizens should read this book and have their eyes opened."

''Between Heaven and Hell: The Story of My Stroke''

In November 2017, Talbot suffered an

ischemic stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop ...

. In January 2020, his book about the stroke and his recovery from it, ''Between Heaven and Hell: The Story of My Stroke'', was published. In June 2024 Talbot, then 72 years old, suffered a second stroke that was nearly fatal.

''By the Light of Burning Dreams: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the Second American Revolution''

In his latest book—co-authored with sister Margaret Talbot and brother-in-law Arthur Allen – Talbot examines transformational periods in the lives of radical leaders of the 1960s and '70s. The book, Talbot says, is "my final historical effort at understanding what my generation achieved, and what we failed to accomplish, in attempting to move the country fully toward its better angels." The book has been widely praised, including as an inspirational guide for a new generation of activists. Jessica Bruder, author of '' Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century'', declared, "''By the Light of Burning Dreams'' crackles with the radical energy of the 1960s and 70s. It's a shot in the arm of bold idealism, an indispensable companion for today's revolutionaries that reminds us what can happen if we dare to believe in – and fight for – a better world." And a critic in ''

'' celebrated the authors' "sharp reporting and good storytelling…. (They) devote a chapter to each of seven flashpoints of the 1960s and '70s that created 'the second American Revolution.' But an abundance of fresh material gives this book an intergenerational appeal. An intelligent and sympathetic reappraisal of the political upheavals of the '60s and '70s."

Personal life

Talbot is from a media and entertainment family. He is the son of longtime

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

and founding member of the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

, Lyle Talbot, and brother of documentary producer and former child actor

Stephen Talbot Stephen Henderson Talbot (born February 28, 1949) is a TV documentary film producer, producer, writer and reporter. Talbot directed and produced "The Movement and the 'Madman' " for the PBS series American Experience in 2023. He is a longtime co ...

, of physician Cynthia Talbot of Portland, Oregon, and of journalist Margaret Talbot, a staff writer at ''

''. Talbot is married to writer Camille Peri, co-editor of the national bestseller ''Mothers Who Think'', with whom he has two children. His son Joe Talbot wrote and directed the 2019 film '' The Last Black Man in San Francisco''. David Talbot's sister, Margaret, has written a biography of their father, Lyle Talbot, and a memoir of their family life, ''The Entertainer: Movies, Magic and My Father's Twentieth Century'' (Riverhead Books, 2012). In 2024, Talbot suffered a "severe stroke" that had him "fighting for his life," according to his family.