Dexter Price Filkins (born May 24, 1961) is an American journalist known primarily for his coverage of the wars in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

for ''

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 ...

''. He was a finalist for a

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

in 2002 for his dispatches from Afghanistan, and won a Pulitzer in 2009 as part of a team of ''Times'' reporters for their dispatches from

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and Afghanistan. He has been called "the premier combat journalist of his generation". He currently writes for ''

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 ...

.''

Background

Filkins was born in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, but grew up in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

after his parents divorced. He has a sister and an older brother. Filkins received a B.A. in political science from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in 1983, and a

Master of Philosophy A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at leas ...

in international relations from

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

(1984), where he was a student of St Antony's College.

Career

Before joining the ''Times'' in September 2000, Filkins was New Delhi bureau chief for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' for three years. He reported from ''The New York Times''

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

bureau in Iraq from 2003 to 2006. In 2006–2007, Filkins was at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

on a Nieman Fellowship; in 2007–2008, he was a Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the

Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

. Filkins's book, ''

The Forever War ''The Forever War'' (1974) is a military science fiction novel by American author Joe Haldeman, telling the contemplative story about human soldiers fighting an interstellar war against an alien civilization known as the Taurans. It won the N ...

'' (2008), chronicling his experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq, was a ''New York Times'' best-seller. ''The Forever War'' won the National Book Critics Circle Award for best nonfiction book of 2008, and was named one of the best nonfiction books of the year by, among others, ''The New York Times'', Amazon.com, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'', and the ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

''. Filkins joined ''

'' in 2011.

Awards

Filkins has received two George Polk Awards, given annually by Long Island University to honor contributions to journalistic integrity and investigative reporting. He was cited for his reports from the assault on Fallujah, Iraq, in November 2004, when the Marine company he travelled with lost a quarter of its men in eight days. In 2011, Filkins and ''The New York Times'' colleague Mark Mazzetti won for their reporting on Afghanistan and Pakistan. Filkins has won two National Magazine Awards; in 2009, for his story, "Right At the Edge," and in 2011 for "Bedrooms of the Fallen," an essay with the photographer Ashley Gilbertson. Both appeared in the ''New York Times Magazine.'' Filkins' article "Right at the Edge" (September 7, 2008) was part of the body of work by the staff of ''The New York Times'' awarded the 2009

for distinguished reporting on international affairs. In 2010, his reporting for ''The New York Times'' from Iraq and Afghanistan, alongside the work of photographer Tyler Hicks and reporter C. J. Chivers, was selected by

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

as one of the "Top Ten Works of Journalism of the Decade".

Bibliography

Books

Essays and reporting

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * Online version is titled "A bigger problem than ISIS?". Mosul Dam. * * Online version is titled "Who gets to vote in Florida?". * Online version is titled "Did making the rules of war better make the world worse?". ——————— ;Notes

References

External links

*
"Right at the Edge'" at Pulitzer.org
August 22, 2008 by Dexter Filkins for the ''New York Times Magazine'' *
C-SPAN ''Q&A'', April 24, 2005
* *
"Q&A" about "The Forever War"Authors@Google
One-hour video talk with Dexter Filkins (September 24, 2008) {{DEFAULTSORT:Filkins, Dexter 1961 births Living people American male journalists American people of the Iraq War American war correspondents George Polk Award recipients International Herald Tribune people Los Angeles Times people Nieman Fellows Place of birth missing (living people) The New York Times journalists The New Yorker staff writers University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences alumni War correspondents of the Iraq War War correspondents of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Alumni of St Antony's College, Oxford National Book Critics Circle Award winners