David Henry Fromkin (August 27, 1932 June 11, 2017) was an American historian, best known for his interpretive account of the Middle East, '' A Peace to End All Peace'' (1989), in which he recounts the role European powers played between 1914 and 1922 in creating the modern Middle East. The book was a finalist for both the
National Book Critics Circle Award
The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English". and the
Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction
The Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are awarded annually for the "Letters, Drama, and Music" category. The award is given to a nonfiction book written by an American author and published du ...
. Fromkin wrote seven books, ending in 2007 with ''The King and the Cowboy: Theodore Roosevelt and Edward the Seventh, Secret Partners''.
Life
Fromkin was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on August 27, 1932.
He died on June 11, 2017, in New York City due to heart failure; he was 84.
Career
A graduate of the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
and the
University of Chicago Law School
The University of Chicago Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 180 full-time and part-time facul ...
, he was Professor Emeritus of History and
International Relations
International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
, and Law at the
Pardee School of Global Studies
The Boston University Pardee School of Global Studies (formally Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies) is the school of international studies at Boston University.
The school was officially established in 2014 by consolidating and renam ...
at
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
, where he was also the Director of The Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Long-Range Future.
Before his career as a historian, Fromkin was an attorney and political adviser. In the 1972 Democratic
primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Work ...
campaign, he served as a foreign-policy adviser to candidate
Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American politician who served from 1965 to 1969 as the 38th vice president of the United States. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Minnesota from 19 ...
. As an attorney, he served as both prosecutor and defense counsel in the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps.
He retired as professor emeritus in 2013.
Assessment
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a ...
criticized Fromkin for his portrayal of the US-backed NATO intervention in the
Kosovo War
The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...
. Discussing Fromkin's book ''Kosovo Crossing: The Reality of American Intervention in the Balkans'', Chomsky stated that Fromkin "asserts without argument that the U.S. and its allies acted out of 'altruism' and 'moral fervor' alone" in bombing Yugoslavia during the
Kosovo war
The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...
.
Selected bibliography
*'' A Peace to End All Peace: Creating the Modern Middle East, 1914–1922'' (1989) , (paperback)
*“Britain, France, and the Diplomatic Agreements.” In ''The Creation of Iraq, 1914–1921'', ed. Reeva Spector Simon and Eleanor H. Tejirian, 134–145. New York: Columbia University press, 2004.
*''Europe's Last Summer: Who started the Great War in 1914?'' (2004) , (paperback)
*''Kosovo Crossing: The Reality of American Intervention in the Balkans'', New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. (2002) ,
*''In the Time of the Americans: FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Marshall, MacArthur, The Generation That Changed America's Role in the World'' (1995) , (paperback)
*''The Independence of Nations'' (1981)
*''The Importance of T. E. Lawrence.'' From The New Criterion Vol. 10, No. 1, September 1991.
*''The Question of Government: An Inquiry into the Breakdown of Modern Political Systems'' (1975)
*"''The King and the Cowboy: Theodore Roosevelt and Edward the Seventh, Secret Partners"'' (2007)
*''The Way of the World'' (1998)