George Packer

George Packer (born August 13, 1960) is a liberal American journalist, novelist and playwright.

Biography

Packer's parents, Nancy Packer and Herbert Packer, were both academics at Stanford University; his maternal grandfather was George Huddleston, a congressman from Alabama. [Columbia Journalism Review September 2005, http://www.cjr.org/issues/2005/5/glenn.asp.] His sister, Ann Packer, is also a writer. Packer graduated from Yale College, (he lived in Calhoun College there), in 1982, [1982 Yale Banner p. 377.] and served in the Peace Corps in Togo. [Columbia Journalism Review op. cit.] His essays and articles have appeared in "The Nation", World Affairs, "Harper's", "The New York Times", among other publications. Packer is a columnist for "Mother Jones" and has been a staff writer for "The New Yorker" since May 2003cite news
url=http://kellyaward.com/mk_award_popup/packer_g.html
title=Finalist: George Packer (Biography)
publisher=The Michael Kelly Award ] .

Packer's most recent book, "The Assassins' Gate: America in Iraq", analyzes the events that led to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and reports on subsequent developments in that country, largely based on interviews with ordinary Iraqis. Packer is highly critical of the war, but he in turn has been criticized by anti-war activists for his support during the run-up to the invasion.

Books

*"The Village of Waiting" (1988). New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (1st Farrar edition, 2001). Pb. ISBN 0-374-52780-6
*"The Half Man" (1991). Random House ISBN 0-394-58192-X
*"Central Square" (1998). Graywolf Press ISBN 1-55597-277-2
*"Blood of the Liberals" (2000). Farrar, Straus and Giroux ISBN 0-374-25142-8
*"The Fight is for Democracy: Winning the War of Ideas in America and the World" (2003, as editor). Harper Perennial. Pb. ISBN 0-06-053249-1
*"The Assassins' Gate: America in Iraq" (2005) Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2005 ISBN 0-374-29963-3
*"Betrayed: A Play" (2008) Faber & Faber [http://us.macmillan.com/betrayed-3]

External links

Magazine Articles About the Iraq War

* [http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/Winter-2008/full-iraq.html Over Here: Iraq the Place vs. Iraq the Abstraction] , World Affairs (journal)
* [http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2007/05/14/070514taco_talk_packer Comment: "No Blame, No Shame"] , "The New Yorker", May 14, 2007.
* [http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/03/26/070326fa_fact_packer A Reporter at Large: "Betrayed" "The Iraqis who trusted America the most"] , "The New Yorker", March 26, 2007.
* [http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:O0q3LBwcPn4J:www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/061218fa_fact2%253Fpage%253D1+site:www.newyorker.com+%22Knowing+the+Enemy%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us "Knowing the Enemy"] , "The New Yorker", December 18, 2006.
* [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/11/27/061127ta_talk_packer Comment: "Unrealistic"] , "The New Yorker", November 27, 2006.
* [https://ssl.tnr.com/p/docsub.mhtml?i=20061127&s=packer112706 "Save Whomever We Can"] , "The New Republic", November 27, 2006.
* [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/10/30/061030ta_talk_packer Comment: "Alternative Realities"] , "The New Yorker", October 30, 2006.
* [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/10/16/061016ta_talk_packer Comment: "Keep Out"] , "The New Yorker", October 16, 2006.
* [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/09/18/060918ta_talk_packer Comment: "Prisoners"] , "The New Yorker", September 18, 2006.
* [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/05/08/060508ta_talk_packer Comment: "Not Wise"] , "The New Yorker", May 8, 2006.
* [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/04/10/060410fa_fact2 Letter from Iraq: "The Lesson of Tal Afar"] April 10, 2006.
* [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/10/31/051031ta_talk_packer Comment: "Saddam on Trial"] , "The New Yorker", October 31, 2005.
* [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/10/24/051024ta_talk_packer Comment: "Game Plan"] , "The New Yorker", October 24, 2005.
* [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/08/08/050808ta_talk_packer Comment: "Name Calling"] , "The New Yorker" August 8, 2005.
* [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/07/04/050704fa_fact3 A Reporter at Large: "The Home Front"] , "The New Yorker", July 4, 2005.
*Letter from Basra: "Testing the Ground", , "The New Yorker", February 28, 2005.
* [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/12/20/041220ta_talk_packer Comment: "Invasion versus Persuasion"] , "The New Yorker", December 20, 2004.
* [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/10/25/041025ta_talk_packer Comment: "Questions of Greatness"] , "The New Yorker", October 25, 2004.
* [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/10/04/041004fa_fact A Reporter at Large: "The Next Iraqi War?"] , "The New Yorker" October 4, 2004.
* [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/09/27/040927ta_talk_packer Comment: "The Political War"] , "The New Yorker", September 27, 2004.
* [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/08/30/040830fa_fact Letter from Athens: "From the Playing Field"] , "The New Yorker", August 30, 2004.
* [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/07/05/040705ta_talk_packer Comment: Wars and Ideas] , "The New Yorker", July 5, 2004.
* [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/05/17/040517fa_fact Letter from Baghdad: "Caught in the Crossfire"] , "The New Yorker", May 17, 2004.
*"War after the War" "What Washington doesn't see in Iraq.", "The New Yorker", November 24, 2003.
* [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2003/04/07/030407ta_talk_packer Tuning In: A Butcher in Baghdad] , "The New Yorker", April 7, 2003.
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEFDE1F3DF931A35750C0A9659C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all "Dreaming of Democracy"] , "New York Times Magazine", March 2, 2003.
* "Journalists dole out campaign cash' [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19113485/] , "msnbc.com", June 22, 2007.

Other Topics

* [http://us.macmillan.com/author/georgepacker George Packer at FSG]
* [http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/georgepacker Blog at the New Yorker]
* [http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/contributors/george_packer Biography of Packer at "The New Yorker"]
* [http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2007/07/02/070702taco_talk_packer Comment: "Mr. Independent"] , "The New Yorker" July 2, 2007
* [http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/board/lounge/33688-megacity-decoding-chaos-lagos.html "The Megacity - Decoding the Chaos of Lagos"] , "The New Yorker", Nov 13, 2006.
* [http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2004/05/04_200.html "The Revolution Will Not Be Blogged"] , "Mother Jones", May/June 2004. (Issue on the limitations of the political blogosphere)
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2005/10/07/DI2005100701247_pf.html George Packer on "Assassins' Gate"] , "Washington Post Book World", October 11, 2005.
* Posts by George Packer at [http://www.tpmcafe.com/author/packer TPMCafe] .
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1316/is_9_37/ai_n15634510 Review of "The Assassins' Gate"] , "The Washington Monthly".
* [http://www.cjr.org/issues/2005/5/glenn.asp Profile] in the Columbia Journalism Review.

References