Rick Atkinson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rick Atkinson
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at 2015 National Book Festival
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Lawrence Rush Atkinson IV
November 15, 1952 Munich, then West Germany
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| Agent | Raphael Sagalyn |
| Spouse(s) |
Jane Ann Chestnut
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| Children | 2 |
Rick Atkinson (born November 15, 1952) is a famous American writer and journalist. He is known for writing books about military history.
Before becoming a full-time author, Atkinson worked as a reporter, editor, and foreign correspondent for The Washington Post newspaper. He has written eight books, which tell stories about five different American wars. He has also won several important awards, including Pulitzer Prizes for his work in history and journalism.
One of his most famous works is "The Liberation Trilogy." This series of books tells the story of America's part in freeing Europe during World War II. The last book in this series, The Guns at Last Light, was published in May 2013. In 2010, he received a special award for his lifetime achievements in military writing.
Contents
Rick Atkinson's Early Life and Career
Growing Up and Education
Rick Atkinson was born in Munich, Germany. His father, Larry Atkinson, was an officer in the U.S. Army. Rick decided not to go to West Point, a military academy. Instead, he attended East Carolina University on a scholarship. He earned a bachelor's degree in English in 1974. The next year, in 1975, he received a master's degree in English from the University of Chicago.
Starting as a Newspaper Reporter
In 1975, Rick Atkinson began his career as a newspaper reporter. He worked for The Morning Sun in Pittsburg, Kansas. He covered local news, including crime and government. In 1977, he joined The Kansas City Times, where he worked on various news stories.
Working at The Washington Post
In 1981, Atkinson moved to Washington, D.C., to work for The Kansas City Times. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1982 for his reporting. This included a series of articles about the West Point class of 1966. This class lost more soldiers in the Vietnam War than any other from the Military Academy. He also helped cover the Hyatt Regency walkway collapse in Kansas City. For this, the newspaper's staff won another Pulitzer Prize.
In 1983, Atkinson joined The Washington Post. He wrote about defense and the 1984 presidential election. He covered Geraldine Ferraro, who was the first woman to run for Vice President for a major party. In 1985, he became a deputy editor, overseeing news about defense and international relations. Later, he returned to reporting, investigating topics like public housing and the secret history of the B-2 stealth bomber.
War Correspondent and Editor
During the Persian Gulf War in 1991, Rick Atkinson was the lead writer for The Washington Post. In 1993, he became the newspaper's bureau chief in Berlin, Germany. He covered Germany and NATO, and also reported from Somalia and Bosnia.
He returned to the U.S. in 1996 to become an assistant managing editor. In this role, he led a team that investigated police actions in Washington, D.C. Their work, called "Deadly Force," earned The Washington Post another Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
Focus on Military History
In 1999, Atkinson left the newspaper to focus on writing books about World War II. His interest in this war began because he was born in Germany. He briefly returned to The Washington Post in 2003. For two months, he traveled with General David Petraeus and the 101st Airborne Division during the invasion of Iraq. He also made trips to Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007. During these trips, he wrote an investigative series called "Left of Boom." This series was about dangerous devices used in modern warfare and won an award for defense reporting.
Rick Atkinson has also taught at the United States Army War College and Dickinson College. He is a member of the Society of American Historians. He is married and has two children.
Rick Atkinson's Books
Rick Atkinson has written many acclaimed books, mostly about American wars.
Early Books
His first book was The Long Gray Line: The American Journey of West Point's Class of 1966. It was published in 1989. Reviewers called it "brilliant history" and praised its detailed storytelling.
In 1993, he wrote Crusade: The Untold Story of the Persian Gulf War. Critics said he was perfectly prepared to write about this conflict.
The Liberation Trilogy
In 2002, Atkinson began his famous "Liberation Trilogy" about World War II.
- The first book, An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942–1943, was highly praised. It won the Pulitzer Prize for history in 2003.
- The second book, The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943–1944, came out in 2007. The New York Times called it "a triumph of narrative history."
- The final book, The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944–1945, was published in May 2013. It quickly became a #1 bestseller. Reviewers described it as a "tapestry of fabulous richness." The entire "Liberation Trilogy" is considered a huge achievement in historical writing.
Other Notable Works
After his time with General Petraeus, Atkinson wrote In the Company of Soldiers: A Chronicle of Combat. This book was called "intimate, vivid, and well-informed" by The New York Times Book Review. It was also named one of the best books of 2004 by Newsweek.
He was also the main writer for Where Valor Rests: Arlington National Cemetery, published in 2007. In 2019, he edited an anthology of works by military historian Cornelius Ryan.
The Revolution Trilogy
In May 2019, the first book in his new "Revolution Trilogy" was published. This series focuses on the American Revolutionary War. The first book is titled The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775–1777. The New York Times listed it as one of their 100 Notable Books of 2019. It also won the 2020 George Washington Book Prize. The second book in this trilogy, The Fate of the Day, was published in 2025.
In 2019, Rick Atkinson was recognized as a distinguished fellow by the Georgia Historical Society. This honor celebrates leaders in history who have changed how people understand the past through their writing and teaching.
Awards and Honors
Rick Atkinson has received many awards for his journalism and historical writing:
- 1982 Pulitzer Prize, National Reporting
- 1983 Livingston Award for Young Journalists
- 1989 George Polk Award for National Reporting
- 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service (awarded to The Washington Post for articles he contributed to)
- 2003 Pulitzer Prize in History, for An Army at Dawn
- 2003 Society for Military History Distinguished Book Award
- 2009 Axel Springer Prize and fellowship
- 2010 Pritzker Military Library Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing
- 2014 Samuel Eliot Morison Prize for lifetime achievement
- 2015 Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award
- 2020 George Washington Book Prize for The British Are Coming
- 2020 New-York Historical Society Barbara and David Zalaznick Prize in American History for The British Are Coming
