Thomas E. Ricks (journalist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Thomas E. Ricks
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Ricks at the 2022 Texas Book Festival.
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Thomas Edwin Ricks
September 25, 1955 Beverly, Massachusetts, United States
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| Education | BA |
| Alma mater | Yale University, 1977 |
| Occupation | Writer, journalist, editor, and educator |
| Employer | Center for a New American Security |
| Known for | critique of U.S. national security policy, especially Operation Iraqi Freedom |
| Awards | 2000 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting (on Wall Street Journal team) 2002 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting (on Washington Post team) Society of Professional Journalists Award for best feature reporting 2007 Distinguished alumnus of Scarsdale High School |
Thomas Edwin "Tom" Ricks (born September 25, 1955) is an American journalist and author. He writes mainly about the military and national security. He has won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting twice. He won with teams from the Wall Street Journal (in 2000) and Washington Post (in 2002).
Ricks has reported on U.S. military actions in many places. These include Somalia, Haiti, Korea, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Kuwait, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He used to write a blog for Foreign Policy magazine. He is also a member of the Center for a New American Security, which is a group that studies defense policy.
He often gives talks to military groups. He is also part of a special council at Harvard University. This council advises on how the military and civilian government work together. Ricks has written several non-fiction books. Some of his well-known books are Making the Corps (1997) and Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq (2006). He also wrote First Principles (2020) and Waging a Good War (2022).
Contents
Early Life and Career
Thomas Ricks was born in Beverly, Massachusetts, in 1955. He grew up in New York and also lived in Afghanistan. He was one of six children. His father, David Frank Ricks, was a professor of psychology.
Ricks attended the American International School in Kabul from 1968 to 1970. He graduated from Scarsdale High School in 1973. After high school, he earned a bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1977.
He then worked as an instructor at Lingnan College in Hong Kong from 1977 to 1979. After that, he was an assistant editor at the Wilson Quarterly from 1979 to 1981.
A Career in Journalism
Ricks started his career at the Wall Street Journal in 1982. He worked there as a reporter until 1985. He then became the deputy bureau chief in Miami in 1986. Later, in Washington, D.C., he was a reporter from 1987 to 1989. He also served as a feature editor and then as the Pentagon correspondent until 1999.
While at the Wall Street Journal, he was part of a team that wrote a series called "Price of Power." This series looked at how the United States spent money on defense. It also discussed changes the U.S. military faced after the Cold War. This series helped the Journal win the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting.
In 2000, Ricks joined The Washington Post as a military correspondent. He worked there until 2008. He won his second Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting in 2002. This was for his work with The Washington Post team. They reported on the start of the U.S. efforts against terrorism.
In 2007, his book Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction.
Books by Thomas Ricks
Thomas Ricks has written many books. They cover topics from military history to how America was founded.
Nonfiction Books
- Making the Corps. This book is about the U.S. Marine Corps. (1997)
- Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq. This book looks at the U.S. military's actions in Iraq. (2006)
- The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006–2008. This book continues the story of the Iraq War. (2009)
- The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today. This book explores military leaders from World War II to the present. (2012)
- Churchill & Orwell: The Fight for Freedom. This book compares two famous writers and their ideas about freedom. (2017)
- First Principles: What America's Founders Learned from the Greeks and Romans and How That Shaped Our Country. This book explores how ancient ideas influenced America's founders. (2020)
- Waging a Good War: A Military History of the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1968. This book looks at the Civil Rights Movement through a military lens. (2022)
Fiction Books
- A Soldier's Duty. (2001)
- Everyone Knows But You. (2024)
- We Can't Save You. (forthcoming 2025)
See also
In Spanish: Thomas E. Ricks (periodista) para niños
