Alan H. Weisman (born March 24, 1947) is an American author, professor and journalist.
Education and career
Weisman was born on March 24, 1947, in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
,
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
. He holds a bachelor's degree in literature and a master's degree in journalism from
Northwestern University
Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
. From 2004 to 2013, he was Laureate Professor in Journalism and Latin American Studies at the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...
, where he led an annual field program in international field journalism. He has also taught writing and journalism at
Prescott College
Prescott College is a private college in Prescott, Arizona, United States.
History
Prescott College was founded in 1966 after a conference titled "Emergence of a Concept". Conveners Charles Parker and the Ford Foundation brought together leade ...
and
Williams College
Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...
and has been a
Fulbright Scholar
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...
in
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
.
Work
He has written several books and won numerous international awards for his work in journalism and literature. His works include the critically acclaimed ''
The World Without Us
''The World Without Us'' is a 2007 non-fiction book about what would happen to the natural and built environment if humans suddenly disappeared, written by American journalist Alan Weisman and published by St. Martin's Thomas Dunne Books. It is ...
'', which describes a post-human scenario of the planet and ''Countdown: Our Last, Best Hope for a Future on Earth?'', was short listed for a ''
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 ...
'' science and technology book prize. Among his other works are ''Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World'' (1998), winner of the Social Inventions Award from the Global Ideas Bank, ''An Echo In My Blood'' (1999), ''La Frontera: The United States Border With Mexico'' and ''We, Immortals'' (1979). His reports from around the world have appeared in ''
Harper's
''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...
'', ''
The New York Times Magazine
''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazi ...
'', the ''Los Angeles Times'' magazine, the ''
Atlantic Monthly
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 ...
Audubon
The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such org ...
Discover
Discover may refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Discover'' (album), a Cactus Jack album
* ''Discover'' (magazine), an American science magazine
* "Discover", a song by Chris Brown from his 2015 album ''Royalty''
Businesses and bran ...
'', ''
Condé Nast Traveler
''Condé Nast Traveler'' is a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine published by Condé Nast. The magazine has won 25 National Magazine Awards.
The Condé Nast unit of Advance Publications purchased ''Signature'', a magazine for Diners Club me ...
'', '' Resurgence'' and several anthologies, including ''The Best American Science Writing 2006''.
Weisman is also a producer of radio documentaries for Homelands Productions, creating reports for
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
and
American Public Media
American Public Media (APM) is an American company that produces and distributes public radio programs in the United States, the second largest company of its type after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and o ...
.
Awards and media attention
Among his awards and citations are the Four Corners Award for Best Nonfiction Book, The Wenjin Prize from the National Library of China, a Los Angeles Press Club Award for Best Feature Story, a Best of the West Award in Journalism, a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Citation, the Unity Media Award, the Brazilian government's Premio Nacional de Jornalismo Radiofonico, and major grants from The Ford Foundation, the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB; stylized as cpb) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to ...
, the
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...
and the
MacArthur Foundation
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 117 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.6 billion and ...
. His book ''The World Without Us'' was a finalist for the National Book Critics' Circle Award, the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize, the Orion Prize, and the Rachel Carson Environment Book Award. ''Countdown'' won the 2013 Paris Book Festival Prize for nonfiction, the 2014 Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the 2014 Nautilus Gold Book Award, the Population Institute’s 2014 Global Media Award for best book, and was a finalist for the Orion Prize and the Books for a Better Life Award.
Weisman appeared as a guest on ''
The Daily Show
''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night talk and news satire television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States, with extended episodes released shortly after on Paramount+ ...
'' on August 21, 2007, and on ''
Real Time with Bill Maher
''Real Time with Bill Maher'' is an American television talk show that airs weekly on HBO, hosted by stand-up comedy, comedian and political satire, political satirist Bill Maher. Much like his previous series ''Politically Incorrect'' on Comedy ...
'' on March 14, 2014.
*1998 Social Inventions Award, Global Ideas Bank, ''Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World''
*2007
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".''Time'' magazine's Best Books of the Year, Nonfiction #1, ''The World Without Us''
*2007 Salon Book Award, ''The World Without Us''
*2008
Book Sense
The American Booksellers Association (ABA) is a non-profit trade association founded in 1900 that promotes independent bookstores in the United States. ABA's core members are key participants in their communities' local economy and culture, and to ...
Los Angeles Times Book Prize
Since 1980, the ''Los Angeles Times'' has awarded a set of annual book prizes. The ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize currently has nine categories: biography, current interest, fiction, first fiction (the Art Seidenbaum Award added in 1991), his ...
Though many call him a misanthrope, Weisman asserts that he is not. He believes "birds aren't the only thing that can sing on this planet".
Weisman lives in
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
with his wife, Beckie Kravetz, who is a sculptor and mask maker.
Bibliography
*1986 ''LA Frontera: The United States Border With Mexico''
*1998 ''Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World''
*1999 ''An Echo in My Blood: The Search for My Family's Hidden Past''
*2007 ''
The World Without Us
''The World Without Us'' is a 2007 non-fiction book about what would happen to the natural and built environment if humans suddenly disappeared, written by American journalist Alan Weisman and published by St. Martin's Thomas Dunne Books. It is ...
''
*2013 ''Countdown: Our Last, Best Hope for a Future on Earth?''