David Elliot Cohen is an American

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

and editor who has, over a 30-year span, created more than 70 photography books. He is probably best known for the best-selling ''Day in the Life'' and ''America 24/7'' series of photography books that he co-created with

Rick Smolan Rick Smolan (born November 5, 1949) is a former ''Time'', ''Life'', and ''National Geographic'' photographer best known as the co-creator of the ''Day in the Life'' book series. He is currently CEO of Against All Odds Productions, a cross-medi ...

. Cohen created four ''New York Times'' bestsellers: ''A Day in the Life of America'' (1986), ''A Day in the Life of the Soviet Union'' (1987), ''

Christmas in America ''Christmas In America'' is the twenty-second studio album and the third Christmas album by Kenny Rogers. It was released in 1989 by Reprise Records. Track listing Personnel * Kenny Rogers – lead vocals * Matt Rollings – pianos * Mi ...

'' (1988), and '' America 24/7'' (2003). His 2009 book, ''Obama: The Historic Front Pages'' was a ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' and ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' bestseller. His 2008 book, ''What Matters'' combined photo-reportage about essential issues of our time with essays by prominent commentators including

Samantha Power Samantha Jane Power (born September 21, 1970) is an Irish-American journalist, diplomat, and government official who served as the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development from 2021 to 2025. She was the 28th Unite ...

Jeffrey Sachs Jeffrey David Sachs ( ; born November 5, 1954) is an American economist and public policy analyst who is a professor at Columbia University, where he was formerly director of The Earth Institute. He worked on the topics of sustainable develop ...

and

Bill McKibben William Ernest McKibben (born December 8, 1960)"Bill Ernest McKibben." ''Environmental Encyclopedia''. Edited by Deirdre S. Blanchfield. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, December 31, 2017. is a ...

. The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' called the book, "Powerful and passionate." He also wrote a travelogue, ''One Year Off'' (1999), which chronicles a rambling 16-month trip around the world by land, air, and sea with his three children, Kara, William, and Lucas. The ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'' called the book "honest, reflective, and often uproariously funny,". ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' was less flattering, calling it, "a book that proves it is also possible to go almost everywhere and learn almost nothing." Cohen wrote a second travelogue in 2016, entitled ''The Wrong Dog''. The ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...

'' said “Despite the adorable puppy portrait on the cover, the book is more than the story of Simba and the cross-country road trip. It’s a beautifully written memoir... funny, sweet, and sad.” In 2018 ''The Wrong Dog'' won an International Book Award, a National Indie Excellence Award and an Independent Press Award, all in the animal and pet books category. Cohen was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, grew up in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

. He lived in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

for ten years before moving to

Marin County, California Marin County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat a ...

. He returned to Manhattan in 2014. He graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1977 with a degree in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

. His honors include a National Jewish Book Award, the American Jewish Committee's humanitarian award, a Catholic Press Association Award and a silver medal from the king of Spain for the promotion of Spanish tourism. He currently serves on the board of the International Center for Journalists.

Major works

Pro bono works

External links

"Portrait of America: High Tech Photo Book captures scenes of modern life"
by Alden Mudge. Book Page Interview", December, 2003.
"A Day in the Life of Africa: A 24-Hour Vision of a Continent"
The Globalist, 2002.

Traveler's Tales, June, 2001.
"Olympus Partners with America 24-7, The Largest Photography Project in History"
Olympus and America 24/7, May, 2003.

by Rick Smolan and David Elliot Cohen. The Digital Journalist, November, 2003.
A Day in the Life of Africa online
"A Day in the Life of Africa" Book website

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, David Elliot 1955 births Living people American male non-fiction writers 21st-century American publishers (people) Jewish American non-fiction writers Yale College alumni 21st-century American Jews