Michael James Totten (born September 1970) is an American writer who has reported from the Middle East, Africa, the Balkans, Cuba, Vietnam, and the Caucasus. His non-fiction work appears in various publications, websites, and on his blog. Totten's first book, ''The Road to Fatima Gate'' was published by

Encounter Books Encounter Books is a book publisher in the United States known for publishing conservative authors. It was named for '' Encounter'', the now defunct literary magazine founded by Irving Kristol and Stephen Spender. Based in New York City since 20 ...

in 2011. In his blog posts, he describes himself as an "independent journalist", and regularly comments on Middle Eastern conflicts.

Early life and education

Totten as a high school senior in the late 1980s Totten is of English descent and was born in

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

in September, 1970. His father is a Republican and a military veteran. Totten's grandfather was a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

veteran.

Career

Totten's work has appeared in ''

The 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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', the ''

New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

'', '' Commentary'', and others. In July 2007, Totten traveled to

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

to embed with several

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

units before transitioning to Anbar province and embedding with U.S. Marines. In late 2007 he embedded with U.S. Marines in Fallujah, and he embedded again with the U.S. Army in Baghdad in late 2008. Totten won the 2007 Weblog Award for Best Middle East or

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Blog, he won it again in 2008, and was named "Blogger of the Year" in 2006 by ''

The Week ''The Week'' is a weekly news magazine with editions in the United Kingdom and United States. The British publication was founded in 1995 and the American edition in 2001. An Australian edition was published from 2008 to 2012. A children's edi ...

'' magazine for his dispatches from the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

Ideology

In comments on his own website from 2008 Totten described himself as a "weird combination of liberal, libertarian, and neocon" and a politically centrist. He believed that the critics of the war in Iraq who noted the lack of progress from 2004 to 2006 were correct while the Bush administration was wrong. He supported the 2007 'surge' strategy. Totten was briefly a

Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

during the 1990s but became a Democrat afterwards, though he has previously said that he was never fully content with being a Democrat and has considered returning to the Libertarians.

Funding

Totten describes himself as an "independent journalist." Most of his trips—to

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, and several other places—are paid for out of his own pocket, although he has also accepted funding from the

government of Azerbaijan The politics of Azerbaijan take place in an Authoritarianism, authoritarian system where elections are not free and fair, political opponents are repressed, civil rights are limited, human rights in Azerbaijan, human rights abuses are widespread ...

, the

American Jewish Committee The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a civil rights group and Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to ''The New York Times'', is "widely regarded as the wi ...

and the Lebanese pro-western

March 14 alliance The March 14 Alliance (), named after the date of the Cedar Revolution, was a coalition of political party, political parties and independents in Lebanon formed in 2005 that were united by their anti-Ba'athist Syria, Assad stance and by their opp ...

for trips to

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, and

, respectively.

Personal life

In the early 2000s, Totten married Shelly Lynn Stephenson in

Multnomah County, Oregon Multnomah County is one of the Oregon counties, 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland metropolitan area. The stat ...

. He is an atheist former christian. They lived together in the Sunnyside neighborhood of

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

until they moved in late 2020 or early 2021.

Books

Totten's first book, ''The Road to Fatima Gate: The Beirut Spring, the Rise of Hezbollah, and the Iranian War Against Israel'' (Encounter Books, April 2011, ), reports his experiences in the Middle East, primarily those in Lebanon. Belmont Estate Books is a label Totten has used to self-publish several additional books: * ''Tower of the Sun: Stories From the Middle East and North Africa'' (Belmont Estate Books, 2014, ) * ''Where the West Ends'' (Belmont Estate Books, 2012, ) * ''Resurrection: A Zombie Novel'' (Belmont Estate Books, 2014, ) * ''Taken – A Novel'' (Belmont Estate Books, 2013, ) * ''In the Wake of the Surge'' (Belmont Estate Books, 2011, )

References

External links

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Facebook fan page
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Totten, Michael James 1970 births American male journalists American people of English descent American political blogs American reporters and correspondents American former Christians American atheists Journalists from Oregon Living people Oregon Democrats Writers from Portland, Oregon Writers from Salem, Oregon Writers on the Middle East South Salem High School alumni