NORMAN — Evan Thomas, journalist and New York Times best-selling author of Being Nixon: A Man Divided, will speak at a President’s Associates dinner at the University of Oklahoma on Thursday, Dec. 3. Prior to dinner, Thomas will meet with OU students for an informal discussion. In his recent book, Thomas brings new life to a radical and uniquely complicated figure who was both determinedly optimistic and tragically flawed.
“Evan Thomas provides all of us with a fair and objective biography of Richard Nixon,” OU President Boren said. “His Nixon is both brilliant and flawed, a man who resembles a Shakespearian tragic figure. He helps us evaluate the role of Nixon in American political history.”
Thomas is the author of nine books, which include New York Times best-sellers Sea of Thunder, a narrative about the war in the Pacific; and John Paul Jones, a biography of the American revolutionary sailor sometimes referred to as the “Father of the U.S. Navy.” Thomas has also authored The Wise Men (with Walter Isaacson), The Man to See, The Very Best Men, Robert Kennedy, The War Lovers and Ike’s Bluff: President Eisenhower’s Secret Battle to Save the World.
He served as writer, correspondent and editor for 33 years at TIME magazine and Newsweek. At the time of his retirement in 2010, Thomas was Editor at Large for Newsweek, where he served as Washington bureau chief from 1986 to 1996. He was Newsweek’s lead writer on major news stories, authoring many features, which include a number of fifty-thousand-word election specials and more than a hundred cover stories. Thomas also is the author of dozens of book reviews for The New York Times and The Washington Post.
His writings have achieved many honors, including a National Magazine Award for his 2004 election special and for his coverage of the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
He has appeared on many television and radio talk shows, including Meet the Press and The Colbert Report. Thomas also has appeared as a commentator on shows such as Charlie Rose on PBS and The Newshour with Jim Lehrer.
Thomas is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Virginia Law School. He has taught as a visiting professor at both Harvard University and Princeton University, and he served as the Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton from 2007 to 2014.
Limited seating is available by reservation for OU students, faculty and staff, with overflow seating available to the public. For reservations, more information and accommodations on the basis of disability, please call OU Public Affairs at (405) 325-3784 or email specialevents@ou.edu.
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