Author: Peter Maass

I was born and raised in Los Angeles. In 1983, after graduating from the University of California at Berkeley, I went to Brussels as a copy editor for The Wall Street Journal/Europe. I left the Journal in 1985 to write for The New York Times and The International Herald Tribune, covering NATO and the European Union. In 1987 I moved to Seoul, South Korea, where I wrote primarily for The Washington Post. After three years in Asia I moved to Budapest to cover Eastern Europe and the Balkans. I spent most of 1992 and 1993 covering the war in Bosnia for the Post.

‘The Toppling’ Wins Mirror Award

Nice news—my New Yorker story about the toppling of the statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad has won the John M. Higgins Award for Best In-Depth/Enterprise Reporting, given out as one ... (Read more)

‘The Toppling’ Wins Mirror Award

Nice news–my New Yorker story about the toppling of the statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad has won the John M. Higgins Award for Best In-Depth/Enterprise Reporting, given out as ... (Read more)

An Enduring Condition

My latest story, just published in the Nation, is an essay about Mary Dudziak’s new book, “War Time: An Idea, Its History, Its Consequences.” The essay ... (Read more)

An Enduring Condition

The Nation
May 9, 2012

The phrase “war on terror” is rarely heard these days. Our fight in Iraq ended last year with the pullout of the remaining troops. Combat forces are set to be withdrawn from Afghanistan in 2014, and their fade-away has been highlighted by the fact ... (Read more)

Guggenheim Fellowship

Thank you, Guggenheim Foundation!

Eckerd College Environmental Film Festival

St. Petersburg, Florida
I will give a talk that introduces “Crude,” Joe Berlinger’s documentary about a multi-billion dollar lawsuit against Chevron in Ecuador.
Time: 7 pm
Location: Miller Auditorium, Eckerd College, 4200 54th Ave South, St. ... (Read more)

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Don’t worry, my website hasn’t been hacked. The headline for this post is the Russian title of Crude World. The Russian roughly translates as “Cruel World: The Severe Decline of the Oil Era,” which is a bit different from the original wording ... (Read more)

The Truth About Angelina Jolie and Me

Okay, the headline is a bit of an exaggeration, but not entirely. Angelina Jolie has just come out with a new movie about the Bosnian war that she wrote and directed, In the Land of Blood and Honey. She’s being sued by an obscure writer who ... (Read more)

Seeing Revolution: The Altered Image of War in New and Old Media

Rutgers, NJ
A talk at Rutgers on the evolving nature of conflict journalism, as both war and media are transformed by emerging technologies.
October 3, 2011
7-9 PM
Rutgers Student Center Multi-Purpose Room
126 College Ave.
New Brunswick, NJ 08901

What Happened at Macondo?

Remember the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? Last year it captivated America’s attention as nearly five million barrels of oil gushed into the water, but once the runaway well was capped, the outrage faded away. As I write in a story in ... (Read more)