View source for Dexter Filkins

{{Short description|American journalist and war correspondent (born 1961)}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Dexter Filkins
| image              = Dexter Filkins on USS Rafael Peralta (cropped).jpg
| imagesize          = 
| caption            = Filkins on the [[USS Rafael Peralta ]] in 2023
| birth_name         = Dexter Price Filkins
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1961|05|24}}
| birth_place        = [[Cincinnati]], [[Ohio]], U.S.
| death_date         = 
| death_place        = 
| education          = 
| alma_mater         = [[St Antony's College, Oxford]] <small>([[Master of Philosophy|MPhil]])</small><br> [[University of Florida|Univ. of Florida]] <small>([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] 1983)</small>
| occupation         = journalist, author
| nationality        = 
| movement           = 
| notable_works      = ''[[The Forever War (non-fiction book)|The Forever War]]''
| website            = 
| spouse             = 
| footnotes          = 
| awards             = {{awd|[[Pulitzer Prize]]|2009|[[The New York Times]]|International Reporting}}
}}

'''Dexter Price Filkins''' (born May 24, 1961) is an American journalist known primarily for his coverage of the wars in [[Iraq War|Iraq]] and [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|Afghanistan]] for ''[[The New York Times]]''. He was a finalist for a [[Pulitzer Prize]] in 2002 for his dispatches from Afghanistan, and won a Pulitzer in 2009 as part of a team of ''Times'' reporters for their dispatches from [[Pakistan]] and Afghanistan. He has been called "the premier [[war correspondent|combat journalist]] of his generation".<ref>{{cite news |first=Philip |last= Bennett |author-link=Philip Bennett (Washington Post)|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/13/AR2009031304300.html |title=What We Don't Know About Iraq |newspaper=Washington Post |date=15 March 2009 |access-date=10 October 2011}}</ref> He currently writes for ''[[The New Yorker]].''

==Background==
Filkins was born in [[Cincinnati, Ohio]], but grew up in [[Florida]] after his parents divorced. He has a sister and an older brother.<ref name="C-SPAN">{{cite news |last1=Lamb |first1=Brian |title=Q&A with Dexter Filkins {{!}} C-SPAN.org |url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?186321-1/qa-dexter-filkins# |access-date=4 October 2024 |work=[[C-SPAN]] |date=April 14, 2005}}</ref>
 
Filkins received a B.A. in political science from the [[University of Florida]]  in 1983, and a [[Master of Philosophy]] in international relations from [[Oxford University]] (1984), where he was a student of [[St Antony's College]].<ref name="newyorker">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.newyorker.com/contributors/dexter-filkins |title=Dexter Filkins |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |access-date=February 25, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sant.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/related-documents/spring_2007.pdf |title=St Antony's College Newsletter|publisher=[[St Antony's College]]|date=Spring 2007|access-date=February 25, 2015 }}</ref>

==Career==
Before joining the ''Times'' in September&nbsp;2000, Filkins was New Delhi bureau chief for the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' for three years. He reported from ''The New York Times''{{'}} [[Baghdad]] bureau in Iraq from 2003 to 2006.

In 2006–2007, Filkins was at [[Harvard University]] on a [[Nieman Fellowship]]; in 2007–2008, he was a Fellow at the [[Carr Center for Human Rights Policy]] at the [[Harvard Kennedy School]].<ref name="newyorker"/>

Filkins's book, ''[[The Forever War (non-fiction book)|The Forever War]]'' (2008), chronicling his experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq, was a [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''New York Times'' best-seller]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2008-10-05/hardcover-nonfiction/list.html New York Times Bestsellers, Hardcover Nonfiction]</ref> ''The Forever War'' won the [[National Book Critics Circle Award]] for best nonfiction book of 2008,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://bookcritics.org/blog/archive/national_book_critics_circle_announces_award_winners4/ |title=National Book Critics Circle Announces Award Winners (2008) |access-date=2011-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721191559/http://bookcritics.org/blog/archive/national_book_critics_circle_announces_award_winners4/ |archive-date=2011-07-21 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and was named one of the best nonfiction books of the year by, among others, ''The New York Times'',<ref>{{cite news |title=The 10 Best Books of 2008 |author=((Editors of ''The New York Times'')) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/books/review/10Best-t.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 3, 2008 |access-date=May 30, 2011}}</ref> [[Amazon.com]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Best-2008-Books-Holidays-Seasonal/b?ie=UTF8&node=1239030011 |title=Best Books of 2008|publisher=[[Amazon.com]] |access-date=February 25, 2015 }}</ref> ''[[The Washington Post]]'',<ref>{{cite news |title=Holiday Guide - Best Books of 2008 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/artsandliving/features/2008/holiday-guide/gifts/best-books-of-2008/ |date=December 7, 2008 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'',<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1855948_1864143_1864144,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100228064308/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1855948_1864143_1864144,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 28, 2010 |magazine=Time |title=The Top 10 Everything Of 2008 |date=November 3, 2008}}</ref> and the ''[[Boston Globe]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Getting the goods - nonfiction: A guide to the most memorable titles of 2008, from entertaining to inspiring |first=Michael |last=Kenney |url=http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2008/12/07/getting_the_goods___nonfiction/ |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=December 7, 2008 |access-date=May 30, 2011}}</ref>

Filkins joined ''[[The New Yorker]]'' in 2011.<ref name="newyorker"/>

==Awards==
Filkins has received two [[George Polk Awards]], given annually by [[Long Island University]] to honor contributions to journalistic integrity and investigative reporting. He was cited for his reports from the [[Second Battle of Fallujah|assault on Fallujah]], Iraq, in November 2004, when the [[Marine (military)|Marine]] company he travelled with lost a quarter of its men in eight days.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.liu.edu/About/News/Univ-Ctr-PR/Pre-2008/February/GP-Press-Release-Feb-2005|title=George Polk Awards for Journalism press release|access-date=November 22, 2006 |date=February 21, 2005 |publisher=[[Long Island University]] }}</ref> In 2011, Filkins and ''The New York Times'' colleague [[Mark Mazzetti]] won for their reporting on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Filkins has won two [[National Magazine Awards]]; in 2009, for his story, "Right At the Edge,"  and in 2011 for "Bedrooms of the Fallen," an essay with the photographer [[Ashley Gilbertson]]. Both appeared in the ''New York Times Magazine.''

Filkins' article "Right at the Edge" (September 7, 2008) was part of the body of work by the staff of ''The New York Times'' awarded the 2009 [[Pulitzer Prize]] for distinguished reporting on international affairs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2009-International-Reporting |title=The 2009 Pulitzer Prize Winners: International Reporting |work=Pulitzer.org |access-date=February 25, 2015 }}</ref>

In 2010, his reporting for ''The New York Times'' from Iraq and Afghanistan, alongside the work of photographer [[Tyler Hicks]] and reporter [[C.&nbsp;J.&nbsp;Chivers]], was selected by [[New York University]] as one of the "Top Ten Works of Journalism of the Decade".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://journalism.nyu.edu/about-us/news/top-ten-works-of-journalism-of-the-decade-2000-2009/ |title=Top Ten Works of Journalism of the Decade, 2000-2009 |work=New York University |access-date=September 21, 2020 }}</ref>

==Bibliography==
{{Incomplete list|date=March 2015}}{{bots|deny=Citation bot}}

===Books===
* {{cite book |author=Filkins, Dexter |title=The forever war |location=New York |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |year=2008 <!--|isbn=9780307266392-->}}

===Essays and reporting===
* {{cite journal |author=Filkins, Dexter |date=October 23, 2005 |title=The fall of the warrior king |department=Magazine |journal=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/23/magazine/the-fall-of-the-warrior-king.html <!--access-date=2015-10-15-->}}
* {{cite journal |author=Filkins, Dexter |author-mask=1 |date=November 9, 2006 |title=Where Plan A left Ahmad Chalabi |department=Magazine |journal=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/magazine/05CHALABI.html <!--access-date=2015-10-15-->}}
* {{cite journal|author=Filkins, Dexter |author-mask= 1|date=October 7, 2007 | title=Regrets Only? |journal=[[The New York Times Magazine]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/magazine/07MAKIYA-t.html?ref=magazine |access-date=2024-08-17}}
* {{cite magazine |author=Filkins, Dexter |author-mask=1 |date=March 21, 2010 |title=The Shrine Down The Hall|magazine=[[The New York Times Magazine]] |pages=34–47}}
* {{cite journal |author=Filkins, Dexter |author-mask=1 |date=September 12, 2011 |title=The journalist and the spies |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/09/19/the-journalist-and-the-spies |journal=The New Yorker}}
* {{cite journal |author=Filkins, Dexter |author-mask= 1|date=July 9, 2012 |title=After America: Will civil war hit Afghanistan when the U.S. leaves? |department=A Reporter at Large |journal=The New Yorker |volume=88|issue=20 |pages=54–67 |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/07/09/after-america-2 |access-date=2015-10-15}}
* {{cite journal |author=Filkins, Dexter |author-mask= 1|date=October 29, 2012 |title=Atonement |department=A Reporter at Large |journal=The New Yorker |volume=88 |issue=34 |page=92 |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/10/29/atonement |access-date=2015-10-15}}
* {{cite journal |author=Filkins, Dexter |author-mask= 1|date=February 25, 2013 |title=After Syria : if the Assad regime falls, can Hezbollah survive? |department=A Reporter at Large |journal=The New Yorker |volume=89 |issue=2 |pages=48–57 |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/02/25/after-syria |access-date=2015-05-02}}
* {{cite journal |author=Filkins, Dexter |author-mask=1 |date=May 13, 2013 |title=The thin red line : inside the White House debate over Syria |department=A Reporter at Large |journal=The New Yorker |volume=89 |issue=13 |pages=40–49 |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/05/13/the-thin-red-line-2 <!--access-date=2016-05-10-->}}
* {{cite journal |author=Filkins, Dexter |author-mask=1 |date=September 30, 2013 |title=The shadow commander : Qassem Suleimani is the Iranian operative who has been reshaping the Middle East. Now he's directing Assad's war in Syria |department=A Reporter at Large |journal=The New Yorker |volume=89 |issue=30 |pages=42–53 |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/09/30/the-shadow-commander |access-date=2015-03-02}}
* {{cite journal |author=Filkins, Dexter |author-mask=1 |date=September 29, 2014 |title=The Fight Of Their Lives|department=A Reporter at Large |journal=The New Yorker |volume=90|issue=29 |page=42|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/29/fight-lives|access-date=2015-10-15}}
* {{cite journal |author=Filkins, Dexter |author-mask=1 |date=July 20, 2015 |title=Death of a prosecutor |department=A Reporter at Large |journal=The New Yorker |volume=91 |issue=20 |pages=38–51 |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/20/death-of-a-prosecutor <!--|access-date=2015-07-13-->}}
* {{cite journal |author=Filkins, Dexter |author-mask=1 |date=March 7, 2016 |title=A truce in Syria |department=The Talk of the Town. Comment |journal=The New Yorker |volume=92 |issue=4 |pages=17–18 |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/03/07/a-troubled-truce-in-syria <!--access-date=2017-01-16-->}}
* {{cite journal |author=Filkins, Dexter |author-mask=1 |date=January 2, 2017 |title=Before the flood : a failing dam threatens millions of Iraqis |department=A Reporter at Large |journal=The New Yorker |volume=92 |issue=43 |pages=22–28 |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/01/02/a-bigger-problem-than-isis <!--access-date=2017-04-23-->}}<ref group=lower-alpha>Online version is titled "A bigger problem than ISIS?".</ref> [[Mosul Dam]].
* {{cite journal |author=Filkins, Dexter |author-mask=1 |date=October 15, 2018 |title=Was There a Connection Between a Russian Bank and the Trump Campaign? A team of computer scientists sifted through records of unusual Web traffic in search of answers. |department=A Reporter at Large |journal=The New Yorker |volume=94 |issue=32 |pages=38–46 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/15/was-there-a-connection-between-a-russian-bank-and-the-trump-campaign |access-date=11 October 2018}}
* {{cite journal |author=Filkins, Dexter |author-mask=1 |date=September 7, 2020 |title=The uncounted |department=Letter from Florida |journal=The New Yorker |volume=96 |issue=26 |pages=34–45 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/09/07/who-gets-to-vote-in-florida <!--|accessdate=2021-09-21-->}}<ref group=lower-alpha>Online version is titled "Who gets to vote in Florida?".</ref>
* {{cite journal |author=Filkins, Dexter |author-mask=1 |date=September 13, 2021 |title=War with a human face : have rules to curb the cuelty of military force backfired? |department=The Critics. Books |journal=The New Yorker |volume=97 |issue=28 |pages=68–72 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/09/13/did-making-the-rules-of-war-better-make-the-world-worse <!--|access-date=2022-12-19-->}}<ref group=lower-alpha>Online version is titled "Did making the rules of war better make the world worse?".</ref>

———————
;Notes
{{reflist|30em|group=lower-alpha}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{commonscat}}
*{{NYTtopic|people/f/dexter_filkins}}
*[http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/8322 "Right at the Edge'" at Pulitzer.org]
*[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/24/magazine/24filkins-t.html "My Long War"'] August 22, 2008 by Dexter Filkins for the ''New York Times Magazine''
*{{C-SPAN|1014179}}
**[http://www.c-span.org/video/?186321-1/qa-dexter-filkins C-SPAN ''Q&A'', April 24, 2005]
*{{Charlie Rose view|29443}}
*{{IMDb name|2251874}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20081201093940/http://www.expressnightout.com/content/2008/09/from_the_battlegrounds_dexter_filkins_on.php "Q&A" about "The Forever War"]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa-oXcft0RY Authors@Google] One-hour video talk with Dexter Filkins (September 24, 2008)

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Filkins, Dexter}}
[[Category:1961 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American male journalists]]
[[Category:American people of the Iraq War]]
[[Category:American war correspondents]]
[[Category:George Polk Award recipients]]
[[Category:International Herald Tribune people]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Times people]]
[[Category:Nieman Fellows]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:The New York Times journalists]]
[[Category:The New Yorker staff writers]]
[[Category:University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences alumni]]
[[Category:War correspondents of the Iraq War]]
[[Category:War correspondents of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)]]
[[Category:Alumni of St Antony's College, Oxford]]
[[Category:National Book Critics Circle Award winners]]