THOMAS FRIEDMAN

WHO IS THOMAS FRIEDMAN

• American journalist, columnist and author.
• Writes a column twice every week for the NY Times.
• His main focus in his columns is global affairs.
• Has one the Pulitzer Prize 3 times.
• The Pulitzer Prize is a US award for achievements in news writing.

ABOUT FRIEDMAN

• Friedman was born on July 20, 1953.
• The son of Harold and Margaret Friedman.
• His father died of a heart-attack when he was 19 years old.
• Has 2 older sisters, Shelly and Jane.
• Married Ann on Thanksgiving day in 1978 and now has 2 daughters.

JOURNALISM CAREER

• Joined the London bureau of United Press International.
• Was dispatched a year later to Beirut.
• Lived in Beirut for 2 years covering the civil war there.
• Was hired in the New York Times as a reporter in 1981.
• He was then dispatched again to Beirut.

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• In Beirut he covered the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982.
• In 1984 he was transferred to Jerusalem.
• In Jerusalem he served as the Times Jerusalem Bureau Chief until 1988.
• He covered the First Palestinian Intifada during his time there.
• He then wrote a book called "From Beirut to Jerusalem"

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• In his book he described his experiences in the Middle East.
• He covered the Secretary of State James Baker.
• He then covered the election of Bill Clinton in 1992.
• Became the White House correspondent for the Times.
• In 1994 he wrote about foreign policy and economics.

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• In 2002, he met Saudi Prince Abdullah
• He encouraged him to make an attempt to end the Arab-Israeli conflict.
• Abdallah proposed the Arab Peace Initiative in March 2002
• Friedman has strongly supported that Peace Initiative ever since.
• Obama "has sounded out" Friedman concerning the Middle East conflict.

AWARDS

• His 3 Pulitzer Prizes.
• 1983: for the coverage of the war in Lebanon.
• 1988: for his coverage of Israel
• 2002: for his commentary about terrorist threat.
• He was then elected as a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board.

HIS PUBLISHED WORKS

• From Beirut to Jerusalem
• (1989) winner of the National Book Award.
• The Lexus and the Olive Tree
• (1999) understanding globalization.

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• Longitudes and Attitudes
• (2002) exploring the world after September 11.
• The World is Flat
• (2005) a brief history of the twenty-first century.

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• Hot, Flat, and Crowded
• (2008) why we need a green revolution, and how it can renew America.
• That Used To Be Us
• (2011) how America fell behind in the world it invented and how can it come back.