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{{Short description|American author, journalist and professor}}
===United States===
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2014}}
See also ''[[Wikipedia:Lynching in the United States]]''
{{Infobox person
| name              = Walter Isaacson
| image              = Walter Isaacson VF 2012 Shankbone 2.JPG
| caption            = Isaacson in 2012
| birth_name        = Walter Seff Isaacson
| birth_date        = {{birth date and age|1952|5|20}}
| birth_place        = [[New Orleans]], Louisiana, U.S.
| death_date        =
| death_place        =
| spouse            = {{marriage|Cathy Wright|1984}}<ref name="contemporary"/><ref name="rpogrebin">Robin Pogrebin, [https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/09/business/at-work-and-at-play-time-s-editor-seeks-to-keep-magazine-vigorous-at-75.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm "At Work and at Play, Time's Editor Seeks to Keep Magazine Vigorous at 75"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200106063400/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/09/business/at-work-and-at-play-time-s-editor-seeks-to-keep-magazine-vigorous-at-75.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |date=January 6, 2020 }}, ''[[New York Times]]'', March 9, 1998.</ref>
| children          = 1
| education          = [[Harvard University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|AB]])<br>[[Pembroke College, Oxford]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
| awards            = [[Benjamin Franklin Medal (Royal Society of Arts)|Benjamin Franklin Medal]] (2013)<br>[[Nichols-Chancellor's Medal]] (2015)<br>[[National Humanities Medal]] (2023)
| module            = {{Infobox officeholder
|embed = yes
|office              = Chair of the [[Broadcasting Board of Governors]]
|president          = [[Barack Obama]]
|term_start          = July 2, 2010
|term_end            = January 27, 2012
|predecessor        = [[James K. Glassman]]
|successor          = [[Jeff Shell]]
}}
}}


[[File:Lynching-of-will-james.jpg|thumb|The lynching of African American [[William "Froggie" James]] in [[Cairo, Illinois]], on November 11, 1909. A crowd of thousands watched the lynching.<ref>{{cite book |title=Black Woman Reformer: Ida B. Wells, Lynching, & Transatlantic Activism |url=https://archive.org/details/blackwomanreform0000silk |url-access=registration |date=2015 |publisher=University of Georgia Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/blackwomanreform0000silk/page/n18 1]|isbn=9780820345574 }}</ref>]]
'''Walter Seff Isaacson''' (born May 20, 1952) is an American author, journalist, and professor. He has been the president and CEO of the [[Aspen Institute]], a nonpartisan policy studies organization based in [[Washington, D.C.]], the chair and CEO of [[CNN]], and the editor of ''[[Time magazine|Time]]''.
[[Image:duluth-lynching-postcard.jpg|right|thumb|[[Lynching postcard|Postcard]] of the [[Duluth lynchings|1920 Duluth, Minnesota lynchings]]. Two of the Black victims are still hanging while the third is on the ground.<ref name="Moyers">Moyers, Bill. [https://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/11232007/profile2.html "Legacy of Lynching"]. PBS. Retrieved July 28, 2016</ref>]]
Lynchings took place in the United States both before and after the [[American Civil War]], most commonly in Southern states and Western frontier settlements and most frequently in the late 19th century.  They were often performed by self-appointed commissions, [[Ochlocracy|mobs]], or [[vigilantes]] as a form of punishment for presumed criminal offences.<ref>The Guardian, 'Jim Crow lynchings more widespread than previously thought', Lauren Gambino, February 10, 2015</ref> From 1883 to 1941 there were 4,467 victims of lynching. Of these, 4,027 were male, and 99 female. 341 were of unknown gender, but are assumed to be likely male. In terms of ethnicity; 3,265 were black, 1,082 were white, 71 were Mexican or of Mexican descent, 38 were American Indian, ten were Chinese, and one was Japanese.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Seguin|first1=Charles|last2=Rigby|first2=David|date=2019|title=National Crimes: A New National Data Set of Lynchings in the United States, 1883 to 1941|journal=Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World|volume=5|doi=10.1177/2378023119841780|s2cid=164388036|issn=2378-0231|doi-access=free}}</ref> At the first recorded lynching, in [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]] in 1835, a Black man named McIntosh who killed a deputy sheriff while being taken to jail was captured, chained to a tree, and burned to death on a corner lot downtown in front of a crowd of over 1,000 people.<ref>William Hyde and Howard L. Conrad (eds.), [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofhi04hyde ''Encyclopedia of the History of St. Louis: A Compendium of History and Biography for Ready Reference: Volume 4.''] New York: Southern History Company, 1899; pg. 1913.</ref>
<!--Please do not add examples to this section. Instead add them to the main page 'Lynching in America'-->
Mob violence arose as a means of enforcing [[White supremacy]]<ref name="gibson">{{cite web|first=Robert A.|last=Gibson|title=The Negro Holocaust: Lynching and Race Riots in the United States, 1880–1950|url=https://teachersinstitute.yale.edu/curriculum/units/1979/2/79.02.04.x.html|access-date=July 26, 2010|publisher=Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute}}</ref> and it frequently verged on systematic political terrorism. After the American Civil War, secret white supremacist terrorist groups such as the [[Ku Klux Klan]] instigated extrajudicial assaults and killings due to a perceived loss of white power in America.<ref name="New South 1993">{{cite book|last=Brundage|first=W. Fitzhugh|url=https://archive.org/details/lynchinginnewsou0000brun|title=Lynching in the New South: Georgia and Virginia, 1880–1930|publisher=University of Illinois Press|year=1993|isbn=0-252-06345-7|location=Urbana|url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="Barry A. Crouch 1868">{{cite journal|last=Crouch|first=Barry A.|year=1984|title=A Spirit of Lawlessness: White violence, Texas Blacks, 1865–1868|journal=Journal of Social History|volume=18|issue=2|pages=217–226|doi=10.1353/jsh/18.2.217|jstor=3787285}}</ref><ref name="Foner1988p119-123">{{cite book|last=Foner|first=Eric|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780060158514/page/119|title=Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863–1877|publisher=Harper & Row|year=1988|isbn=0-06-015851-4|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780060158514/page/119 119–123]|url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="J.C.A. Stagg 1871">{{cite journal|last=Stagg|first=J. C. A.|year=1974|title=The Problem of Klan Violence: The South Carolina Upcountry, 1868–1871|journal=Journal of American Studies|volume=8|issue=3|pages=303–318|doi=10.1017/S0021875800015905}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book|last=Trelease|first=Allen W.|title=White Terror: The Ku Klux Klan Conspiracy and Southern Reconstruction|publisher=Harper & Row|year=1979|isbn=0-313-21168-X|location=New York}}</ref> Mobs usually alleged crimes for which they lynched Black people in order to instil fear. In the late 19th century, however, journalist Ida B. Wells showed that many presumed crimes were either exaggerated or had not even occurred.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Lynching|encyclopedia=[[MSN Encarta]]|url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761576853/Lynching.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028112646/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761576853/Lynching.html|archive-date=October 28, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> The magnitude of the extralegal violence which occurred during election campaigns, to prevent blacks from voting, reached epidemic proportions.<ref name="New South 1993" /><ref name="Barry A. Crouch 1868" /><ref name="Foner1988p119-123" /><ref name="J.C.A. Stagg 1871" /><ref name="ReferenceA" /> The [[ideology]] behind lynching, directly connected to the denial of political and social equality, was stated forthrightly in 1900 by United States Senator [[Benjamin Tillman]], who was previously governor of South Carolina: {{blockquote|We of the South have never recognized the right of the negro to govern white men, and we never will. We have never believed him to be the equal of the white man, and we will not submit to his gratifying his lust on our wives and daughters without lynching him.<ref name="herbert">{{cite news |first=Bob |last=Herbert |author-link=Bob Herbert |title=The Blight That Is Still With Us |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/22/opinion/22herbert.html?hp |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 22, 2008|access-date=January 22, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/55/|title='Their Own Hotheadedness': Senator Benjamin R. 'Pitchfork Ben' Tillman Justifies Violence Against Southern Blacks|website=History Matters: The U.S. Survey Course on the Web|publisher=George Mason University|access-date=September 3, 2020}}</ref>}}


Members of mobs that participated in lynchings often took photographs of what they had done to their victims. Souvenir taking, such as the taking of pieces of rope, clothing, branches and sometimes [[Human trophy collecting|body parts]] was not uncommon. Some of those photographs were published and sold as [[lynching postcard|postcards]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Tharoor|first=Ishaan |date=September 27, 2016 |title= U.S. owes black people reparations for a history of 'racial terrorism,' says U.N. panel|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/09/27/u-s-owes-black-people-reparations-for-a-history-of-racial-terrorism-says-u-n-panel/|newspaper= [[The Washington Post]]|access-date=May 1, 2017|quote="Lynching was a form of racial terrorism that has contributed to a legacy of racial inequality that the United States must address. Thousands of people of African descent were killed in violent public acts of racial control and domination and the perpetrators were never held accountable." }}</ref><ref>{{cite report|publisher=[[Equal Justice Initiative]]|title=Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror|year=2017|location=Montgomery, Alabama|url=https://lynchinginamerica.eji.org/report/|page=14|edition=3rd|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510151602/https://lynchinginamerica.eji.org/report/|archive-date=May 10, 2018|quote=Public spectacle lynchings were those in which large crowds of white people, often numbering in the thousands, gathered to witness pre-planned, heinous killings that featured prolonged torture, mutilation, dismemberment, and/or burning of the victim. Many were carnival-like events, with vendors selling food, printers producing postcards featuring photographs of the lynching and corpse, and the victim's body parts collected as souvenirs.}}</ref>
Isaacson attended [[Harvard University]] and [[Pembroke College, Oxford]] as a [[Rhodes scholar]]. He is the co-author with [[Evan Thomas]] of ''[[The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made]]'' (1986) and the author of ''Pro and Con'' (1983), ''[[Kissinger: A Biography]]'' (1992), ''[[Benjamin Franklin: An American Life]]'' (2003), ''[[Einstein: His Life and Universe]]'' (2007), ''American Sketches'' (2009), ''[[Steve Jobs (book)|Steve Jobs]]'' (2011), ''[[The Innovators (book)|The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution]]'' (2014), ''Leonardo da Vinci'' (2017), ''[[The Code Breaker|The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race]]'' (2021) and ''[[Elon Musk (Isaacson book)|Elon Musk]]'' (2023).
<!--Please do not add examples to this section. Instead add them to 'Lynching in the United States'-->


====Anti-lynching legislation and the civil rights movement====
Isaacson is a professor at [[Tulane University]] and an advisory partner at [[Perella Weinberg Partners]], a New York City-based financial services firm.<ref name=MichaelNeibauer/> He was vice chair of the [[Louisiana Recovery Authority]], which oversaw the rebuilding after [[Hurricane Katrina]], chaired the [[Broadcasting Board of Governors|government board]] that runs [[Voice of America]], and was a member of the Defense Innovation Board.
The [[Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill]] was first introduced to the [[United States Congress]] in 1918 by [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] Congressman [[Leonidas C. Dyer]] of [[St. Louis, Missouri]]. The bill was passed by the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] in 1922, and in the same year it was given a favorable report by the [[United States Senate]] Committee. Its passage was blocked by White Democratic senators from the [[Solid South]], the only representatives elected since the southern states [[Disenfranchisement after the Reconstruction Era|had disenfranchised African Americans]] around the start of the 20th century.<ref>[https://ssrn.com/abstract=224731 Richard H. Pildes, "Democracy, Anti-Democracy, and the Canon", ''Constitutional Commentary'', Vol. 17, 2000]. Accessed March 10, 2008.</ref> The Dyer Bill influenced later anti-lynching legislation, including the [[Costigan-Wagner Bill]], which was also defeated in the US Senate.<ref>Zangrando, NAACP Crusade, pp. 43–44, 54.</ref>


The song "[[Strange Fruit]]" was composed by [[Abel Meeropol]] in 1937, inspired by the photograph of a lynching in Marion, Indiana. Meeropol said that the photograph "haunted me for days".<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Cross and the Lynching Tree|url=https://archive.org/details/crosslynchingtre0000cone|url-access=registration|last=Cone|first=James H.|publisher=Oribis Books|year=2011|location=Maryknoll, New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/crosslynchingtre0000cone/page/134 134]}}</ref> It was published as a poem in the ''New York Teacher'' and later in the magazine ''[[New Masses]]'', in both cases under the pseudonym Lewis Allan. The poem was set to music, also by Meeropol, and the song was performed and popularized by [[Billie Holiday]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/strangefruit/film.html|website=Pbs.org|title=Strange Fruit}} PBS ''Independent Lens'' credits the music as well as the words to Meeropol, though Billie Holiday's autobiography and the Spartacus article credit her with co-authoring the song.</ref> The song reached 16th place on the charts in July 1939.{{citation needed|date=December 2014}} The song has been performed by many other singers, including [[Nina Simone]].
==Early life and education==
Walter Seff Isaacson was born on May 20, 1952,<ref name="mball">{{cite news|first=Millie|last=Ball|url=http://www.nola.com/books/index.ssf/2011/12/steve_jobs_biographer_is_homet.html|title=Steve Jobs' biographer is hometown son Walter Isaacson|publisher=[[The Times-Picayune]]|date=11 December 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120212154631/http://www.nola.com/books/index.ssf/2011/12/steve_jobs_biographer_is_homet.html|archive-date=12 February 2012}}</ref><ref name="contemporary">{{cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/isaacson-walter-1952|title=Isaacson, Walter 1952–|work=Contemporary Authors|accessdate=February 16, 2022|via=Encyclopedia.com|archive-date=April 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430041704/https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/isaacson-walter-1952|url-status=live}}</ref> in [[New Orleans]], Louisiana, the son of Betty "Betsy" Lee (née Seff) and Irwin Isaacson.<ref name=DavidSkinner>{{cite web|last=Skinner|first=David|url=http://www.neh.gov/about/awards/jefferson-lecture/walter-isaacson-biography|publisher=[[National Endowment for the Humanities]]|title= Awards & Honors: 2014 Jefferson Lecturer: Walter Isaacson|access-date=30 August 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140516164627/https://www.neh.gov/about/awards/jefferson-lecture/walter-isaacson-biography|archive-date=16 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.sidsalinger.com/2246.htm|title=Family of Sid Salinger|publisher=Sid Salinger|date=19 August 2013|access-date=February 1, 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150201222153/http://www.sidsalinger.com/2246.htm|archive-date=1 February 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |first=  |last=  |authorlink=  |title= Obituary: Irwin Isaacson Jr. |newspaper= [[The New Orleans Advocate]] |date= January 11, 2017 |url= https://obits.nola.com/us/obituaries/nola/name/irwin-isaacson-obituary?pid=183569113 |accessdate=  |archive-date= September 28, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210928211211/https://obits.nola.com/us/obituaries/nola/name/irwin-isaacson-obituary?pid=183569113 |url-status= live }}</ref> His father was an electrical and mechanical engineer, and his mother was a [[real estate broker]].<ref name=DavidSkinner/>  He attended New Orleans' [[Isidore Newman School]], where he was student body president. He also attended the [[Telluride Association]] Summer Program (TASP) at [[Deep Springs College]].


By the 1950s, the [[civil rights movement]] was gaining new momentum. It was spurred by the lynching of [[Emmett Till]], a 14-year-old youth from Chicago who was killed while visiting an uncle in Mississippi. His mother insisted on having an open-casket funeral so that people could see how badly her son had been beaten. The Black community throughout the U.S. became mobilized.<ref name="Atlantic"/> Vann R. Newkirk wrote "the trial of his killers became a pageant illuminating the tyranny of [[white supremacy]]".<ref name="Atlantic">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/02/how-the-blood-of-emmett-till-still-stains-america-today/516891/|title=How 'The Blood of Emmett Till' Still Stains America Today|last=II|first=Vann R. Newkirk|work=The Atlantic|access-date=July 3, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref> The state of Mississippi tried two defendants, but they were acquitted by an [[all-White jury]].<ref>Whitfield, Stephen (1991). ''A Death in the Delta: The Story of Emmett Till''. pp 41–42. JHU Press.</ref> David Jackson writes that it was the photograph of the "child's ravaged body, that forced the world to reckon with the brutality of [[American racism]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://100photos.time.com/photos/emmett-till-david-jackson|title=How The Horrific Photograph Of Emmett Till Helped Energize The Civil Rights Movement|website=100photos.time.com|access-date=July 3, 2017|archive-date=July 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706123149/http://100photos.time.com/photos/emmett-till-david-jackson|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Isaacson studied at [[Harvard University]], where he majored in history and literature and graduated in 1974. At Harvard, Isaacson was the president of the [[Signet Society]], a member of the ''[[Harvard Lampoon]]'', and a resident of [[Lowell House]]. He later attended [[Pembroke College, Oxford]], as a [[Rhodes scholar]], where he studied [[Philosophy, Politics, and Economics|philosophy, politics, and economics]] (PPE) and graduated with [[First-Class Honours|first-class honours]].<ref name="rpogrebin"/><ref name="mball"/>


Most lynchings ceased by the 1960s,<ref name=tuskegee_umkc>{{cite web |url=http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/shipp/lynchingsstate.html |title=Lynchings: By State and Race, 1882–1968 |access-date=July 26, 2010 |quote=Statistics provided by the Archives at Tuskegee Institute. |publisher=University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100629081241/http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/shipp/lynchingsstate.html |archive-date=June 29, 2010 }}</ref><ref name=tuskegee_umkc2>{{cite web |url=http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/shipp/lynchingyear.html |title=Lynchings: By Year and Race |access-date=July 26, 2010 |quote=Statistics provided by the Archives at Tuskegee Institute. |publisher=University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724162418/http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/shipp/lynchingyear.html |archive-date=July 24, 2010 }}</ref> but even in 2021 there were claims that racist lynchings still happen in the United States, being covered up as suicides.<ref>{{cite news|first=DeNeen L. |last=Brown |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/08/08/modern-day-mississippi-lynchings |title='Lynchings in Mississippi never stopped' |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=August 8, 2021 |accessdate=February 16, 2022}}</ref>
==Career==


In 2018, the [[National Memorial for Peace and Justice]] was opened in Montgomery, Alabama, a memorial that commemorates the victims of lynchings in the United States.
===Media===
Isaacson began his career in journalism at ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' in London, followed by a position with the ''[[New Orleans Times-Picayune]]''. He joined ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine in 1978, serving as the magazine's political correspondent, national editor, and editor of new media before becoming the magazine's 14th editor in 1996.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/5/4/walter-isaacson/ | title=Q&A with Walter S. Isaacson | author=William C. Skinner | date=4 May 2016 | publisher=[[The Harvard Crimson]] | access-date=5 July 2016|url-status=live|archive-date=18 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918193806/http://www.thecrimson.com:80/article/2016/5/4/walter-isaacson/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/money/moving-ladder-big-time-article-1.878355 | title=Moving up the Ladder Big Time | author=Paul D. Colford | date=15 November 2000 | work=[[New York Daily News]] | access-date=5 July 2016 | archive-date=June 19, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619215015/https://www.nydailynews.com/archives/money/moving-ladder-big-time-article-1.878355 | url-status=live }}</ref>


On March 29, 2022, President [[Joe Biden]] signed the [[Emmett Till Antilynching Act]] of 2022 into law, which classified lynching as a federal [[hate crime]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zaslav |first=Ali |date=March 8, 2022 |title=Senate passes Emmett Till Antilynching Act of 2022 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/07/politics/senate-passes-antilynching-law/index.html |access-date=March 29, 2022 |work=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Shear |first=Michael D. |date=March 29, 2022 |title=Biden Signs Bill to Make Lynching a Federal Crime |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/29/us/politics/biden-signs-anti-lynching-bill.html |access-date=March 30, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
Isaacson became chairman and CEO of [[CNN]] in July 2001, replacing [[Tom Johnson (journalist)|Tom Johnson]], and only two months later, guided CNN through the events of [[September 11 attacks|9/11]].<ref name=JimWalton>{{cite news | last = Cook | first = John | title = CNN's turmoil continues over identity, ratings | url = http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2003-01-21/features/0301210060_1_cnn-jim-walton-fox-news-channel/2 | newspaper = [[The Chicago Tribune]] | date = January 21, 2003 | access-date = March 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319022842/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2003-01-21-0301210060-story.html|archive-date=19 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=StepsDownCNN>{{cite news | title = CNN: Head of news network to step down | url = http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2003-01-14/business/0301140255_1_aspen-institute-cnn-aaron-brown | newspaper = The Chicago Tribune | date = January 14, 2003 | access-date = March 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319023056/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2003-01-14-0301140255-story.html|archive-date=19 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Shortly after his appointment at CNN, Isaacson attracted attention for seeking the views of [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] leaders on Capitol Hill regarding criticisms that CNN broadcast content that was unfair to Republicans or conservatives. He was quoted in ''[[Roll Call]]'' magazine as saying: "I was trying to reach out to a lot of Republicans who feel that CNN has not been as open to covering Republicans, and I wanted to hear their concerns." The CEO's conduct was criticized by the [[Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting]] (FAIR) organization, which said that Isaacson's "pandering" behavior was endowing conservative politicians with power over CNN.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Eason Jordan|title=New CNN Chief Trying to Please GOP Elite|url=http://fair.org/take-action/action-alerts/new-cnn-chief-trying-to-please-gop-elite/|website=FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting)|publisher=Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting|access-date=18 January 2015|date=15 August 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121208154413/https://fair.org/take-action/action-alerts/new-cnn-chief-trying-to-please-gop-elite/|archive-date=8 December 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|agency=Associated Press|title=New CNN chairman meets with GOP critics|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/politics/2001-08-06-cnn.htm|access-date=18 January 2015|work=[[USA Today]]|date=6 August 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118085627/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/politics/2001-08-06-cnn.htm|archive-date=18 January 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
In January 2003, he announced that he would step down as president of CNN to become president of the [[Aspen Institute]].<ref name=StepsDownCNN/> [[Jim Walton (journalist)|Jim Walton]] replaced Isaacson as president of CNN.<ref name=JimWalton/>
 
Isaacson served as the president and CEO of the Aspen Institute from 2003 until 2018, when he announced that he would step down to become a professor of history at [[Tulane University]] and an advisory partner at the New York City financial services firm [[Perella Weinberg Partners]].<ref name=MichaelNeibauer>{{Cite news|first=Michael|last=Neibauer|title=Walter Isaacson leaving the Aspen Institute|date=15 March 2017|publisher=[[American City Business Journals|Washington Business Journal]]|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2017/03/15/walter-isaacson-leaving-the-aspen-institute.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315160000/https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2017/03/15/walter-isaacson-leaving-the-aspen-institute.html|archive-date=15 March 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> In November 2017, the Aspen Institute named [[Daniel R. Porterfield|Dan Porterfield]], the president of [[Franklin & Marshall College]], as Isaacson's successor.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2017/11/30/aspen-institute/|title=Aspen Institute names Dan Porterfield, president of Franklin and Marshall College, as its new leader|last=Thompson|first=Krissah|date=2017-11-30|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2017-12-15|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=May 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508225101/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2017/11/30/aspen-institute/|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
In March 2017, Isaacson launched a [[podcast]] with [[Dell Technologies]] called ''Trailblazers'', which focuses on technology's effects on business.<ref name="johnson2017">{{Cite news|last=Johnson|first=Lauren|date=15 March 2017|publisher=[[Adweek]]|url=http://www.adweek.com/digital/walter-isaacson-is-getting-into-podcasting-with-a-series-for-dell-about-technology/|title=Walter Isaacson Is Getting Into Podcasting With a Series About Technology|access-date=2017-07-01|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315145859/http://www.adweek.com/digital/walter-isaacson-is-getting-into-podcasting-with-a-series-for-dell-about-technology/|archive-date=15 March 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2018, Isaacson was named as a contributor for the ''[[Amanpour & Company]]'' airing on PBS and CNN that replaced ''The Charlie Rose Show''.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Guthrie|first=Marisa|date=8 May 2018|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/christiane-amanpour-will-lead-new-pbs-late-night-program-1109701|title=Christiane Amanpour Will Lead New PBS Late-Night Program|publisher=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180508211023/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/christiane-amanpour-will-lead-new-pbs-late-night-program-1109701|archive-date=8 May 2018}}</ref>
 
===Writing===
Isaacson is the author of multiple published books, including ''[[Kissinger: A Biography]]'' (1992), ''[[Benjamin Franklin: An American Life]]'' (2003), ''[[Einstein: His Life and Universe]]'' (2007) and ''[[American Sketches]]'' (2009). He additionally co-authored with [[Evan Thomas]] the work ''[[The Wise Men (book)|The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made]]'' (1986).<ref name="rpogrebin"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Walter Isaacson|url=http://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Walter-Isaacson/697650|website=Author page|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|access-date=19 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102200454/https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Walter-Isaacson/697650|archive-date=2 November 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
On October 24, 2011, ''[[Steve Jobs (book)|Steve Jobs]]'', Isaacson's [[authorized biography]] of [[Apple Inc.]]'s Jobs, was published by [[Simon & Schuster]], only a few weeks after Jobs's death. It became an international best-seller, breaking all records for sales of a biography. The book was based on over forty interviews with Jobs over a two-year period up until shortly before his death, and on conversations with friends, family members, and business rivals of the entrepreneur.<ref name="lynch2011">{{cite web|first=Rene|last=Lynch|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/10/new-steve-jobs-biography-skyrockets-to-no-1-spot-on-amazon.html|title=Steve Jobs biography: Release date moves up, skyrockets to No. 1|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=6 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018163517/https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/10/new-steve-jobs-biography-skyrockets-to-no-1-spot-on-amazon.html|archive-date=18 October 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Brad Stone, [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/technology/companies/16apple.html "Jobs Is Said to Assist With Book on His Life"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117123855/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/technology/companies/16apple.html |date=November 17, 2017 }}, ''New York Times'', February 15, 2010.</ref><ref name="peralta2011">{{cite web|first=Eyder|last=Peralta|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/04/11/135318057/steve-jobs-authorizes-biography-its-due-out-early-2012|title=Steve Jobs Authorizes Biography; It's Due Out Early 2012|publisher=[[NPR]]|date=11 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191014133840/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2011/04/11/135318057/steve-jobs-authorizes-biography-its-due-out-early-2012|archive-date=14 October 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="swisher2011">{{cite news|first=Kara|last=Swisher |author-link=Kara Swisher |url=http://allthingsd.com/20110815/new-jobs-bio-cover-is-all-apple-with-pub-date-of-november/|title= New Jobs Bio Cover Is All Apple With Pub Date of November|publisher=[[All Things Digital]]|date=15 August 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110827134838/http://allthingsd.com/20110815/new-jobs-bio-cover-is-all-apple-with-pub-date-of-november/|archive-date=27 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first=Walter|last=Isaacson|url=http://hbr.org/2012/04/the-real-leadership-lessons-of-steve-jobs/ar/1|title=The Real Leadership Lessons of Steve Jobs|journal=[[Harvard Business Review]]|date=April 2012|volume=90|issue=4|pages=92–100, 102, 146|pmid=22458204|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322192235/http://hbr.org/2012/04/the-real-leadership-lessons-of-steve-jobs/ar/1|archive-date=22 March 2012}}</ref>
 
In October 2014, Isaacson published ''[[The Innovators (book)|The Innovators: How a Group of Inventors, Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution]]'', which explores the history of the key technological innovations that were prominent in the [[digital revolution]], most notably the parallel developments of the computer and the Internet. It became a ''New York Times'' bestseller.<ref name="pickering2015">{{cite web|author1=Rachel Pickering|title=The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution by Walter Isaacson|url=http://maroonweekly.com/innovators-group-hackers-geniuses-geeks-created-digital-revolution-walter-isaacson|website=Maroon Weekly|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903181556/http://maroonweekly.com/innovators-group-hackers-geniuses-geeks-created-digital-revolution-walter-isaacson|archive-date=3 September 2015|url-status=dead|publisher=Campus Press LP|access-date=18 January 2015|date=29 October 2014}}</ref> Writing for the ''New York Times'', [[Janet Maslin]] described the author as "a kindred spirit to the visionaries and enthusiasts" whom Isaacson wrote about.<ref>{{cite news|author-link1=Janet Maslin|author1=Janet Maslin|title=Heralds of the Digital Tomorrow|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/arts/walter-isaacsons-the-innovators-studies-computer-wizards.html?_r=0|access-date=18 January 2015|work=The New York Times|date=8 October 2014|archive-date=January 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118144646/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/arts/walter-isaacsons-the-innovators-studies-computer-wizards.html?_r=0|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
He is the editor of ''Profiles in Leadership: Historians on the Elusive Quality of Greatness'' (2010, [[W. W. Norton]]).<ref name="mball"/><ref>[[Janet Maslin]], [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/09/books/09masl.html? "The Scale of Einstein, From Faith to Formulas,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221152232/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/09/books/09masl.html? |date=February 21, 2017 }} ''New York Times'', April 9, 2007.</ref>
 
His self-titled biography of [[Leonardo da Vinci]] was published on October 17, 2017, to positive reviews from critics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lithub.com/bookmarks/reviews/leonardo-da-vinci/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019111848/http://lithub.com/bookmarks/reviews/leonardo-da-vinci/|archive-date=19 October 2017|title=Bookmarks reviews of Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson|publisher=LitHub|access-date=October 19, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Leonardo da Vinci|last=Isaacson|first=Walter|date=2017-10-17|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=978-1-5011-3915-4|language=en}}</ref> In August 2017, [[Paramount Pictures]] won a bidding war against [[Universal Pictures]] for the rights to adapt Isaacson's biography of da Vinci. The studio bought the rights under its deal with [[Leonardo DiCaprio]]'s Appian Way Productions, which said that it planned to produce the film with DiCaprio as the star.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2017/08/leonardo-dicaprio-to-play-leonardo-da-vinci-paramouint-walter-isaacson-appian-way-movie-deal-1202147317/|title=Update: Paramount Wins Leonardo Battle: Lands Walter Isaacson Da Vinci Book For DiCaprio|last=Fleming|first=Mike Jr. |date=2017-08-12|website=Deadline|language=en|access-date=2019-11-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812103152/https://deadline.com/2017/08/leonardo-dicaprio-to-play-leonardo-da-vinci-paramouint-walter-isaacson-appian-way-movie-deal-1202147317/|archive-date=12 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Screenwriter [[John Logan (writer)|John Logan]] ([[The Aviator (2004 film)|''The Aviator'']], [[Gladiator (2000 film)|''Gladiator'']]) has been tapped to pen the script.<ref name="fleming2018">{{cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2018/02/leonardo-dicaprio-leonardo-da-vinci-john-logan-walter-isaacson-paramount-pictures-movie-1202276443/|title=John Logan To Adapt Walter Isaacson's Leonardo Da Vinci Book For Leo DiCaprio|first=Mike Jr. |last=Fleming|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202000930/https://deadline.com/2018/02/leonardo-dicaprio-leonardo-da-vinci-john-logan-walter-isaacson-paramount-pictures-movie-1202276443/|archive-date=2 February 2018|date=1 February 2018|website=Deadline|language=en|access-date=2020-03-19|quote=Paramount has set [[John Logan (writer)|John Logan]] to adapt the Walter Isaacson book Leonardo da Vinci as a star vehicle for [[Leonardo DiCaprio]] to play the [[Leonardo da Vinci|painter/scientist]]. DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson [Jennifer Davisson Killoran] are producing through their [[Appian Way Productions|Appian Way banner]]. }}</ref>
 
His book ''[[The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race]]'' was published in March 2021 by [[Simon & Schuster]]. It is a biography of [[Jennifer Doudna]], the winner of the 2020 [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] for her work on the [[CRISPR]] system of [[CRISPR gene editing|gene editing]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Code Breaker |url=https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Code-Breaker/Walter-Isaacson/9781982115852 |access-date=March 18, 2021 |date=March 9, 2021 |isbn=9781982115852 |last1=Isaacson |first1=Walter |publisher=Simon and Schuster |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414054804/https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Code-Breaker/Walter-Isaacson/9781982115852 |url-status=live }}</ref> The book debuted at number one on [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''The New York Times'' nonfiction best-seller list]] for the week ending March 13, 2021.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction - Best Sellers |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2021/03/28/combined-print-and-e-book-nonfiction/ |access-date=March 18, 2021 |archive-date=March 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210331154721/https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2021/03/28/combined-print-and-e-book-nonfiction/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' called it a "gripping account of a great scientific advancement and of the dedicated scientists who realized it."<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 26, 2021 |title=Nonfiction Book Review: The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-9821-1585-2 |access-date=March 18, 2021 |website=[[Publishers Weekly]] |archive-date=February 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212185100/https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-9821-1585-2 |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
Isaacson's [[Elon Musk (Isaacson book)|biography]] of [[Elon Musk]] was published by Simon & Schuster on September 12, 2023. It was shortlisted for the 2023 [[Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award|''Financial Times'' Business Book of the Year Award]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-04 |title=FT Business Book of the Year Award shortlist |url=https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2023/10/04/238701/ft-business-book-of-the-year-award-shortlist/ |access-date=2023-10-04 |publisher=Books+Publishing |archive-date=November 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231118211335/https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2023/10/04/238701/ft-business-book-of-the-year-award-shortlist/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
===Government===
[[File:WalterIsaacsonStateDeptUSPPImage1.JPG|thumb|Isaacson at a State Department briefing in 2008]]
In October 2005, the Governor of Louisiana, [[Kathleen Blanco]], appointed Isaacson vice chairman of the [[Louisiana Recovery Authority]], a board that oversaw spending on the recovery from [[Hurricane Katrina]]. In December 2007, he was appointed by President [[George W. Bush]] to the chairman of the U.S.-Palestinian Partnership, which seeks to create economic and educational opportunities in the Palestinian territories.<ref>[https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/12/20071203-7.html "President Bush Meets with U.S.-Palestinian Public-Private Partnership"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318233630/https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/12/20071203-7.html |date=March 18, 2021 }}, White House press release, December 2007.</ref> Secretary of State [[Hillary Clinton]] appointed him vice-chair of the [[Partners for a New Beginning]], which encourages private-sector investments and partnerships in the Muslim world.<ref name="pnb2010">{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/141152.pdf|title=Partners for a New Beginning|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217045808/https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/141152.pdf|archive-date=17 December 2019|publisher=[[United States Department of State]]|date=26 April 2010|quote=Former Secretary of State [[Madeleine Albright]] will serve as the Chair of PNB. Walter Isaacson (President of The Aspen Institute) and [[Muhtar Kent]] (Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company) will serve as Vice-Chairs. }}</ref>
 
He also served as the co-chair of the [[U.S.-Vietnam Dialogue Group on Agent Orange/Dioxin|U.S.-Vietnamese Dialogue]] on [[Agent Orange]], which in January 2008 announced completion of a project to contain the [[Dioxins and dioxin-like compounds|dioxin]] left behind by the U.S. at the [[Da Nang]] air base and plans to build health centers and a dioxin laboratory in the affected regions.<ref name="mason2010">{{Cite web|location=[[Hanoi]]|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/37735860/ns/world_news-world_environment/t/million-agent-orange-fund/ |title=Plan addresses Agent Orange legacy in Vietnam - World news - World environment|publisher=[[NBC News]]|first=Margie|last=Mason|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=2010-06-16|website=msnbc.com|language=en|access-date=2020-03-19|quote=$300 million (${{Format price|{{inflation|US|300,000,000|2010|2019}}}} in 2019) for Agent Orange fund|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305083530/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/37735860/|archive-date=5 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2008, he was appointed to be a member of the Advisory Committee of the [[National Institutes of Health]]. In 2009, he was appointed by President Obama to be chairman of the [[Broadcasting Board of Governors]], which runs [[Voice of America]], [[Radio Free Europe]], and the other international broadcasts of the U.S. government; he served until January 2012.<ref>[https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/president-obama-announces-more-key-administration-posts-111809 "President Obama More Key Administration Posts"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216173623/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/president-obama-announces-more-key-administration-posts-111809 |date=February 16, 2017 }}, White House press release, November 18, 2009.</ref>
 
In 2014, he was appointed by New Orleans Mayor [[Mitch Landrieu]] to be the co-chair of the New Orleans Tricentennial Commission, which planned the city's 300th-anniversary commemoration in 2018.<ref name="woodward2014">{{cite web|first=Alex|last=Woodward|url-status=dead|url=http://www.bestofneworleans.com/blogofneworleans/archives/2014/12/01/mayor-landrieu-unveils-new-orleans-tricentennial-group|title=Mayor Landrieu unveils New Orleans' tricentennial group|publisher=Best of New Orleans|date=1 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150212230417/http://www.bestofneworleans.com/blogofneworleans/archives/2014/12/01/mayor-landrieu-unveils-new-orleans-tricentennial-group|archive-date=12 February 2015}}</ref> In 2015, he was appointed to the board of My Brother's Keeper Alliance, which seeks to carry out President Obama's anti-poverty and youth opportunity initiatives.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mbkalliance.org/updates/mbk-alliance-launch|title=My Brother's Keeper Fact Sheet|publisher=[[Obama Foundation#My Brother's Keeper Alliance|My Brother's Keeper Alliance]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510160134/http://www.mbkalliance.org/updates/mbk-alliance-launch|archive-date=10 May 2015|url-status=dead|quote=Board and Leadership Team: Walter Isaacson, CEO, Aspen Institute}}</ref> In 2016, he was appointed by Landrieu and confirmed by the City Council to be a member of the New Orleans City Planning Commission.<ref name="litten2016">{{cite news|date=1 November 2016|first=Kevin|last=Litten|publisher=[[New Orleans Times-Picayune]]|title=New Orleans Native Walter Isaacson Appointed to CPC|url=http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/11/walter_isaacson_planning_commi.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161102155959/http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/11/walter_isaacson_planning_commi.html|archive-date=2 November 2016}}</ref> He is a member of the U.S. Department of [[Defense Innovation Advisory Board]]. In 2018, he was appointed by New Orleans mayor-elect [[LaToya Cantrell]] to be co-chair of her transition team.
 
==Positions==
Isaacson is an advisory partner at Perella Weinberg, a financial services firm. He is the chairman emeritus of the board of [[Teach for America]] and is on the boards of [[United Airlines]], [[Halliburton]] Labs, The New Orleans Advocate/Times-Picayune, New Schools New Orleans, [[Bloomberg Philanthropies]], the [[Rockefeller Foundation]], the [[Carnegie Institution for Science]] and the [[Society of American Historians]], of which he served as president in 2012.<ref name="sah2012">{{Cite web|url=https://sah.columbia.edu/content/executive-board|title=Executive Board {{!}} Society of American Historians|publisher=[[Society of American Historians]]|access-date=2020-03-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307091904/http://sah.columbia.edu/content/executive-board|archive-date=7 March 2012|url-status=live|quote=Executive Board, 2011-2012 [...] Officers: Walter Isaacson, President}}</ref>
 
In March 2019, Isaacson became the editor-at-large and senior adviser for [[Arcadia Publishing]], where he was to promote books for the company as well as be involved in editing, new strategy development, and partnerships.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hoff |first=Patrick |url=https://charlestonbusiness.com/news/creative-industries/76190/ |title=Walter Isaacson joins Arcadia Publishing |work=Charleston Regional Business Journal |publisher=SC Biz News |date=2019-03-25 |access-date=2019-04-03 |archive-date=December 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221228043647/https://charlestonbusiness.com/news/creative-industries/76190/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
Isaacson is an Associate of the History of Science Department and a member of the Lowell House Senior Common Room at [[Harvard University]]. He is also an honorary fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford. Walter Isaacson is a special professor of history at [[Tulane University]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://news.tulane.edu/pr/leonard-lauder-funds-tulane-university-professorship-american-history-and-values | title=Leonard A. Lauder funds Tulane University professorship on American history and values | date=March 9, 2020 | access-date=April 17, 2022 | archive-date=June 27, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220627124309/https://news.tulane.edu/pr/leonard-lauder-funds-tulane-university-professorship-american-history-and-values | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://liberalarts.tulane.edu/departments/history/people/walter-isaacson | title=Walter Isaacson, School of Liberal Arts at Tulane University | access-date=April 17, 2022 | archive-date=May 28, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528225610/https://liberalarts.tulane.edu/departments/history/people/walter-isaacson | url-status=live }}</ref> He teaches the course "The Digital Revolution" every spring and the course "Law and U.S. History" every fall. His courses often feature prominent guest speakers such as author [[Michael Lewis]], [[Kickstarter]] founder [[Perry Chen]], and billionaire businessman [[James Coulter (financier)|James Coulter]]. At Tulane, Isaacson co-chairs the annual New Orleans Book Festival.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://apnews.com/article/la-state-wire-new-orleans-lifestyle-entertainment-health-82f6b138693d71879446f18b5706f83d |title=New Orleans book festival canceled by COVID on for October |date=July 3, 2021 |work=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=May 24, 2023 |archive-date=May 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524054433/https://apnews.com/article/la-state-wire-new-orleans-lifestyle-entertainment-health-82f6b138693d71879446f18b5706f83d |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://bookfest.tulane.edu/about/our-team |title=Our Team |access-date=May 24, 2023 |website=The New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University |archive-date=May 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524054434/https://bookfest.tulane.edu/about/our-team |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
==Honors==
In 2023, Isaacson received the [[National Humanities Medal]] from President [[Joe Biden]]. The White House citation of Isaacson's award emphasizes that his "work, words, and wisdom bridge divides between science and the humanities and between opposing philosophies, elevating discourse and our understanding of who we are as a Nation".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Walter Isaacson |url=https://www.neh.gov/award/walter-isaacson |access-date=2023-03-21 |website=The National Endowment for the Humanities |language=en |archive-date=March 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321203345/https://www.neh.gov/award/walter-isaacson |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
Isaacson's book ''Steve Jobs'', about the life of the entrepreneur, earned Isaacson the 2012 [[Gerald Loeb Award]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/media-relations/2012/loeb-award-winners |title=UCLA Anderson Announces 2012 Gerald Loeb Award Winners |date=June 26, 2012 |website=[[UCLA Anderson School of Management]] |access-date=February 2, 2019|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130719055741/https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/media-relations/2012/loeb-award-winners|archive-date=19 July 2013|quote=Business Books Winner: Walter Isaacson for 'Steve Jobs' published by Simon & Schuster}}</ref>
 
In 2012, he was selected as one of the [[Time 100|''Time'' 100]], the magazine's list of the most influential people in the world.<ref name=Time2012>{{cite news|author-link=Madeleine Albright|last=Albright|first=Madeline K.|url=http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2111975_2111976_2111986,00.html|title=The World's 100 Most Influential People: 2012|publisher=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=April 18, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930105302/http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2111975_2111976_2111986,00.html|archive-date=30 September 2013}}</ref> Isaacson is a fellow of the [[Royal Society of Arts]] and was awarded its 2013 [[Benjamin Franklin Medal (Royal Society of Arts)|Benjamin Franklin Medal]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blog.rsa-us.org/2013/10/2013-benjamin-franklin-medal-presentation-to-walter-isaacson/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231044358/http://www.blog.rsa-us.org/2013/10/2013-benjamin-franklin-medal-presentation-to-walter-isaacson/|archive-date=31 December 2013|title=2013 Benjamin Franklin Medal Presentation To Walter Isaacson|publisher=RSA United States|date=October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=SDA|first=RSA-US|title=2013 Benjamin Franklin medal: Walter Isaacson|date=2013-10-09|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/sdaus/10404484184/|access-date=2020-03-19|archive-date=January 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114103114/https://www.flickr.com/photos/sdaus/10404484184/|url-status=live}}</ref> He is also a member of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]], the [[American Philosophical Society]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Walter+Isaacson&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=2021-05-25|website=search.amphilsoc.org|archive-date=January 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122040043/https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Walter+Isaacson&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|url-status=live}}</ref> and an Honorary Fellow of [[Pembroke College, Oxford]].
 
In 2014, the [[National Endowment for the Humanities]] selected Isaacson for the [[Jefferson Lecture]], the U.S. federal government's highest honor for achievement in the [[humanities]]. The title of Isaacson's lecture was "The Intersection of the Humanities and the Sciences".<ref name="Nola2014">{{cite news|first=Chris|last=Waddington|url=http://www.nola.com/celebrities/index.ssf/2014/01/best-selling_biographer_walter.html|title=Best-selling biographer Walter Isaacson will deliver prestigious Jefferson Lecture in 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140204015909/http://www.nola.com/celebrities/index.ssf/2014/01/best-selling_biographer_walter.html|archive-date=4 February 2014|publisher=[[Times-Picayune]]|date=28 January 2014}}</ref>
 
He has honorary degrees from [[Tufts University]], [[Cooper Union]], [[College of William & Mary|William & Mary]], [[Franklin University Switzerland]], [[University of New Orleans]], [[University of South Carolina]], [[City University of New York]] (Hunter College), [[Pomona College]], [[Lehigh University]], [[Duke University]], and [[Colorado Mountain College]], where the Isaacson School of Media and Communications is named after him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://coloradomtn.edu/programs/isaacson-school/|title=The Isaacson School at Colorado Mountain College|publisher=[[Colorado Mountain College]]|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-19|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409044545/https://coloradomtn.edu/programs/isaacson-school/|archive-date=9 April 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cooper.edu/about/news/walter-s-isaacson-commencement-speech-may-22-2012|date=30 May 2012|quote=[W]hen I first started writing about [[Benjamin Franklin]], I thought of him as a writer, a humanities type, somebody interested in governance.  I did realize that he was probably the most important experimental scientist of his time.  Both with the [[Kite experiment|electricity experiment]] and so many of his [[Benjamin Franklin#Inventions and scientific inquiries|other inventions]].  And I realize that a Benjamin Franklin or a [[Thomas Jefferson]] would have thought people philistines if they didn’t appreciate the beauty of science.  And likewise, [[Albert Einstein]], a great scientist would have thought people philistines if they were scientists and didn’t appreciate the beauty of Goethe or Mozart, or all of the literature or music that he loved.|url-status=live|archive-date=18 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318021420/https://cooper.edu/about/news/walter-s-isaacson-commencement-speech-may-22-2012|title=Walter S. Isaacson, Commencement Speech, May 22, 2012 {{!}} The Cooper Union|website=cooper.edu|access-date=2020-03-19}}</ref> He was the 2015 recipient of [[The Nichols-Chancellor's Medal]] at [[Vanderbilt University]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Jim |last=Patterson|date=7 May 2015|title=Connect your passion to something that matters, Isaacson urges Vanderbilt graduating seniors|url=http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2015/05/senior-day-isaacson/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181104010440/https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2015/05/07/senior-day-isaacson/|archive-date=4 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
==Bibliography==
{{Incomplete list|date=May 2020}}
* ''Pro and Con: Both Sides Of Dozens Of Unsettled And Unsettling Arguments''. (Putnam, 1983). {{ISBN|0-399-12869-7}}.
* {{cite book|author1=Isaacson|first=Walter|author2=Evan Thomas|author-link2=Evan Thomas|name-list-style=vanc|title=[[The Wise Men (book)|The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made]]|location=New York|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=1986 <!--|isbn=0671504657-->|isbn=9780571146062}}<ref>Published simultaneously in London by Faber.</ref>
* ''[[Kissinger: A Biography]]''. (Simon & Schuster, 1992). {{ISBN|978-0-671-66323-0}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Review of ''Kissinger'' by Walter Isaacson|date=1 July 1992|website=Kirkus Reviews|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/walter-isaacson/kissinger/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103170031/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/walter-isaacson/kissinger/#review|archive-date=3 November 2011|access-date=19 March 2020}}</ref>
* ''[[Benjamin Franklin: An American Life]]''. (Simon & Schuster, 2003). {{ISBN|978-0-684-80761-4}}.<ref>{{cite news|author=Maslin, Janet|author-link=Janet Maslin|title=Review of ''Benjamin Franklin: An American Life'' by Walter Isaacson|newspaper=NY Times|date=3 July 2003|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/03/books/books-of-the-times-the-founder-of-healthy-wealthy-wise-inc.html|access-date=February 20, 2017|archive-date=March 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210321064253/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/03/books/books-of-the-times-the-founder-of-healthy-wealthy-wise-inc.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Review of ''Benjamin Franklin: An American Life'' by Walter Isaacson|journal=Kirkus Reviews|date=4 July 1983|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/walter-isaacson/benjamin-franklin-3/|url-status=live|access-date=19 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103165712/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/walter-isaacson/benjamin-franklin-3/#review|archive-date=3 November 2011}}</ref>
* ''[[Einstein: His Life and Universe]]''. (Simon & Schuster, 2007). {{ISBN|978-0-7432-6474-7}}.<ref>{{cite news|author=Maslin, Janet|title=Review of ''Einstein: His Life and Universe'' by Walter Isaacson|newspaper=NY Times|date=9 April 2007|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/09/books/09masl.html|access-date=February 20, 2017|archive-date=November 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111000014/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/09/books/09masl.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="isaacson2007">{{cite journal|title=Review of ''Einstein: His Life and Universe'' by Walter Isaacson|journal=[[Kirkus Reviews]]|date=15 February 2007|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/walter-isaacson/einstein-4/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103165727/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/walter-isaacson/einstein-4/#review|archive-date=3 November 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>
* {{cite journal |author=Isaacson, Walter |date=December 2009 |title=How Einstein divided America's Jews |journal=The Atlantic |volume=304 |issue=5 |pages=70–74 |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/12/how-einstein-divided-americas-jews/307763/ <!--|access-date=2020-05-13-->}}
* ''American Sketches''. (Simon & Schuster, 2009). {{ISBN|978-1-4391-8344-1}}.
* ''[[Steve Jobs (book)|Steve Jobs]]''. (Simon & Schuster, 2011). {{ISBN|978-1-4516-4853-9}}.
* ''[[The Innovators (book)|The Innovators: How a Group of Inventors, Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution]]''. (Simon & Schuster, 2014). {{ISBN|978-1-4767-0869-0}}.
* ''Leonardo Da Vinci''. (Simon & Schuster, 2017). {{ISBN|978-1-5011-3915-4}}.<ref>{{cite news|author=Kafka, Alexander C.|date=12 October 2017|title=Review of ''Leonardo da Vinci'' by Walter Isaacson|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/how-to-unlock-your-inner-leonardo-da-vinci/2017/10/09/55ac0762-a880-11e7-92d1-58c702d2d975_story.html|access-date=October 21, 2017|archive-date=November 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118202641/https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/how-to-unlock-your-inner-leonardo-da-vinci/2017/10/09/55ac0762-a880-11e7-92d1-58c702d2d975_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-05-10|title=Leonardo Da Vinci by Walter Isaacson|url=https://theobjectivestandard.com/2019/05/leonardo-da-vinci-by-walter-isaacson/|access-date=2021-04-13|website=The Objective Standard|language=en-US|archive-date=April 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413172101/https://theobjectivestandard.com/2019/05/leonardo-da-vinci-by-walter-isaacson/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''[[The Code Breaker|The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race]]''. (Simon & Schuster, 2021). {{ISBN|978-1-9821-1585-2}}.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Code Breaker |url=https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Code-Breaker/Walter-Isaacson/9781982115852 |access-date=February 27, 2021 |isbn=978-1-9821-1585-2 |language=en |last1=Isaacson |first1=Walter |date=March 9, 2021 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414054804/https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Code-Breaker/Walter-Isaacson/9781982115852 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''[[Elon Musk (Isaacson book)|Elon Musk]]''. (Simon & Schuster, 2023). {{ISBN|978-1982181284}}.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Elon-Musk/Walter-Isaacson/9781982181284 |title=Elon Musk |date=September 12, 2023 |isbn=978-1-9821-8128-4 |language=en |last1=Isaacson |first1=Walter |publisher=Simon & Schuster |access-date=May 19, 2023 |archive-date=November 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126180200/https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Elon-Musk/Walter-Isaacson/9781982181284 |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* [[New Yorkers in journalism]]
 
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
 
==External links==
{{commonscat|Walter Isaacson}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?32833-1/kissinger-biography ''Booknotes'' interview with Isaacson on ''Kissinger'', September 27, 1992], [[C-SPAN]]| video2 = [http://ladigitalmedia.org/video_v2/asset-detail/LLOLG-1609 ''Louisiana Legends'' interview with Isaacson by Gus Weil, April 5, 1998], [[Louisiana Digital Media Archive|LDMA]]| video3 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?177514-1/benjamin-franklin-american-life Presentation by Isaacson on ''Benjamin Franklin'', July 22, 2003], [[C-SPAN]]| video4 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?178467-7/benjamin-franklin Interview with Isaacson on ''Benjamin Franklin'', October 4, 2003], [[C-SPAN]]| video5 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?409189-1/benjamin-franklins-legacy Presentation by Isaacson on Benjamin Franklin's legacy, May 11, 2016], [[C-SPAN]]| video6 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?197788-1/einstein-life-universe Presentation by Isaacson on ''Einstein'', April 12, 2007], [[C-SPAN]]| video7 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?202180-11/einstein-life-universe Presentation by Isaacson on ''Einstein'', November 10, 2007], [[C-SPAN]]| video8 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?281368-10/einstein-life-universe Presentation by Isaacson on ''Einstein'', September 27, 2008], [[C-SPAN]] | video9 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?290377-1/american-sketches Presentation by Isaacson on ''American Sketches'', December 1, 2009], [[C-SPAN]] | video10 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?303218-1/steve-jobs Presentation by Isaacson on ''Steve Jobs'', December 13, 2011], [[C-SPAN]] | video11 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?308235-2/steve-jobs Presentation by Isaacson on ''Steve Jobs'', September 22, 2012], [[C-SPAN]] | video12 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?319870-9/the-innovators Interview with Isaacson on ''The Innovators'', May 30, 2014], [[C-SPAN]] | video13 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?322214-1/the-innovators Interview with Isaacson on ''The Innovators'', October 14, 2014], [[C-SPAN]] | video14 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?322768-5/the-innovators Presentation by Isaacson on ''The Innovators'', November 22, 2014], [[C-SPAN]] | video15 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?436776-17/walter-isaacson-discusses-biography-leonardo-da-vinci Presentation by Isaacson on ''Leonardo da Vinci'', November 18, 2017], [[C-SPAN]]}}
* [https://isaacson.tulane.edu/ Official website] at [[Tulane University]]
* {{C-SPAN|850}}
* [https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hFEi-WQAAAAJ&hl=en Walter on Google scholar]
 
{{Walter Isaacson}}
{{Aspen Institute CEOs}}
{{GeraldLoebAward Business Book}}
{{Authority control}}
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isaacson, Walter}}
[[Category:1952 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American biographers]]
[[Category:20th-century American journalists]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American biographers]]
[[Category:21st-century American journalists]]
[[Category:Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford]]
[[Category:American historians of science]]
[[Category:American magazine editors]]
[[Category:American male journalists]]
[[Category:American nonprofit chief executives]]
[[Category:American Rhodes Scholars]]
[[Category:American technology journalists]]
[[Category:The Atlantic (magazine) people]]
[[Category:Gerald Loeb Award winners for Business Books]]
[[Category:The Harvard Lampoon alumni]]
[[Category:Isidore Newman School alumni]]
[[Category:Jewish American historians]]
[[Category:Jewish American journalists]]
[[Category:Presidents of CNN]]
[[Category:American male biographers]]
[[Category:Time (magazine) people]]
[[Category:Writers from New Orleans]]
[[Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society]]

Revision as of 12:46, 7 July 2024

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person

Walter Seff Isaacson (born May 20, 1952) is an American author, journalist, and professor. He has been the president and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C., the chair and CEO of CNN, and the editor of Time.

Isaacson attended Harvard University and Pembroke College, Oxford as a Rhodes scholar. He is the co-author with Evan Thomas of The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made (1986) and the author of Pro and Con (1983), Kissinger: A Biography (1992), Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (2003), Einstein: His Life and Universe (2007), American Sketches (2009), Steve Jobs (2011), The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution (2014), Leonardo da Vinci (2017), The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race (2021) and Elon Musk (2023).

Isaacson is a professor at Tulane University and an advisory partner at Perella Weinberg Partners, a New York City-based financial services firm.[1] He was vice chair of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, which oversaw the rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina, chaired the government board that runs Voice of America, and was a member of the Defense Innovation Board.

Early life and education

Walter Seff Isaacson was born on May 20, 1952,[2][3] in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Betty "Betsy" Lee (née Seff) and Irwin Isaacson.[4][5][6] His father was an electrical and mechanical engineer, and his mother was a real estate broker.[4] He attended New Orleans' Isidore Newman School, where he was student body president. He also attended the Telluride Association Summer Program (TASP) at Deep Springs College.

Isaacson studied at Harvard University, where he majored in history and literature and graduated in 1974. At Harvard, Isaacson was the president of the Signet Society, a member of the Harvard Lampoon, and a resident of Lowell House. He later attended Pembroke College, Oxford, as a Rhodes scholar, where he studied philosophy, politics, and economics (PPE) and graduated with first-class honours.[7][2]

Career

Media

Isaacson began his career in journalism at The Sunday Times in London, followed by a position with the New Orleans Times-Picayune. He joined Time magazine in 1978, serving as the magazine's political correspondent, national editor, and editor of new media before becoming the magazine's 14th editor in 1996.[8][9]

Isaacson became chairman and CEO of CNN in July 2001, replacing Tom Johnson, and only two months later, guided CNN through the events of 9/11.[10][11] Shortly after his appointment at CNN, Isaacson attracted attention for seeking the views of Republican Party leaders on Capitol Hill regarding criticisms that CNN broadcast content that was unfair to Republicans or conservatives. He was quoted in Roll Call magazine as saying: "I was trying to reach out to a lot of Republicans who feel that CNN has not been as open to covering Republicans, and I wanted to hear their concerns." The CEO's conduct was criticized by the Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) organization, which said that Isaacson's "pandering" behavior was endowing conservative politicians with power over CNN.[12][13]

In January 2003, he announced that he would step down as president of CNN to become president of the Aspen Institute.[11] Jim Walton replaced Isaacson as president of CNN.[10]

Isaacson served as the president and CEO of the Aspen Institute from 2003 until 2018, when he announced that he would step down to become a professor of history at Tulane University and an advisory partner at the New York City financial services firm Perella Weinberg Partners.[1] In November 2017, the Aspen Institute named Dan Porterfield, the president of Franklin & Marshall College, as Isaacson's successor.[14]

In March 2017, Isaacson launched a podcast with Dell Technologies called Trailblazers, which focuses on technology's effects on business.[15] In 2018, Isaacson was named as a contributor for the Amanpour & Company airing on PBS and CNN that replaced The Charlie Rose Show.[16]

Writing

Isaacson is the author of multiple published books, including Kissinger: A Biography (1992), Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (2003), Einstein: His Life and Universe (2007) and American Sketches (2009). He additionally co-authored with Evan Thomas the work The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made (1986).[7][17]

On October 24, 2011, Steve Jobs, Isaacson's authorized biography of Apple Inc.'s Jobs, was published by Simon & Schuster, only a few weeks after Jobs's death. It became an international best-seller, breaking all records for sales of a biography. The book was based on over forty interviews with Jobs over a two-year period up until shortly before his death, and on conversations with friends, family members, and business rivals of the entrepreneur.[18][19][20][21][22]

In October 2014, Isaacson published The Innovators: How a Group of Inventors, Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution, which explores the history of the key technological innovations that were prominent in the digital revolution, most notably the parallel developments of the computer and the Internet. It became a New York Times bestseller.[23] Writing for the New York Times, Janet Maslin described the author as "a kindred spirit to the visionaries and enthusiasts" whom Isaacson wrote about.[24]

He is the editor of Profiles in Leadership: Historians on the Elusive Quality of Greatness (2010, W. W. Norton).[2][25]

His self-titled biography of Leonardo da Vinci was published on October 17, 2017, to positive reviews from critics.[26][27] In August 2017, Paramount Pictures won a bidding war against Universal Pictures for the rights to adapt Isaacson's biography of da Vinci. The studio bought the rights under its deal with Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way Productions, which said that it planned to produce the film with DiCaprio as the star.[28] Screenwriter John Logan (The Aviator, Gladiator) has been tapped to pen the script.[29]

His book The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race was published in March 2021 by Simon & Schuster. It is a biography of Jennifer Doudna, the winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her work on the CRISPR system of gene editing.[30] The book debuted at number one on The New York Times nonfiction best-seller list for the week ending March 13, 2021.[31] Publishers Weekly called it a "gripping account of a great scientific advancement and of the dedicated scientists who realized it."[32]

Isaacson's biography of Elon Musk was published by Simon & Schuster on September 12, 2023. It was shortlisted for the 2023 Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award.[33]

Government

Isaacson at a State Department briefing in 2008

In October 2005, the Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco, appointed Isaacson vice chairman of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, a board that oversaw spending on the recovery from Hurricane Katrina. In December 2007, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to the chairman of the U.S.-Palestinian Partnership, which seeks to create economic and educational opportunities in the Palestinian territories.[34] Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appointed him vice-chair of the Partners for a New Beginning, which encourages private-sector investments and partnerships in the Muslim world.[35]

He also served as the co-chair of the U.S.-Vietnamese Dialogue on Agent Orange, which in January 2008 announced completion of a project to contain the dioxin left behind by the U.S. at the Da Nang air base and plans to build health centers and a dioxin laboratory in the affected regions.[36] In 2008, he was appointed to be a member of the Advisory Committee of the National Institutes of Health. In 2009, he was appointed by President Obama to be chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which runs Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and the other international broadcasts of the U.S. government; he served until January 2012.[37]

In 2014, he was appointed by New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to be the co-chair of the New Orleans Tricentennial Commission, which planned the city's 300th-anniversary commemoration in 2018.[38] In 2015, he was appointed to the board of My Brother's Keeper Alliance, which seeks to carry out President Obama's anti-poverty and youth opportunity initiatives.[39] In 2016, he was appointed by Landrieu and confirmed by the City Council to be a member of the New Orleans City Planning Commission.[40] He is a member of the U.S. Department of Defense Innovation Advisory Board. In 2018, he was appointed by New Orleans mayor-elect LaToya Cantrell to be co-chair of her transition team.

Positions

Isaacson is an advisory partner at Perella Weinberg, a financial services firm. He is the chairman emeritus of the board of Teach for America and is on the boards of United Airlines, Halliburton Labs, The New Orleans Advocate/Times-Picayune, New Schools New Orleans, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Carnegie Institution for Science and the Society of American Historians, of which he served as president in 2012.[41]

In March 2019, Isaacson became the editor-at-large and senior adviser for Arcadia Publishing, where he was to promote books for the company as well as be involved in editing, new strategy development, and partnerships.[42]

Isaacson is an Associate of the History of Science Department and a member of the Lowell House Senior Common Room at Harvard University. He is also an honorary fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford. Walter Isaacson is a special professor of history at Tulane University.[43][44] He teaches the course "The Digital Revolution" every spring and the course "Law and U.S. History" every fall. His courses often feature prominent guest speakers such as author Michael Lewis, Kickstarter founder Perry Chen, and billionaire businessman James Coulter. At Tulane, Isaacson co-chairs the annual New Orleans Book Festival.[45][46]

Honors

In 2023, Isaacson received the National Humanities Medal from President Joe Biden. The White House citation of Isaacson's award emphasizes that his "work, words, and wisdom bridge divides between science and the humanities and between opposing philosophies, elevating discourse and our understanding of who we are as a Nation".[47]

Isaacson's book Steve Jobs, about the life of the entrepreneur, earned Isaacson the 2012 Gerald Loeb Award.[48]

In 2012, he was selected as one of the Time 100, the magazine's list of the most influential people in the world.[49] Isaacson is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and was awarded its 2013 Benjamin Franklin Medal.[50][51] He is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society[52] and an Honorary Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford.

In 2014, the National Endowment for the Humanities selected Isaacson for the Jefferson Lecture, the U.S. federal government's highest honor for achievement in the humanities. The title of Isaacson's lecture was "The Intersection of the Humanities and the Sciences".[53]

He has honorary degrees from Tufts University, Cooper Union, William & Mary, Franklin University Switzerland, University of New Orleans, University of South Carolina, City University of New York (Hunter College), Pomona College, Lehigh University, Duke University, and Colorado Mountain College, where the Isaacson School of Media and Communications is named after him.[54][55] He was the 2015 recipient of The Nichols-Chancellor's Medal at Vanderbilt University.[56]

Bibliography

Template:Incomplete list

See also

Template:Portal

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Neibauer, Michael. Walter Isaacson leaving the Aspen Institute, Washington Business Journal, 15 March 2017.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Ball, Millie. Steve Jobs' biographer is hometown son Walter Isaacson, The Times-Picayune, 11 December 2011.
  3. ↑ Isaacson, Walter 1952–. Contemporary Authors. Retrieved on February 16, 2022.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Skinner, David. Awards & Honors: 2014 Jefferson Lecturer: Walter Isaacson. National Endowment for the Humanities.
  5. ↑ Family of Sid Salinger. Sid Salinger (19 August 2013).
  6. ↑ Obituary: Irwin Isaacson Jr., January 11, 2017.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named rpogrebin
  8. ↑ William C. Skinner (4 May 2016). Q&A with Walter S. Isaacson. The Harvard Crimson.
  9. ↑ Paul D. Colford (15 November 2000). Moving up the Ladder Big Time. New York Daily News.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Cook, John. CNN's turmoil continues over identity, ratings, January 21, 2003.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 CNN: Head of news network to step down, January 14, 2003.
  12. ↑ New CNN Chief Trying to Please GOP Elite. Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (15 August 2001).
  13. ↑ New CNN chairman meets with GOP critics, USA Today, 6 August 2001.
  14. ↑ Thompson, Krissah. Aspen Institute names Dan Porterfield, president of Franklin and Marshall College, as its new leader, 2017-11-30. (in en-US)
  15. ↑ Johnson, Lauren. Walter Isaacson Is Getting Into Podcasting With a Series About Technology, Adweek, 15 March 2017. (in en-US)
  16. ↑ Guthrie, Marisa. Christiane Amanpour Will Lead New PBS Late-Night Program, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 May 2018.
  17. ↑ Walter Isaacson. Simon & Schuster.
  18. ↑ Lynch, Rene (6 October 2011). Steve Jobs biography: Release date moves up, skyrockets to No. 1. Los Angeles Times.
  19. ↑ Brad Stone, "Jobs Is Said to Assist With Book on His Life" Template:Webarchive, New York Times, February 15, 2010.
  20. ↑ Peralta, Eyder (11 April 2011). Steve Jobs Authorizes Biography; It's Due Out Early 2012. NPR.
  21. ↑ Swisher, Kara. New Jobs Bio Cover Is All Apple With Pub Date of November, All Things Digital, 15 August 2011.
  22. ↑ Isaacson, Walter (April 2012). "The Real Leadership Lessons of Steve Jobs". Harvard Business Review 90 (4): 92–100, 102, 146. PMID 22458204.
  23. ↑ The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution by Walter Isaacson. Campus Press LP (29 October 2014).
  24. ↑ Heralds of the Digital Tomorrow, The New York Times, 8 October 2014.
  25. ↑ Janet Maslin, "The Scale of Einstein, From Faith to Formulas," Template:Webarchive New York Times, April 9, 2007.
  26. ↑ Bookmarks reviews of Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson. LitHub.
  27. ↑ Isaacson, Walter (2017-10-17). Leonardo da Vinci (in en). Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-5011-3915-4. 
  28. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (2017-08-12). Update: Paramount Wins Leonardo Battle: Lands Walter Isaacson Da Vinci Book For DiCaprio (en).
  29. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr.. John Logan To Adapt Walter Isaacson's Leonardo Da Vinci Book For Leo DiCaprio, 1 February 2018. (in en) “Paramount has set John Logan to adapt the Walter Isaacson book Leonardo da Vinci as a star vehicle for Leonardo DiCaprio to play the painter/scientist. DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson [Jennifer Davisson Killoran] are producing through their Appian Way banner.”
  30. ↑ (March 9, 2021) The Code Breaker. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781982115852. 
  31. ↑ Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction - Best Sellers, The New York Times.
  32. ↑ Nonfiction Book Review: The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson (January 26, 2021).
  33. ↑ FT Business Book of the Year Award shortlist. Books+Publishing (2023-10-04).
  34. ↑ "President Bush Meets with U.S.-Palestinian Public-Private Partnership" Template:Webarchive, White House press release, December 2007.
  35. ↑ Partners for a New Beginning. United States Department of State (26 April 2010). “Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will serve as the Chair of PNB. Walter Isaacson (President of The Aspen Institute) and Muhtar Kent (Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company) will serve as Vice-Chairs.”
  36. ↑ Mason, Margie (2010-06-16). Plan addresses Agent Orange legacy in Vietnam - World news - World environment (en). NBC News. “$300 million ($Template:Format price in 2019) for Agent Orange fund”
  37. ↑ "President Obama More Key Administration Posts" Template:Webarchive, White House press release, November 18, 2009.
  38. ↑ Woodward, Alex (1 December 2014). Mayor Landrieu unveils New Orleans' tricentennial group. Best of New Orleans.
  39. ↑ My Brother's Keeper Fact Sheet. My Brother's Keeper Alliance. “Board and Leadership Team: Walter Isaacson, CEO, Aspen Institute”
  40. ↑ Litten, Kevin. New Orleans Native Walter Isaacson Appointed to CPC, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 1 November 2016.
  41. ↑ Executive Board | Society of American Historians. Society of American Historians. “Executive Board, 2011-2012 [...] Officers: Walter Isaacson, President”
  42. ↑ Hoff, Patrick. Walter Isaacson joins Arcadia Publishing, Charleston Regional Business Journal, SC Biz News, 2019-03-25.
  43. ↑ Leonard A. Lauder funds Tulane University professorship on American history and values (March 9, 2020).
  44. ↑ Walter Isaacson, School of Liberal Arts at Tulane University.
  45. ↑ New Orleans book festival canceled by COVID on for October, Associated Press, July 3, 2021.
  46. ↑ Our Team.
  47. ↑ Walter Isaacson (en).
  48. ↑ UCLA Anderson Announces 2012 Gerald Loeb Award Winners (June 26, 2012). “Business Books Winner: Walter Isaacson for 'Steve Jobs' published by Simon & Schuster”
  49. ↑ Albright, Madeline K.. The World's 100 Most Influential People: 2012, Time, April 18, 2012.
  50. ↑ 2013 Benjamin Franklin Medal Presentation To Walter Isaacson. RSA United States (October 2013).
  51. ↑ SDA, RSA-US (2013-10-09), 2013 Benjamin Franklin medal: Walter Isaacson. Retrieved on 2020-03-19
  52. ↑ APS Member History.
  53. ↑ Waddington, Chris. Best-selling biographer Walter Isaacson will deliver prestigious Jefferson Lecture in 2014, Times-Picayune, 28 January 2014.
  54. ↑ The Isaacson School at Colorado Mountain College (en-US). Colorado Mountain College.
  55. ↑ Walter S. Isaacson, Commencement Speech, May 22, 2012 | The Cooper Union (30 May 2012). “[W]hen I first started writing about Benjamin Franklin, I thought of him as a writer, a humanities type, somebody interested in governance. I did realize that he was probably the most important experimental scientist of his time. Both with the electricity experiment and so many of his other inventions. And I realize that a Benjamin Franklin or a Thomas Jefferson would have thought people philistines if they didn’t appreciate the beauty of science. And likewise, Albert Einstein, a great scientist would have thought people philistines if they were scientists and didn’t appreciate the beauty of Goethe or Mozart, or all of the literature or music that he loved.”
  56. ↑ Patterson, Jim (7 May 2015). Connect your passion to something that matters, Isaacson urges Vanderbilt graduating seniors.
  57. ↑ Published simultaneously in London by Faber.
  58. ↑ Review of Kissinger by Walter Isaacson (1 July 1992).
  59. ↑ Maslin, Janet. Review of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson, 3 July 2003.
  60. ↑ (4 July 1983) "Review of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson". Kirkus Reviews.
  61. ↑ Maslin, Janet. Review of Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson, 9 April 2007.
  62. ↑ (15 February 2007) "Review of Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson". Kirkus Reviews.
  63. ↑ Kafka, Alexander C.. Review of Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson, 12 October 2017.
  64. ↑ Leonardo Da Vinci by Walter Isaacson (en-US) (2019-05-10).
  65. ↑ (March 9, 2021) The Code Breaker (in en). Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-9821-1585-2. 
  66. ↑ (September 12, 2023) Elon Musk (in en). Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-9821-8128-4. 

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