David E. Hoffman | |
|---|---|
| Born | David Emanuel Hoffman (1953-11-14)November 14, 1953 (age 72) Palo Alto, California, U.S. |
| Occupation |
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| Alma mater | University of Delaware Oxford University |
| Notable works | The Oligarchs (2002) The Dead Hand (2009) The Billion Dollar Spy (2015) |
| Notable awards | Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction (2010) Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing (2024) |
David Emanuel Hoffman (born November 14, 1953) is an American writer and journalist. He spent the majority of his journalistic career atThe Washington Post, working there from 1982 to 2009 and 2012 to 2025 as both Moscow bureau chief (1995–2001) and as a contributing editor. He won aPulitzer Prize in 2010 forThe Dead Hand, a book about the legacy of thenuclear arms race, and another Pulitzer Prize in 2024 for his "Annals of Autocracy" article series on the tactics authoritarian regimes use to repress dissent.
Hoffman was born inPalo Alto, California and grew up inDelaware, where he attended theUniversity of Delaware. He came toWashington, D.C. in 1977 to work for theCapitol Hill News Service. As a member of the Washington bureau of theSan Jose Mercury News, he coveredRonald Reagan's1980 presidential campaign. In May 1982, he joinedThe Washington Post to help cover the ReaganWhite House. He also covered the first two years of theGeorge H. W. Bush presidency. His White House coverage won three national journalism awards.[1]
After reporting on theState Department, he became Jerusalem bureau chief forThe Washington Post in 1992. After studying Russian atOxford University, he began six years in Moscow. From 1995 to 2001, he served as Moscow bureau chief, and later as foreign editor and assistant managing editor for foreign news.
Hoffman's first book was published byPublicAffairs in 2002,The Oligarchs: Wealth and Power in the New Russia. He won the annualPulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 2010 for his second book,The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy (Doubleday, 2009). The Prize citation termed it "a well documented narrative that examines the terrifying doomsday competition between two superpowers and how weapons of mass destruction still imperil humankind."[2]In 2015, Hoffman publishedThe Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal about the life ofAdolf Tolkachev, who was arrested and executed for giving classified information to theCIA.[3]
In 2024, he won thePulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing for a series of articles on new technologies and the tactics authoritarian regimes use to repress dissent.[4]
In October 2024, Hoffman stepped down from the editorial board of thePost, resigning in protest of owner Jeff Bezos's decision to withhold an endorsement in the 2024 presidential race. Hoffman stayed at thePost as an editor and journalist, but he and other members of the editorial board had desired to endorse Kamala Harris for president. Hoffman wrote at the time "I believe we face a very real threat of autocracy in the candidacy of Donald Trump."[5]
Hoffman was fired fromThe Washington Post in October 2025 as part of a wide-ranging personnel switch in 2025 at thePost, widely perceived as owner Jeff Bezos attempting to mend bridges with the second Trump administration after major clashes during Trump's first term between him and thePost. His firing (along with several other staffers terminated on the same day) attracted notice as it took place onYom Kippur, the most important day of the Jewish High Holidays, and Hoffman is Jewish; companies generally refrain from such matters on religious holidays.[6]
