Blaine Harden
Blaine Harden (born 1952) is an American journalist and author. His 2012 book Escape from Camp 14 is an official biography of North Korean defector Shin Dong-hyuk.
Journalism
Harden worked for 28 years for The Washington Post as a correspondent in Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia, as well as in New York and Seattle.[1] Harden worked for 4 years as a local and national correspondent for The New York Times and a writer for the Times Magazine. He has also worked as a reporter for Frontline, The Economist, Foreign Policy, National Geographic and The Guardian.[1]
Books
Harden's debut book was in 1990, called Africa: Dispatches from a Fragile Continent.[2]
His second book was in 1996, titled A River Lost about the damming of the wild Columbia river and its ecological consequences. Harden and his book are featured in the PBS American Experience program titled Grand Coulee Dam, about the Grand Coulee Dam.[3][4][5]
His third book came out in 2012 titled Escape from Camp 14. It is an official biography of North Korean defector Shin Dong-hyuk.[6][7][8] In January 2015, Harden announced that Shin had admitted to lying about several aspects of his story.[9]
Harden's fourth book The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot was released in March 2015.[10] It is a dual biography of Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea and No Kum-sok, a defector who stole a MiG-15 and landed it in South Korea.[11]
Harden's fifth book King of Spies was released in October 2017. It is a biography of Air Force Major Donald Nichols, an intelligence officer who operated for 11 years in Korea before, during and after the Korean War.
Works
- 1990 Africa: Dispatches from a Fragile Continent
- 1996 A River Lost: The Life and Death of the Columbia
- 2012 Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West
- 2015 The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot: The True Story of the Tyrant Who Created North Korea and The Young Lieutenant Who Stole His Way to Freedom
- 2017 King of Spies: The Dark Reign of America's Spymaster in Korea
Awards and honors
- 1985 Livingston Awards for Young Journalists in International Reporting, for "Notes of a Famine Watcher" (series), Washington Post.[12]
- 1988 American Society of News Editors Awards for Non-deadline Writing (stories about Africa).[13]
- 1992 National Journalism Awards, Human Interest Writing Ernie Pyle Award, for coverage of the siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War.[14]
- 2012 Grand Prix de la Biographie Politique, Escape From Camp 14[15]
- 2013 Dayton Literary Peace Prize, finalist, Escape From Camp 14[16]
References
- ^ a b "About". blaineharden.com. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
- ^ "Africa: Dispatches from a fragile continent". African Affairs. 1992. doi:10.1093/afraf/91.362.163. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
- ^ "Grand Coulee Dam". American Experience. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
- ^ "A River Lost: The Life and Death of the Columbia". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
- ^ "A River Lost". Kirkus Reviews. May 1, 1996. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
- ^ Andrew Salmon (April 27, 2012). ""Escape From Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden". Washington Post. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
- ^ Janet Maslin (April 11, 2012). "The Casual Horrors of Life in a North Korean Hell". New York Times. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
- ^ Andrew Anthony (April 13, 2012). "Escape From Camp 14 by Blaine Harden – review". The Guardian. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
- ^ Anna Fifield (17 January 2015). "Prominent N. Korean defector Shin Dong-hyuk admits parts of story are inaccurate". Washington Post.
- ^ "The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot". Kirkus Reviews. December 11, 2014. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
- ^ Terry Hong (March 19, 2015). "'The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot' presents a riveting slice of North Korean history". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
- ^ "Past Winners : 1985". Livingston Award. Archived from the original on March 22, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
- ^ ASNE (1988). ASNE: Proceedings of the Convention of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. The Society. p. 321. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
Our first winner this morning, in the category of non-deadline writing, is Blaine Harden, African correspondent for the Washington Post.
- ^ "Previous Winners" (PDF). Scripps Howard Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2012. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
- ^ "Le Grand prix de la biographie politique pour Blaine Harden". magazine-litteraire.com (in French). November 19, 2012. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
- ^ "2013 Dayton Literary Peace Prize Finalists". Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
External links
- Blaine Harden, official website
- Appearances on C-SPAN
