Michael Totten
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Michael James Totten (born September 1970) is an American writer who has reported from the Middle East, Africa, the Balkans, Cuba, Vietnam, and the Caucasus. His non-fiction work appears in various publications, websites, and on his blog. Totten's first book, The Road to Fatima Gate was published by Encounter Books in 2011. In his blog posts, he describes himself as an "independent journalist", and regularly comments on Middle Eastern conflicts.
Michael Totten | |
|---|---|
Totten at a Lebanese cafe in 2005 | |
| Born | Sep (age 54) |
| Alma mater | University of Oregon (English literature) |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Spouse | Shelly Lynn Stephenson (m. 2002) |
| Writing career | |
| Period | 2000s and 2010s |
| Subject | Middle Eastern conflicts, fiction |
| Website | www |
Early life and education edit
Totten is of English[1] descent and was born in Salem, Oregon in September, 1970.[2] His father is a Republican and a military veteran.[3] Totten's grandfather was a World War II veteran.[4]
Career edit
Totten's work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times,[5] the New York Daily News,[6] Commentary,[7] and others.
In July 2007, Totten traveled to Baghdad to embed with several U.S. Army units before transitioning to Anbar province and embedding with U.S. Marines.[8][better source needed] In late 2007 he embedded with U.S. Marines in Fallujah, and he embedded again with the U.S. Army in Baghdad in late 2008.[citation needed]
Totten won the 2007 Weblog Award for Best Middle East or Africa Blog,[9] he won it again in 2008, and was named "Blogger of the Year" in 2006 by The Week magazine for his dispatches from the Middle East.[citation needed]
Ideology edit
In comments on his own website from 2008 Totten described himself as a "weird combination of liberal, libertarian, and neocon" and a politically centrist.[10] He believed that the critics of the war in Iraq who noted the lack of progress from 2004 to 2006 were correct while the Bush administration was wrong. He supported the 2007 'surge' strategy.[11]
Totten was briefly a Libertarian during the 1990s but became a Democrat afterwards, though he has previously said that he was never fully content with being a Democrat and has considered returning to the Libertarians.[12]
Funding edit
Totten describes himself as an "independent journalist." Most of his trips—to Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Libya, Bosnia, Kosovo, Georgia, and several other places—are paid for out of his own pocket, although he has also accepted funding from the government of Azerbaijan, the American Jewish Committee and the Lebanese pro-western March 14 alliance for trips to Azerbaijan, Israel, and Lebanon, respectively.[13][14]
Personal life edit
In the early 2000s, Totten married Shelly Lynn Stephenson in Multnomah County, Oregon.[15][16][17] He is an atheist former christian.[18][19] They lived together in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Portland, Oregon until they moved in late 2020 or early 2021.[20]
Books edit
Totten's first book, The Road to Fatima Gate: The Beirut Spring, the Rise of Hezbollah, and the Iranian War Against Israel (Encounter Books, April 2011, ISBN 978-1-59403-521-0), reports his experiences in the Middle East, primarily those in Lebanon.
Belmont Estate Books is a label Totten has used to self-publish several additional books:
- Tower of the Sun: Stories From the Middle East and North Africa (Belmont Estate Books, 2014, ISBN 9780692297537)
- Where the West Ends (Belmont Estate Books, 2012, ISBN 9781475183641)
- Resurrection: A Zombie Novel (Belmont Estate Books, 2014, ISBN 9780615964331)
- Taken – A Novel (Belmont Estate Books, 2013, ISBN 9780615750965)
- In the Wake of the Surge (Belmont Estate Books, 2011, ISBN 9780615508405)
References edit
- ^ Totten, Michael J. (July 2005). "Al Qaeda Hits London". MichaelTotten.com. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
I have never been to England, but it's where my family and my name are from.
- ^ . Normblog. BlogSpot. September 28, 2003. Archived from the original on August 7, 2010.
Michael J. Totten was born in Salem, Oregon in 1970. He studied English literature at the University of Oregon, and his interests have since expanded to include writing, history, politics, and travel.
- ^ Totten, Michael J. (December 23, 2015). "The Truth About American Sniper". City Journal.
I was raised with the anti-military prejudice common in my community, despite having a military veteran and Republican for a father.
- ^ Totten, Michael J. (October 14, 2003). . Dispatches. World Affairs Journal. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Book review by Michael Totten of Mirror of the Arab World: Lebanon in Conflict by Sandra Mackey, The New York Times, March 30, 2008
- ^ "Frontline Lessons from the Iraq Surge", Michael Totten, New York Daily News, August 29, 2007
- ^ , Michael J. Totten, Commentary, August 22, 2007
- ^ "Iraq Trip Confirmed", Michael J. Totten.com, July 5, 2007
- ^ [usurped], Kevin Aylward, November 9, 2007
- ^ Totten, Michael (5 January 2008). . Michael J. Totten's Middle East Journal. Archived from the original on 9 January 2008. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
see comment timestamped "January 7, 2008 1:25 AM" - ^ The Real Iraq, Michael J. Totten, City Journal, May 16, 2008
- ^ Totten, Michael J. . World Affairs Journal. Archived from the original on May 21, 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "On my way to Israel", Michael J. Totten, January 2009
- ^ The Explosive Caucasus, Michael J. Totten, August 2008
- ^ "Oregon, Marriage Indexes, 1906-2009". 2009. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
- ^ Totten, Michael J. (November 2, 2006). . Dispatches. World Affairs Journal. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Totten, Michael J. (July 24, 2004). "A Photo Tour of Tunisia". Archived from the original on May 27, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ . Archived from the original on April 4, 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Totten, Michael J. (April 6, 2004). . World Affairs Journal. American Peace Society. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
I'm not a Christian anymore, but I know if I were I would think it a desecration.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Totten, Michael J.z. . World Affairs Journal. Archived from the original on August 29, 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
Further reading edit
- Hope for Iraq's Meanest City City Journal, Spring 2008
- Interview at National Review Online, February 2006
- Review of The Road to Fatima Gate by Sol Stern, City Journal, Spring 2011
- Uncommon Knowledge: Michael Totten – The Road to Fatima Gate Peter Robinson interviews Totten, May 2011
- What skews news reportage of Israel & Arab issues?, August 2014
External links edit
- Official website
- at the Wayback Machine (archived August 10, 2003)
- Michael Totten on Facebook
- Facebook fan page
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Michael Totten on LinkedIn