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Kai Bird

Goodreads Author

Born

in Eugene, Oregon, The United States

Website

http://www.kaibird.com/

Twitter

kaibird123

Genre

Nonfiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Politics

Influences

Victor Navasky

Member Since

February 2013

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Kai Bird is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist, best known for his biographies of political figures. He has also won the National Book Critics Circle Award for biography, the Duff Cooper Prize, a Woodrow Wilson Center Fellowship, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He is a Contributing Editor of The Nation magazine.

Bird was born in 1951. His father was a U.S. Foreign Service officer, and he spent his childhood in Jerusalem, Beirut, Dhahran, Cairo and Bombay. He finished high school in 1969 at Kodaikanal International School in Tamil Nadu, South India. He received his BA from Carleton College in 1973 and a M.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University in 1975. Bird now lives in Miami Beach, Florida with his wife, Susan Goldm ...more

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Kai Bird’s books

Average rating: 4.11 · 13,689 ratings · 1,135 reviews · 8 distinct works • Similar authors

	American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird (Goodreads Author), Martin J. Sherwin 4.16 avg rating — 10,617 ratings — published 2005 — 22 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames 3.91 avg rating — 2,701 ratings — published 2014 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Crossing Mandelbaum Gate: Coming of Age Between the Arabs & Israelis 1956-78 4.08 avg rating — 256 ratings — published 2010 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Color of Truth: McGeorge Bundy and William Bundy: Brothers in Arms 4.23 avg rating — 62 ratings — published 1998 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hiroshima's Shadow: Writings on the Denial of History & the Smithsonian Controversy by Kai Bird (Goodreads Author), Lawrence Lifschultz (Editor) 4.41 avg rating — 27 ratings — published 1996 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Chairman: John J. McCloy and the Making of the American Establishment 3.96 avg rating — 27 ratings — published 1992 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Chairman: John J McCloy & The Making of the American Establishment 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Color of Truth: McGeorge Bundy and William Bundy: Brothers in Arms 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Kai Bird's Blog

NY Times cover review

The Good Spy is reviewed on the front cover of the Sunday New York Times Book Review. "A rich, nuanced portrait..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/27/boo...

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Published on July 26, 2014 06:41 • Tags: cia-thegood-spy

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Kai Bird rated a book it was amazing

Genesis: Truman, American Jews, and the Origins of the Arab/Israeli Conflict

by John B. Judis

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Apr 08, 2014 10:43AM

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Kai’s Recent Updates

Kai Bird is now friends with Ruth Weiner
Jul 21, 2019 12:08PM · like
Kai Bird wants to read Defectors by Joseph Kanon (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 13, 2017 06:50PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Defectors by Joseph Kanon. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Defectors by Joseph Kanon <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kai Bird made a comment in the group Espionage Aficionados — authors--please raise your hands topic " Dear Espionage Aficionados, I am new to Goodreads--or rather I have not known how to use it. Any way, I would like to participate. My last book, The Go ...more "
Jul 23, 2015 01:03PM
Kai Bird answered Goodreads's question: How do you deal with writer’s block? Every night I decide what small anecdote or piece of the story I would find most interesting to write about the next morning. I get started by writing up that anecdote.
Dec 15, 2014 05:45AM · 2 likes · like
Kai Bird is accepting questions on his profile page.
Dec 15, 2014 05:37AM · Be the first to ask Kai Bird a question
Kai Bird voted for The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames as Best History & Biography in the Opening Round of the 2014 Goodreads Choice Awards. Cast Your Vote
Nov 03, 2014 05:58AM · like
Kai Bird wants to read Leaving Berlin by Joseph Kanon (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 01, 2014 06:47AM · like
Kai Bird joined the group Espionage Aficionados
Aug 05, 2014 09:17PM · like
Kai Bird recommended A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal to Martin Walker A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben Macintyre	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 08, 2014 10:46AM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kai Bird rated a book it was amazing A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben Macintyre	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Ben Macintyre has written a truly fabulous book about the "fabulous" Kim Philby--the suave, dedicated, and most intriguing spy of the entire Cold War era. Philby and his colorful Cambridge comrades are endlessly fascinating. But Macintyre tells the d ...more
Apr 08, 2014 10:45AM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Kai Bird

“As the sociologist Daniel Bell later observed, Oppenheimer’s ordeal signified that the postwar “messianic role of the scientists” was now at an end.”
― Kai Bird, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer

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“The kind of person that I admire most would be one who becomes extraordinarily good at doing a lot of things but still maintains a tear-stained countenance.”
― Kai Bird, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer

tags: oppenheimer

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“morose.”
― Kai Bird, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Seasonal Read...: Spring Challenge 2011 Completed Tasks (DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS)	2883	1018	May 31, 2011 09:01PM
The Book Challenge: Connie M's Book Challenge of 2011	56	36	Jan 02, 2012 08:57AM
The History Book ...: ARCHIVE ONE: PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF ~	6593	4158	May 08, 2013 03:33PM
The History Book ...: SECOND WORLD WAR - THE LIBERATION TRILOGY - GLOSSARY - PART ONE ~ (SPOILER THREAD)	153	214	Jun 03, 2013 07:00PM
The History Book ...: BENTLEY'S 50 BOOKS IN 2013	18	145	Aug 04, 2013 10:43AM
The History Book ...: 11. ROOSEVELT'S CENTURIONS - CHAPTER TWELVE and THIRTEEN, (p. 241 - 265) ~ AUGUST 12TH - AUGUST 18TH; No Spoilers, Please	51	32	Aug 18, 2013 02:36PM

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