“It certainly is true that a lot of really driven people are driven because they're harnessing the demons of their childhood”
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Walter Isaacson
Walter Seff Isaacson is an American journalist who has written biographies of Henry Kissinger, Benjamin Franklin, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Jennifer Doudna, and Elon Musk. As of 2024, Isaacson is a professor at Tulane University and, since 2018, an interviewer for the PBS and CNN news show Amanpour & Company.
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culture · American author and journalist (born 1952) · journalist · writer · biographer · university teacher · also Walter Isaacson, Walter Seff Isaacson, Isaacson
Born 20 May 1952 · Q681012
30 published statements · 0 followers
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I mean, if I'm in situations, and I just mean even at dinner or something, I'm with somebody, I'm usually curious, and the conversation will proceed with questions. And I guess it's also because I'm pretty interested in what anybody's doing, whoever I happen to be with.
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2026· 1 entry
2025· 3 entries
Yahoo: Walter Isaacson: Gov’t is based on ‘We the People…it’s not based on the divine right of kings’
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Yahoo: Walter Isaacson on Book 'The Greatest Sentence Ever Written'
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The New York Times: Walter Isaacson
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2023· 8 entries
Wall Street Journal: 7 Takeaways From Walter Isaacson’s New Biography of Elon Musk
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New York Post: Elon Musk biographer Walter Isaacson says mogul ‘can burn fast and flame out’
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CNBC: Walter Isaacson's book 'Elon Musk' hits shelves, details explosive encounter with Bill Gates
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CNBC: Walter Isaacson's new Elon Musk biography is already taking off in China
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New York Magazine: Walter Isaacson on Whether Elon Musk’s Ends Justify Being Mean
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Isaacson hosts a podcast series produced by Kaleidoscope Content and iHeartMedia
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“I mean, if I'm in situations, and I just mean even at dinner or something, I'm with somebody, I'm usually curious, and the conversation will proceed with questions. And I guess it's also because I'm pretty interested in what anybody's doing, whoever I happen to be with.”
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Isaacson received the National Humanities Medal from President Joe Biden
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2021· 1 entry
Won National Humanities Medal (2021).
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2018· 2 entries
Isaacson was named as a contributor for the Amanpour & Company airing on PBS and CNN that replaced The Charlie Rose Show
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Was appointed by New Orleans mayor-elect LaToya Cantrell to be co-chair of her transition team
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2016· 1 entry
Was appointed by Landrieu and confirmed by the City Council to be a member of the New Orleans City Planning Commission
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2015· 1 entry
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
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2014· 3 entries
Awarded Jefferson Lecture (2014).
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The National Endowment for the Humanities selected Isaacson for the Jefferson Lecture, the U
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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
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2013· 2 entries
Awarded Carl Sandburg Literary Award (2013).
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Won Benjamin Franklin Medal (2013).
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2012· 1 entry
Was selected as one of the Time 100, the magazine's list of the most influential people in the world
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2011· 1 entry
Steve Jobs, Isaacson's authorized biography of Apple Inc
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2009· 1 entry
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
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2008· 1 entry
Was appointed to be a member of the Advisory Committee of the National Institutes of Health
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1978· 1 entry
Serving as the magazine's political correspondent, national editor, and editor of new media before becoming the magazine's 14th editor in 1996
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1974· 1 entry
Awarded Rhodes Scholarship (1974).
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1952· 2 entries
Born 1952-05-20.
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In New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Betty "Betsy" Lee (née Seff) and Irwin Isaacson
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