About David

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David Vine is a writer, collaborator, and political anthropologist. David's newest book, The United States of War: A Global History of America's Endless Conflicts, from Columbus to the Islamic State​ (University of California Press) was a finalist for the 2020 L.A. Times Book Prize in History.

The United States of War is the third in a trilogy of books about war and peace. The other books in the trilogy are Base Nation: How U.S. Military Bases Abroad Harm America and the World (Metropolitan/Henry Holt, 2015) and Island of Shame: The Secret History of the U.S. Military Base on Diego Garcia (Princeton University Press, 2009).

As part of the Network of Concerned Anthropologists, David helped compile and write Militarization: A Reader (Duke University Press, 2019) and The Counter-Counterinsurgency Manual or, Notes on Demilitarizing American Society (Prickly Paradigm Press, 2009). David's other writing has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, Mother Jones, Boston Globe, Huffington Post, and the Chronicle of Higher Education, among others.

David is a board member of the Costs of War Project and co-founder of the Network to Dismantle the Military Industrial Complex and the Overseas Base Realignment and Closure Coalition. David is a contributor to TomDispatch.com and Foreign Policy in Focus. David also helped write the COVID-19 Global Solidarity Manifesto, which remains as relevant today as during the pandemic's height.

As a believer in the importance of public education systems, David is proud to have received his PhD and MA degrees from the City University of New York's Graduate Center. There, David developed an approach to a holistic public, political anthropology that attempts to combine the best of anthropology, history, political science, economics, sociology, psychology, investigative journalism, narrative nonfiction writing, and other fields.

David was a professor of anthropology at American University in Washington, DC, for 18 years (2006-2024), achieving the rank of full professor in 2018.

David feels at home in many places but has lived for much of his life in Oakland, New York City, and the Washington, DC area, where he was briefly a dancing waiter. 

All royalties from David's books and all speaker honorariums are donated to the Chagossian people and nonprofit organizations serving other victims of war.


For more information about Base Nation: How U.S. Military Bases Abroad Harm America and the World, visit: www.basenation.us


Media Coverage
United States of War Book Launch on C-SPAN.

Black Agenda Report interview about The United States of War

Base Nation Book Launch on C-SPAN
​
Interview about Base Nation on NPR's "All Things Considered"

Dent the Future Conference Talk about the Exiled Chagossians of Diego Garcia

Revolutionary Road Radio Show interview about The United States of War

​Democracy Now! Interview: Guam, Trump, and North Korea's Missile Threats
 
Overseas Base Realignment and Closure Coalition Launch Event

Interview about Base Nation on Reason TV

More Base Nation Media Coverage

Interview about Island of Shame on PRI's "The World"

New York Review of Books cover review of Island of Shame

Kansas City Public Library Island of Shame Book Event

Interview on Kansas City Public Radio about Island of Shame

Island of Shame Interview on CBC Radio's "Dispatches"

Australian Radio Interview

Canadian Radio Interview, Excerpt from Island of Shame

Radio Netherlands Interview about Diego Garcia

Australian Radio Interview about Diego Garcia

En Français avec Radio Australie

Bios for David: Medium, Short, Shorter

MEDIUM BIO (150 words): David Vine is a writer, collaborator, and political anthropologist. David is the author of a trilogy of books about war and peace including "The United States of War: A Global History of America’s Endless Conflicts, from Columbus to the Islamic State," which was a finalist for the 2021 Los Angeles Times Book Prize in History. The other books are "Island of Shame: The Secret History of the U.S. Military Base on Diego Garcia" and "Base Nation: How U.S. Military Bases Abroad Harm America and the World." David is one of the founders and coordinators of the Network to Dismantle the Military Industrial Complex; a board member and contributor to the Costs of War Project; and co-founder and coordinator of the Overseas Base Realignment and Closure Coalition. David was a professor of anthropology at American University in Washington, DC, for 18 years (2006-2024), achieving the rank of full professor in 2018.
SHORT BIO (76 words): David Vine is a writer, collaborator, and political anthropologist. David is the author of "The United States of War: A Global History of America’s Endless Conflicts, from Columbus to the Islamic State," which was a finalist for the 2021 LA Times Book Prize in History. David's other books are "Island of Shame: The Secret History of the U.S. Military Base on Diego Garcia" and "Base Nation: How U.S. Military Bases Abroad Harm America and the World."
SHORTER BIO (29 words): David Vine is a writer, collaborator, and political anthropologist who is author of the books "The United States of War," "Base Nation," and "Island of Shame."

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