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David Greenberg

@davidgreenberg.bsky.social
725 followers 160 following 99 posts

Historian, writer, author of John Lewis: A Life, Republic of Spin, Nixon's Shadow, more. Professor at Rutgers University. Politico columnist. Occasional contributor to NYT, WP, WSJ, Liberties, Atlantic, old TNR, more. Email: davidgr@rutgers.edu.

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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
event.newschool.edu/JohnLewisALife Come to the New School's Center for the American Experience -- I'll be talking to Claire Potter about John Lewis's career in protest and politics.
event.newschool.edu
John Lewis: Civil Rights, Liberalism, and Democracy with David Greenberg
The Center for the American Experience invites you to join David Greenberg, Professor of History and Journalism and Media Studies at Rutgers University, and Claire Bond Potter, Emerita Professor of Hi...
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Nothing against the particular journalist in question, but how in the world do you enjoy employment as a writer for New York magazine for 14 years if you write "for Judith and I"?
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Misleading. Clinton raised taxes on the rich. He was an economic populist “in some measure.” The poll has no 1992 baseline to compare to. Moderate Dems have probably always favored higher taxes on the rich.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
With Mark Feldstein, correcting the record about Nixon and Trump in the NYT. Some people are still trying to exonerate Nixon. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/o... @merrillcollege.bsky.social @ruhistorydept.bsky.social
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Many thanks. Nothing means more than having readers appreciate one’s work.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
She’ll be gone soon.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Named one Amazon's best books of 2024, JOHN LEWIS is out in paperback - a perfect holiday gift! (Hardcover also on steep discount at Amazon.) Happy to sign copies for you (email me to arrange shipping, etc.) Or get the prize-winning audiobook. LINK here: www.amazon.com/John-Lewis-L...
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
Dick Cheney embodied the strain of modern conservatism that Trump repudiated. But his full-speed-ahead political style and belief in an unfettered executive helped make Trump's wrecking-ball presidency possible. www.politico.com/news/magazin...
politico.com
How Dick Cheney’s Lack of Restraint Paved the Way for Donald Trump
The former vice president wanted to strengthen the presidency. He didn’t see where it would lead.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
For years it's driven me crazy to see so many people misunderstand and misuse the term "neoliberalism" -- and then, based on their misunderstandings, to engage in bad history and policy analysis. Herewith, an attempt at a corrective. libertiesjournal.com/articles/the...
libertiesjournal.com
The Nonsense of ‘Neoliberalism’ - Liberties
A Conceptual Trash Heap Toni Morrison was wrong when she intoned that language is violence. But let’s give her this: the reckless use of words can do violence, idiomatically speaking, to clear thinkin...
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
In 2016, Trump promised to ban foreign lobbyists from raising money for U.S. elections. He didn’t. If anything, the swamp became more miasmatic. I lay out the story (well, part of it) in my review for The New York Times Book Review of a new tome on foreign lobbying. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/b...
nytimes.com
Is American Foreign Policy Really for Sale?
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
Friends: JOHN LEWIS: A LIFE comes out in paperback today, and I'll be on Reddit (there's a first time for everything) as part of its feature, "I'm a Historian. Ask Me Anything!" Come find me! www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
Rutgers has created a “Democracy Lab” for cultivating democratic ideas and ideals & fostering the lost art of engaging with others across differences. We're searching for an inaugural director. More about the position in the link. Email me w/questions. wittkieffer.com/positions/20...
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
mailchi.mp/095f6583de59... Excited that JOHN LEWIS: A LIFE has been named to the short list for the Museum of African American History Stone Book Award!
mailchi.mp
The MAAH Stone Book Award Short List for 2025!
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Thank you! It's always great to find readers appreciating the book -- and finding inspiration in John Lewis's remarkable life. The e-book is on sale for only $3.99 this month at Amazon. www.amazon.com/John-Lewis-L...
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Reposted by David Greenberg
Verena Barth-Wehrenalp🇪🇺🇦🇹 🇺🇦 @vbarth-wehrenalp.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Fascinating book by @davidgreenberg.bsky.social - tracing the life of John Lewis, “the conscience of Congress”! Compelling to read now, comparing the challenges of the civil rights era and what we are witnessing today. "Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America."
Book cover:
Black & White picture of the young John Lewis against grey backdrop.
“JOHN LEWIS
A LIFE”
By David Greenberg
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Arthur Miller did not name names. But I don’t know about Author Miller.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
So important. This is one of those factoids I see lots of very smart, creditable professional political historians asserting.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
"Author Miller"?! Maybe Trump should take over the AP.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
New Havenites: I'll be talking with my friend Eric Liu to discuss JOHN LEWIS: A LIFE on Friday, May 23 at 2 pm at the Yale Bookstore. Please join us!
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
Jack Lemmon film festival at Film Forum starting next week. Accelerate your visit!
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
Very proud and humbled to have JOHN LEWIS: A LIFE chosen as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Biography. It was a privilege to write the life of this remarkable man, and it's been a joy to watch so many appreciative readers draw sustenance and hope from his story.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
The website had me as the winner for several hours. It wasn’t your imagination. I was La La Landed.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
Finalist! But I'll take it!
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 27/04/2025
Worst take ever.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
Too little, too late for Lander. He lost the Jewish vote a long time ago.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
buttondown.com/courtofhisto... What is going on with freedom of speech and the rule of law under this administration? Join this Zoom for a serious, knowledgeable discussion.
buttondown.com
Freedom from Fear: The Assault on the Rule of Law
Norman Rockwell, Freedom of Speech (1943) Join The Court of History and our expert panelists for an urgent webinar discussing the administration’s assault on...
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
Hell, they don't even allow ZOON. Sam Ezersky is a philistine.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Exactly.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
The Atlantic has morphed. The print mag is still rather like its old self, but the online Atlantic is taking over the space created by the diminished influence of liberal opinion mags like The New Republic.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
Demoralized by all the horrible news out of Washington? Draw inspiration from the life of civil rights hero John Lewis. I'll be with Nick Lemann of The New Yorker & Columbia University. www.showclix.com/event/greenb... Tues., Mar. 25, at the NY Public Library on 42nd St. I'd love to see you there!
showclix.com
John Lewis: David Greenberg with Nicholas Lemann
Tickets for John Lewis: David Greenberg with Nicholas Lemann in New York from NYPL. A major biography of civil rights icon John Lewis, celebrated as “the conscience of Congress,” offers profound insig...
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
And for New Jerseyans, March 24 at the Eagleton Institute at Rutgers! eagleton.rutgers.edu/event/12966-2/
eagleton.rutgers.edu
Author Discussion - John Lewis: A Life - Eagleton Institute of Politics
Join Professor David Greenberg for an engaging evening discussion about his latest publication, John Lewis: A Life, a compelling biography that explores the life and legacy of the civil rights icon.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Back by popular demand! Come talk about John Lewis, whose courage, determination, and hopefulness we need more than ever. March 25 at the NYPL! With the great Nick Lemann. www.showclix.com/event/greenb...
showclix.com
John Lewis: David Greenberg with Nicholas Lemann
Tickets for John Lewis: David Greenberg with Nicholas Lemann in New York from NYPL. A major biography of civil rights icon John Lewis, celebrated as “the conscience of Congress,” offers profound insig...
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
I’m not sure what “White Lotus” offers that wasn’t achieved 50+ years ago by the Brady Bunch going to Hawaii.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
My Rutgers colleague Din Ambar and I will be talking John Lewis and the past and future of democracy at ROOSEVELT HOUSE on Monday, February 3. Open to the public! www.roosevelthouse.hunter.cuny.edu/events/david...
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Thank you. You're too kind.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Luis Tiant belongs in the Hall!
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
Upcoming tour dates for JOHN LEWIS: A LIFE ... Los Angeles - New York City - Savannah - Montgomery - New Brunswick, NJ ... Come and hear about the remarkable life of civil rights hero and distinguished congressman John Lewis.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
Martin Luther King Jr. was many things to John Lewis: inspiration, mentor, friend, lodestar, partner, father figure. Their closeness, personally and ideologically, was a revelation of my research for JOHN LEWIS: A LIFE. Only the book can do the full story justice. www.amazon.com/John-Lewis-L...
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
Joe Biden was probably the only major candidate in the 2020 field who could've beaten Trump and was qualified to deal with the invasion of Ukraine. If he or Harris had beaten Trump in 2024, his legacy would probably look very different. www.politico.com/news/magazin...
politico.com
Joe Biden Didn’t Just Lose the White House. He Lost His Legacy.
What might have been a great chapter in the history books could be just a footnote.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
Biden's presidency may be ultimately seen in a tragic light: great promise unrealized. www.politico.com/news/magazin...
politico.com
Joe Biden Didn’t Just Lose the White House. He Lost His Legacy.
What might have been a great chapter in the history books could be just a footnote.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
Also: GOP under GWB was discredited by Iraq (on fopo) +2008 crash (on econ policy). In 2008+2012 they chose non-populist candidates McCain & Romney. But the thwarting of Paulson's bailout plan, Palin's selection, & the Tea Party presaged GOP voters' 2016 turn to economic & fopo populism.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
Why is there an apostrophe before "thou"?
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
"The notion that Clinton & Newt Gingrich, or Obama & Paul Ryan, were partners with a shared ideology that could be usefully defined by a single term ['neoliberalism'] ignores almost everything that happened during these years." Chait, as usual, slices through the conventional wisdom trenchantly.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
DNC chair candidate doesn't know how to punctuate sentences with the word "however" in them. He needs a period or a semicolon after "insightful." Sigh.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
If you'd still like to go to an event for JOHN LEWIS: A LIFE here's a nice one (w/a modest price tag): a private NYC salon with 20 ppl + yours truly. Wed, Jan 29, 7:30pm (Zoom also possible.) Tickets HERE: www.eventbrite.com/o/bookthewri... One week before they'll send you the address. Check it out!
eventbrite.com
BOOKTHEWRITER
BOOKTHEWRITER presents
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 27/12/2024
Thanks for including me. Now I need to resume writing my column! (And posting more here.)
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 25/12/2024
Yes. CNN is elevating a non-story, based on throwaway comments, into a full-blown panic. They are fanning hysteria about something that is not going to happen.
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 24/12/2024
The insufferable Nick Kristof is up to his celebrity name-dropping ways once again...
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David Greenberg @davidgreenberg.bsky.social · 23/12/2024
www.amazon.com/John-Lewis-L... ... Still time to order it for Christmas or Hanukkah!
amazon.com
John Lewis: A Life
John Lewis: A Life [Greenberg, David] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. John Lewis: A Life
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