Friends Speaker Series: Author, Journalist Stephen Kinzer on "The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain and the Birth of American Empire"

BU alumnus Stephen Kinzer is an award-winning foreign correspondent whose articles and books have led The Washington Post to place him "among the best in popular foreign policy storytelling." Kinzer spent more than 20 years working for The New York Times, most of it as a foreign correspondent. He was the Times' bureau chief in Nicaragua during the 1980s, and in Germany during the early 1990s. In 1996 he was named chief of the newly opened Times bureau in Istanbul. Later he was appointed national culture correspondent, based in Chicago. Since leaving the Times, Kinzer has taught journalism, political science, and international relations at Northwestern University and Boston University. He is a Visiting Fellow at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, where he teaches international relations. He has written books about Central America, Rwanda, Turkey, and Iran, as well as others that trace the history of American foreign policy. He writes a world affairs column for The Boston Globe. Kirkus reviews sums up Kinzer's latest book, The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain and the Birth of American Empire as "A timely work on the vociferous sides taken over the Spanish-American War of 1898, and how that history relates to the ongoing debate regarding American imperialism." Prominent Americans including President Theodore Roosevelt, Henry Cabot Lodge, and William Randolph Hearst pushed for imperial expansion; their opposition included Mark Twain, Booker T. Washington, and Andrew Carnegie. Their debate laid the groundwork for all future discussions of American intervention in foreign nations, and remains relevant in considering the United States' role in present-day geopolitical conflicts. Kirkus calls the book "A tremendously elucidating book that should be required reading for civics courses." Mr. Kinzer will be signing copies of his book following the talk. Books will be available for purchase on-site, courtesy of Barnes & Noble.