Joel Achenbach
Encyclopedia
Joel Leroy Achenbach is an American staff writer for the Washington Post and the author of seven books, including A Hole at the Bottom of the Sea, The Grand Idea, Captured by Aliens, It Looks Like a President only Smaller, and three compilations of his former syndicated newspaper column "Why Things Are." He is a contributor to many publications, including Slate
and National Geographic, where he is a former monthly columnist. Mr. Achenbach has been a commentator on National Public Radio's Morning Edition, and does occasional lectures and other speaking engagements. In addition to his work in the print version of the Washington Post, Joel Achenbach was one of the first Post writers to have a significant presence on the internet and currently writes the popular Post blog "The Achenblog."
Joel Achenbach is a native of Gainesville, Florida
and graduated from Princeton University
in 1982 with an B. A. degree in Politics. Prior to his tenure with the Washington Post in 1990, Mr. Achenbach was a staff writer for the Miami Herald from 1982–90, where he worked closely with Pulitzer Prize winners Gene Weingarten
and Dave Barry
.
Achenbach is known for his versatility and deft humor. As a reporter and an author he has covered topics as diverse as presidential elections, George Washington, the national deficit, the war in Iraq, the search for extraterrestrial life, the space program, and climate change. In addition to scientific and analytical sophistication, Mr. Achenbach's work is characterized by a strong appreciation for and sensitivity to the human aspects of his stories.
In the months after the Deepwater Horizon Disaster
, Mr. Achenbach wrote and contributed to an extensive series of articles for The Washington Post that have led to his most recent book, A Hole at the Bottom of the Sea.
Joel Achenbach lives in Washington DC with his wife and three children.
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
and National Geographic, where he is a former monthly columnist. Mr. Achenbach has been a commentator on National Public Radio's Morning Edition, and does occasional lectures and other speaking engagements. In addition to his work in the print version of the Washington Post, Joel Achenbach was one of the first Post writers to have a significant presence on the internet and currently writes the popular Post blog "The Achenblog."
Joel Achenbach is a native of Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
and graduated from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in 1982 with an B. A. degree in Politics. Prior to his tenure with the Washington Post in 1990, Mr. Achenbach was a staff writer for the Miami Herald from 1982–90, where he worked closely with Pulitzer Prize winners Gene Weingarten
Gene Weingarten
Gene Weingarten is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist known for both his serious and humorous work...
and Dave Barry
Dave Barry
David "Dave" Barry is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author and columnist, who wrote a nationally syndicated humor column for The Miami Herald from 1983 to 2005. He has also written numerous books of humor and parody, as well as comedic novels.-Biography:Barry was born in Armonk, New York,...
.
Achenbach is known for his versatility and deft humor. As a reporter and an author he has covered topics as diverse as presidential elections, George Washington, the national deficit, the war in Iraq, the search for extraterrestrial life, the space program, and climate change. In addition to scientific and analytical sophistication, Mr. Achenbach's work is characterized by a strong appreciation for and sensitivity to the human aspects of his stories.
In the months after the Deepwater Horizon Disaster
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which flowed unabated for three months in 2010, and continues to leak fresh oil. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry...
, Mr. Achenbach wrote and contributed to an extensive series of articles for The Washington Post that have led to his most recent book, A Hole at the Bottom of the Sea.
Joel Achenbach lives in Washington DC with his wife and three children.
Selected works
- Why Things Are (19911991 in literatureThe year 1991 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Douglas Coupland publishes the novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, popularizing the term Generation X as the name of the generation....
), ISBN 978-0-345-36224-7 - It Looks Like a President Only Smaller: Trailing Campaign 2000 (20012001 in literatureThe year 2001 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* The film version of J. R. R. Tolkien's classic book, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, is released to movie theaters...
), ISBN 978-0-7432-2348-5 - Captured by Aliens: The Search for Life and Truth in a Very Large Universe (20032003 in literatureThe year 2003 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Peter Ackroyd - The Clerkenwell Tales*Atsuko Asano - No...
), ISBN 978-0-8065-2496-2 - The Grand Idea: George Washington's Potomac and the Race to the West (20052005 in literatureThe year 2005 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*February 25 - Canada Reads selects Rockbound by Frank Parker Day as the novel to be read across the nation....
), ISBN 978-0-7432-6300-9 - A Hole at the Bottom of the Sea: The Race to Kill the BP Oil Gusher (20112011 in literatureThe year 2011 will involve some significant events and new books.-Events:*Tomas Tranströmer wins the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature.*Jennifer Egan wins the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel A Visit From the Goon Squad.-Literature:*T.C...
), ISBN 978-1-4516-2534-9
External links
- Achenblog – the official Joel Achenbach blog
- Video discussions and debate featuring Achenbach on BloggingHeads.tvBloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tv is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast online to viewers...
- Official website for "A Hole at the Bottom of the Sea"