Dexter Filkins

Dexter Filkins

Dexter Filkins was born on May 24th, 1961 and is currently 64 years old. Dexter Filkins was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Filkins attended University of Florida where he received a B.A. in Political Science and St Antony's College where he received a Master of Philosophy in International Relations.

Dexter Filkins is an American war correspondent and journalist who made his name reporting on conflicts in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and other parts of South Asia.

In 2000, he first got a job at The New York Times, and between 2001 and 2002, he reported on major events in Afghanistan. From 2003 to 2006, he was bureau correspondent in Baghdad and reported on the Iraq invasion, the occupation, the insurgency, elections, and civil violence.

Earlier on, Dexter Filkins was the bureau chief at the New Delhi office of the Los Angeles Times. After 2006, he was offered several fellowships, and it was during one of these that he worked on his nonfiction book The Forever War, inspired by his experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In 2011, Dexter got a new job at The New Yorker as a staff writer, where he reported on human stories, war, and political crises from conflict zones. He became known for a style that typically featured descriptions of combat environments, soldiers, civilians, and the experience of living in a war zone.

Over the many years that Filkins has worked as a reporter, he has found himself in many life-threatening situations. He usually uses these experiences to enrich his writings.

The Forever War is a work that he published in 2008 to showcase his experiences as an eyewitness to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Working for The New York Times as a frontline reporter, he showcases the resilience, fear, and chaos of life in a combat zone. He tells of battles in Fallujah, the struggles of insurgents, soldiers, and civilians, and life under the Taliban.

Through storytelling rather than focusing on strategy or politics, he shines a light on the endurance, confusion, and brutality of war, as he showcases how conflict shapes both individual lives and nations.

Dexter Filkins: Lists & Other Mentions

• The Forever War was an Ex Libris: 100 Books to Read and Reread Selection in 2020 and a GQ: The 50 Best Books of Literary Journalism Selection in 2021.

Related Authors

Fans of Dexter Filkins also enjoy these authors:

1. Stephen King, author of The Dark Tower Series.
2. Ken Follett, author of the Kingsbridge Series.
3. George Saunders, author of: Lincoln in the Bardo.
4. Arthur Conan Doyle, author of: The Hound of the Baskervilles.
5. Andy Weir, author of: Project Hail Mary.

Dexter Filkins: F.A.Q