Home | Lawrence Wright

Author of The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction and named one of Time’s Top 100 Books of all time.
Staff writer for The New Yorker and winner of the 2012 National Magazine Award for his profile of Paul Haggis, the basis of new book Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief.
“There is no more careful reporter in the world than [Wright], and no one who is as thorough and as indefatigable.”
—Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic

NEWS & EVENTS

08 Jun

NY Times review has high praise for 'The Plague Year.'

07 Jun

Reviews are in for “The Plague Year” and they’re looking good!

LATEST TWEETS

@LAWRENCE_WRIGHT →

2 Aug I got to talk to Ian Masters about the current state of the Covid pandemic and how we got to this point. backgroundbriefing.org

31 Jul Important information about the need for a booster. twitter.com/Laurie_Garrett…

HARDCOVER RELEASE: JUNE 8, 2021

The Plague Year: America in the Time of COVID

From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Looming Tower: an unprecedented, momentous account of Covid-19—its origins, its wide-ranging repercussions, and the ongoing global fight to contain it.

From the fateful first moments of the outbreak in China to the storming of the U.S. Capitol to the extraordinary vaccine rollout, Lawrence Wright’s The Plague Year tells the story of Covid-19 in authoritative, galvanizing detail and with the full drama of events on both a global and intimate scale, illuminating the medical, economic, political, and social ramifications of the pandemic.

More about The Plague Year →

“Wright’s storytelling dexterity makes all this come alive…keeps us hooked with his details.”
—The New York Times

“By far the best book yet on COVID-19…An exemplary chronicle [with] countless examples of hope, sacrifice, and heroic feats…Wright is at his finest here in frontline research, expert analysis, and lucid writing.”
—Booklist (Starred Review)

HARDCOVER RELEASE: APRIL 28, 2020

The End of October

In this riveting medical thriller–from the Pulitzer Prize winner and best-selling author–Dr. Henry Parsons, an unlikely but appealing hero, races to find the origins and cure of a mysterious new killer virus as it brings the world to its knees.

As packed with suspense as it is with the fascinating history of viral diseases, Lawrence Wright has given us a full-tilt, electrifying, one-of-a-kind thriller.

More about The End of October →

“This timely literary page-turner shows Wright is on a par with the best writers in the genre.”
—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“Whew! A compelling read up to the last sentence. Wright has come up with a story worthy of Michael Crichton.”
—Richard Preston, author of The Hot Zone and The Cobra Event

God Save Texas: A Journey into the Soul of the Lone Star State

Take a journey through the most controversial state in America. With humor and the biting insight of a native, Wright explores the history, culture, and politics of Texas. It’s a red state in the heart of Trumpland, but also a state where minorities already form a majority (including the largest number of Muslims). Wright’s profound portrait of the state not only reflects our country back as it is, but as it was and as it might be.

More about God Save Texas →

“A testament to Wright’s formidable storytelling skills…”
—The New York Times

“A godsend…A brilliant analysis.”
—Marion Winik, Newsday

The Terror Years: From Al-Qaeda to the Islamic State

With the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Looming Tower, Lawrence Wright became generally acknowledged as one of our major journalists writing on terrorism in the Middle East.

Here, in ten powerful pieces first published in The New Yorker, he recalls the path that terror in the Middle East has taken, from the rise of al-Qaeda in the 1990s to the recent beheadings of reporters and aid workers by ISIS.

On the fifteenth anniversary of 9/11, The Terror Years is at once a unifying recollection of the roots of contemporary Middle Eastern terrorism, a study of how it has grown and metastasized, and, in the scary and moving epilogue, a cautionary tale of where terrorism might take us yet.

Buy It Now: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books a Million | Indie Bound | Powell’s

E-Book: Kindle | Nook | Google Play | iBooks

“Vivid firsthand reportage…He writes with empathy for every side while clearly registering the moral catastrophes that darken this pitiless struggle.”
—Publisher’s Weekly

“A brilliant volume that is a must-read.”
—Carl Hays, Booklist

“Wright displays his top-notch reporting…Yet more great work from a dedicated journalist.”
—Kirkus Reviews

THIRTEEN DAYS IN SEPTEMBER: THE DRAMATIC STORY OF THE STRUGGLE FOR PEACE

One of The New York Times Book Review’s 10 Best Books of the Year

In September 1978, three world leaders—Menachem Begin of Israel, Anwar Sadat of Egypt, and U.S. president Jimmy Carter—met at Camp David to broker a peace agreement between the two Middle East nations. During the thirteen-day conference, Begin and Sadat got into screaming matches and had to be physically separated; both attempted to walk away multiple times. Yet, by the end, a treaty had been forged—one that has quietly stood for more than three decades, proving that peace in the Middle East is possible.

Wright reveals an extraordinary moment of lifelong enemies working together—and the profound difficulties inherent in the process. Thirteen Days in September is a timely revisiting of this diplomatic triumph and an inside look at how peace is made.

“Masterly… Magnificent… Wright reminds us that Carter’s Camp David was an act of surpassing political courage.”
—The New York Times Book Review

“A unique moment in history superbly captured. Yet another triumph for Wright.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Spellbinding…A cliffhanger…A page-turner.”
—Chicago Tribune

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, & the Prison of Belief

Scientology presents itself as a scientific approach to spiritual enlightenment, but its practices have long been shrouded in mystery. Now Lawrence Wright—armed with his investigative talents, years of archival research, and more than two hundred personal interviews with current and former Scientologists—uncovers the inner workings of the church.

We meet founder L. Ron Hubbard, the highly imaginative but mentally troubled science-fiction writer, and his tough, driven successor, David Miscavige. We see the church court celebrities such as Tom Cruise while consigning its clergy to hard labor under billion-year contracts.

Brilliantly researched, compellingly written, Going Clear pulls back the curtain on one of the most secretive organizations at work today.

Read an excerpt of Going Clear →

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“Powerful... essential reading.”
—Cover of The New York Times Book Review

“An utterly necessary story.”
—The Wall Street Journal

“Wright brings a clear-eyed, investigative fearlessness to Scientology and the result is a rollicking, if deeply creepy, narrative ride, evidence that truth can be stranger even than science fiction.”
—Washington Post

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE

“The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11”

A gripping narrative that spans five decades, The Looming Tower explains in unprecedented detail the growth of Islamic fundamentalism, the rise of al-Qaeda, and the intelligence failures that culminated in the attacks on the World Trade Center. Lawrence Wright re-creates firsthand the transformation of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri from incompetent and idealistic soldiers in Afghanistan to leaders of the most successful terrorist group in history. He follows FBI counterterrorism chief John O’Neill as he uncovers the emerging danger from al-Qaeda in the 1990s and struggles to track this new threat. Packed with new information and a deep historical perspective, The Looming Tower is the definitive history of the long road to September 11. More about The Looming Tower →

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“A searing view of the tragic events of September 11, 2001... a narrative history that possesses all the immediacy and emotional power of a novel.”
—Michiko Kakatuni, The New York Times

“Comprehensive and compelling… Wright has written what must be considered a definitive work on the antecedents to 9/11.”
—Starred Kirkus review