Richard Pells

I am Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Texas in Austin. I specialize in 20th century American cultural history, with a special focus on the impact of American culture on other countries. I have received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, as well as 6 Fulbright chairs and senior lectureships.

I have lived and lectured all over Europe, as well as in Turkey, Southeast Asia, Australia, Mexico, and Brazil. It was these experiences living abroad that stimulated my interest in how America affected other people's cultures, and how foreign cultures affected America. These themes are particularly emphasized in two of my books: Not Like Us and Modernist America.

My books have been reviewed in Newsweek, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the New Republic. I also contribute articles regularly to magazines and newspapers including the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Los Angeles Times, and the International Herald Tribune.

My most recent book, War Babies: The Generation That Changed America, is about those Americans born between 1939 and 1945. The book deals with contemporary American leaders in movies, music, journalism, sports, and politics.

For more on my interests, see my website: www.richardpells.com