James Fallows
James Fallows is a national correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly and has worked for the magazine for more than 25 years. He has written for the magazine on a wide range of topics, including national security policy, American politics, the development and impact of technology, economic trends and patterns, and U.S. relations with the Middle East, Asia, and other parts of the world.
Fallows grew up in Redlands, California and then attended Harvard, where he was president of the newspaper The Crimson. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1970 and then studied economics at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. He has been an editor of The Washington Monthly and of Texas Monthly, and from 1977 to 1979 he served as President Jimmy Carter's chief speechwriter. His first book, National Defense, won the American Book Award in 1981; he has written seven others. He has worked as a software designer at Microsoft and from 1996 to 1998 he was the editor of U.S. News & World Report.
In the five years after the 9/11 attacks, Fallows was based in Washington and wrote a number of articles about the evolution of U.S. policies for dealing with terrorism and about the war in Iraq. One of these articles, "The Fifty First State?," won the National Magazine Award, and another, "Why Iraq has no Army," was a finalist. He also writes a monthly technology column for the magazine.
His books Breaking the News: How the Media Undermine American Democracy (January 1996), and Free Flight: From Airline Hell to a New Age of Travel were excerpted in the February, 1996, and June, 2001, issues respectively. Looking at the Sun (1994) was excerpted in several installments in the early 1990s. His books Blind into Baghdad: America's War in Iraq (2006) and Postcards from Tomorrow Square: Reports from China (2009) are each based on several of his Atlantic articles. He and his wife live in D.C. and have two grown sons.
His latest writings can be found on the James Fallows blog.
Recent articles by James Fallows
Cyber Warriors
The biggest threat we face from China—and other rivals—isn’t a military one. Inside the battle to protect our online infrastructure from hackers, spammers, spies, and corporate thieves.
How America Can Rise Again
Is the nation in terminal decline? Not necessarily—this country has been built on cycles of crisis and renewal, and the forces that have made it great remain strong. But the government is broken. Securing the future will require fixing a system that has become a joke.
How I Survived China
Our man in Beijing returns home, with lungs only somewhat the worse for wear.
Village Dreamers
Two Americans try to save a Chinese town from kitsch.
Dr. Doom Has Some Good News
Nouriel Roubini is a famous--and famously prescient--economic pessimist. So why is he smiling?
Beijing’s Almost-Perfect Hotel
The Opposite House is an idealistic island in a country that rarely worries about details.
China's Way Forward
With the global economy in meltdown, China is in big trouble—in the short term. But the longer-term threat is to America.
Musical Chairs
Michael Pettis is a finance pundit by day, a Beijing rock impresario by (very late) night.
The Ottoman Mystique
In Turkey, there are dancers, and there are dancers. [Web only: Slideshow: "Turkish Surprise"]
“Be Nice to the Countries That Lend You Money”
An interview with America's Chinese banker.
Their Own Worst Enemy
China is stunningly bad at managing its own reputation. Here's why.
How the West Was Wired
Two idealistic Taiwanese businessmen happened into the most rural part of China and thought: Let’s bring it from the 15th century to the 21st. [Web-only: Slideshow: China's Wild West narrated by James Fallows]
Rhetorical Questions
Who will win the presidential debates? What does each candidate’s use of words say about how he would govern as president? Can Obama’s rhetorical skills lift him to the heights of Lincoln, FDR, and Reagan—or will his speechmaking do him in? After watching all 47 (!) of the primary season’s debates, our correspondent has the answers—and some harsh criticism for the moderators.
China’s Silver Lining
Why smoggy skies over Beijing represent the world’s greatest environmental opportunity.
Taxis in the Sky
How tiny jets, Soviet-trained math prodigies, American “ant farmers,” and dot-com refugees are revolutionizing air travel [Web only: Slideshow: "A Day on the DayJet"]
“The Connection Has Been Reset”
China’s Great Firewall is crude, slapdash, and surprisingly easy to breach. Here’s why it’s so effective anyway.
State of the Union: Post Mortem
Bush's 2008 State of the Union address, annotated by The Atlantic's James Fallows.
The $1.4 Trillion Question
What do we owe China?
Among the Pandas
Our cub reporter exposes China’s soft underbelly. [Web only: Slideshow: "Panda Land"]
The Travel Advisory
How to get to the Wolong Reserve and how to support its panda programs.
The View from There
What living in England, Japan, and China has taught one American about the character of his own country.
Simple Security
Protecting files and programs need not make you crazy—or even cost you a cent.
Macau’s Big Gamble
Even as foreign investors pour billions into ever-glitzier casinos, the tiny peninsula’s bid to become the Vegas of the Orient depends on China’s larger willingness to embrace transparency and the rule of law. [Web only: Slideshow: "The Many Faces of Macau."]
China Makes, The World Takes
A look inside the world’s manufacturing center shows that America should welcome China’s rise—for now. [Web only: Slideshow: "Made in China."]
What Was I Thinking?
Computers may not be able to make decisions for you (yet), but they can sharpen your judgment.
Group Therapy
New programs ease the frustration of working with others online.
Wolfowitz = McNamara, Chapter 402
I await a version of the The Fog of War starring Paul Wolfowitz.
Intellectual Piracy? Who, Us?
Shanghai resident James Fallows reports that his local pirate-video store is doing a brisk business, despite China's claim that it is cracking down on such enterprises.
Wolfowitz = Swaggart, Chap. 1
"Do the words 'Caesar's wife' ring any kind of bell? Or the name Jimmy Swaggart?"
Virginia Tech Shooting
One American woman terrifies China.
Sun-Times vs. China Update (re. Va Tech shooting)
"Wasn't this pretty much what Orwell had in mind with the concept of the 'memory hole'?"
One-Button Translation
Newly sophisticated “machine translators” let you browse foreign Web sites in real time.
Win in China!
A reality-TV show is teaching the Chinese how to succeed in business. [Web-only: Watch video clips from the show]
Arthur Schlesinger Jr.
A nice man, not just an eminent one.
Another win for Carl Malamud
Or: news you won't see in the May 2007 issue of the Atlantic
Thoughts on Writing This Column
James Fallows on what most surprised him about this topic and the biggest development that happened after press time.
The Boiled-frog Myth
Hey, really, knock it off!
Colbert-ology
What you know if you've seen the show live...
Back in the U.S.A.
What you first notice if you're in America after six months in China...
Mr. Zhang Builds His Dream Town
A singing workforce, Mongolian millionaires in Porsches, and saving the planet—inside the empire of a Chinese tycoon with more than money on his mind. [Web-only: "At Home With Mr. Zhang." A narrated slideshow.]
Crash Insurance
New programs back up everything you do— in real time, online, and automatically.
Where Congress Can Draw the Line
No war with Iran.
The Squeegee Men of Shanghai
Forget running for president, Rudy. Come deal with the shoe-squeegee men of Shanghai.
This Is What I Call a Cultural Revolution
Queuing Day in China.
Thank you, Martha Raddatz
"For the first time, I actually felt sorry for the President."
Am I Being Too Rational?
The prospect of war on Iran.
Dear Vice President Cheney
Go home, and shut up.
The Surprising Antiwar Message of 24
"If season 2 of 24 aired now, conservatives would assume that, torture and all, it had been sponsored by the Dennis Kucinich campaign or MoveOn.org."
Market Crash Day in China
The view from Shanghai.
Nothing to Celebrate in Saddam's Hanging
This act makes neither America nor Iraq look good.
"Another Wrong Thing"
Why the surge is a bad idea.
Bush's Address: Postmortem
James Fallows takes stock of Bush's effort to sell Americans on his "troop surge" plan.
State of the Union Address 2007: Instant Analysis
Atlantic correspondent and former Presidential speechwriter James Fallows shares his impressions of Bush's speech.
Post Mortem: State of the Union
Bush's 2007 State of the Union address, annotated by The Atlantic's James Fallows.
Post Mortem: State of the Union
Bush's 2007 State of the Union address, annotated by The Atlantic's James Fallows.
Sympathy For, Yes, Microsoft
Vista's worldwide release is greeted in China with in-your-face piracy.
Tag Teams
Social-search programs like Flickr and del.icio.us guide your Web browsing toward places you probably want to go.
A Turning Point
The Iraq Study Group may be remembered as the Walter Cronkite of this war.
How China Is Making Me Into a Worse Person
You think you can shove past me in the line at the airport or at the bank? Think again, buster.
Microsoft Reboots
A preview of the new versions of Windows and Office.
Postcards From Tomorrow Square
Our man in Shanghai samples budget beer, survives subway scrimmages, and starts living the contradictions of China’s breakneck modernization.
Proud to Be an American, Chapter 12,745
Life is about to become dramatically more pleasant, positive, and effective for Americans in their dealings with every other part of the world.
Has Bush Been Smart All Along?
James Fallows marvels at a side of President Bush we haven't previously seen.
A Candidate Worth Supporting: James Webb
The kind of politician this country needs more of.
Election-watch 2006: Shanghai Edition
Americans who don't like Bush are happy about the recent election results. The Chinese are not so sure.
Improbable but True
James Fallows on how he came to co-write a 1980 Atlantic cover story advocating the draft with Senator-elect Jim Webb.
Getting out of Iraq
What's the right idea when all ideas are bad?
Making Haystacks, Finding Needles
New programs let you easily categorize anything you come across on the Web or in your own files—and, more important, let you find it all again.
The Cory Lidle Crash in New York City
Atlantic correspondent James Fallows, who used to own and fly the same kind of plane in which Cory Lidle died, reflects on the meaning of the crash.
The Cory Lidle Crash: One Fact, Two Explanations
James Fallows ponders what might have gone wrong.
Was Cory Lidle's Airplane at Fault?
James Fallows suspects not.
A Nation of Ninnies
How Gary Cooper can save us (from mayor Daley, among others).
Artificial Intelligentsia
How the Internet is fitting its users with mental eyeglasses— and letting them see new vistas of knowledge in the process.
Go Harvard!
(Believe it or not.).
What's Wrong With Academia, Chapter 972
Is it too much to expect an academic to read before criticizing?
File Not Found
Why a stone tablet is still better than a hard drive.
Declaring Victory
The United States is succeeding in its struggle against terrorism. The time has come to declare the war on terror over, so that an even more effective military and diplomatic campaign can begin.
Pitfalls of the Air Defense Identification Zone
A consideration of the "preposterousness of the regulations."
Can We Still Declare Victory?
Yes. James Fallows explains why the foiled airline bombing plot actually strengthens the argument for declaring victory in the war on terror.
The Electric Mind Meld
Two new elegantly conceived programs help you unjam your digital life.
E-mail Out of Every Plug
Broadband sent over power lines offers Internet access everywhere in your house—and could also offer the country a way to save energy.
Tinfoil Underwear
Tools to protect your privacy on the Internet go just so far, and the businesses that dominate it have no incentive to let them go any farther.
The Nuclear Power Beside Iraq
Now that Iran unquestionably intends to build a nuclear bomb, the international community has few options to stop it—and the worst option would be a military strike.
A Thousand Words
Cameras and telephones are coming together—and bringing people together—in ways that can shape society.
Spy’s-eye View
Google Earth and its rival programs offer (civilians) a new way to look at the world.
Post Mortem: State of the Union
Bush's 2006 State of the Union address, annotated by The Atlantic's James Fallows.
Why Iraq Has No Army
An orderly exit from Iraq depends on the development of a viable Iraqi security force, but the Iraqis aren't even close. The Bush administration doesn't take the problem seriously—and it never has.
Countdown to a Meltdown
America's coming economic crisis. A look back from the election of 2016.
Getting Out Right
Warnings from many experts went unheeded before we entered Iraq. Let's listen as we prepare to "shape the exit"
Inaugural Address Post-Mortem
An analysis of President Bush's "startling" speech.
Success Without Victory
A "containment" strategy for the age of terror.
Will Iran Be Next?
Soldiers, spies, and diplomats conduct a classic Pentagon war game—with sobering results.
Bush vs. Kerry: Final Round
Now that the debates are over, some quick final thoughts about the debating styles of the two candidates.
Bush vs. Kerry: Round One
Immediately following Bush and Kerry's faceoff last night in Miami, James Fallows penned some thoughts on their respective performances.
Bush's Lost Year
By deciding to invade Iraq, the Bush Administration decided not to do many other things: not to reconstruct Afghanistan, not to deal with the threats posed by North Korea and Iran, and not to wage an effective war on terror. An inventory of opportunities lost.
The Big Picture
Our annual survey of the admissions landscape uncovered recent and upcoming changes to the process, growing concern about tuition increases, and serious questions about whether colleges are fulfilling their mission.
When George Meets John
A viewer's guide to this fall's version of "asymmetric warfare"— the presidential debates.
Organize Your Life!
The modern condition is to be overwhelmed by everything. Now comes David Allen, who can teach even you how to stop stewing and start doing.
The Hollow Army
The U.S. military is stretched to the breaking point—and one more crisis could break it.
Blind Into Baghdad
The U.S. occupation of Iraq is a debacle not because the government did no planning but because a vast amount of expert planning was willfully ignored by the people in charge. The inside story of a historic failure.
The New College Chaos
College admissions officers say they now have many, many more applications than they know how to handle—and, often, less reliable information to help them decide which students to admit.
The Age of Murdoch
Many see him as a power-mad, rapacious right-wing vulgarian. Rupert Murdoch has indeed been relentless in building a one-of-a kind media network that spans the world. What really drives him, though, is not ideology but a cool concern for the bottom line—and the belief that the media should be treated like any other business, not as a semi-sacred public trust. The Bush Administration agrees. Rupert Murdoch has seen the future, and it is him.
Who Shot Mohammed al-Dura?
The image of a boy shot dead in his helpless father's arms during an Israeli confrontation with Palestinians has become the Pietà of the Arab world. Now a number of Israeli researchers are presenting persuasive evidence that the fatal shots could not have come from the Israeli soldiers known to have been involved in the confrontation. The evidence will not change Arab minds—but the episode offers an object lesson in the incendiary power of an icon.
Post-President For Life
The post-presidency of Bill Clinton will, like the Clinton Administration, be noisy and attention-getting. Will it accomplish anything—or turn out to be limbo in overdrive?
The Forgotten Home Front
What are the main elements of national well-being? It is startling how out-of-date and out-of-touch our official politics has become.
The Fifty-First State?
Going to war with Iraq would mean shouldering all the responsibilities of an occupying power the moment victory was achieved. These would include running the economy, keeping domestic peace, and protecting Iraq's borders—and doing it all for years, or perhaps decades. Are we ready for this long-term relationship?
Uncle Sam Buys an Airplane
How Lockheed Martin beat Boeing for the biggest military contract in history—and how that one contract could change the way the military builds and pays for its weapons.
Behavior Modification
Soon after the Afghan war began, the Air Force dramatically altered its tactics. What lay behind the change?
The Unilateralist
A conversation with Paul Wolfowitz.
Councils of War
Military spinoffs have transformed civilian life. The momentum right now may be running in the other direction.
Councils of War
Every American war has changed our society in ways that were not anticipated. What will be the consequences of the latest war?
Councils of War
Matching confusing new realities to historical experience.
New Life for Moore's Law
After four decades of remarkably steady progress, advances in computer-chip technology seemed in danger of slowing. Not anymore.
The Early-Decision Racket
Early-decision programs—whereby a student applies early to a single school, receives an early answer, and promises to attend if accepted—have added an insane intensity to middle-class obsessions about college. They also distort the admissions process, rewarding the richest students from the most exclusive high schools and penalizing nearly everyone else. But the incentives for many colleges and students are as irresistable as they are perverse.
Freedom of the Skies
Everyone knows about the horrors of modern air travel. What almost no one knows is how inventors, entrepreneurs, and government visionaries have teamed up to create new kinds of small planes that can take off from and land almost anywhere. "Escape From Airline Hell" the scenario might be called, and it's coming soon to an airport near you.
Forget the Yellowfin
How much does a company's culture really contribute to its success?
He Was Slick, Thank God
Bill Clinton's talent for confounding his enemies, manipulating his friends, and playing all sides against the middle helped to create the economic golden years.
Inside the Leviathan
A short and stimulating brush with Microsoft's corporate culture.
A Talk With Bill Clinton
The President shows himself to be at once confident about what we should do to better life for the next generation and guarded about how much we can achieve toward that end.
Throwing Like a Girl
Throwing style is not determined by biology—anyone can learn to throw like an athlete.
Why Americans Hate the Media
Why has the media establishment become so unpopular? Perhaps the public has good reason to think that the media's self-aggrandizement gets in the way of solving the country's real problems.
A Triumph of Misinformation
Most of what everyone "knows" about the demise of health-care reform is probably wrong—and, more important, so are the vague impressions people have of what was really in Hillary Clinton's plan.
Talent on Loan from the GOP
The Rush Limbaugh story.
How the World Works
Americans persist in thinking that Adam Smith's rules for free trade are the only legitimate ones. But today's fastest-growing economies are using a very different set of rules. Once, we knew them—knew them so well that we played by them, and won. Now we seem to have forgotten.
Low-Class Conclusions
A widely reported new study claiming that all classes shared the burden of the Vietnam War is preposterous.
Remember Pearl Harbor How?
Neither Japanese nor Americans know quite how to commemorate the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, but the Japanese spend much more time worrying about it.
The Ilocos: A Philippine Discovery
The incongruously upbeat Frankie José, author of a national saga.
No Hard Feelings?
The aftereffects of the Vietnam War mean much more to us than to the Vietnamese, whose concern is tending to business.
No-Fat City
Walking Tokyo streets leads an American to wonder, Why are the Japanese so much thinner than we are? And why do they live longer?
Immigration
How it's affecting us.
Living With a Computer
"The process works this way. When I sit down to write a letter or start the first draft of an article, I simply type on the keyboard and the words appear on the screen"
Indonesia: An Effort to Hold Together
The islands' "guided democracy" is divided by geography, ethnic differences, and religion.
Living on the Fault Line
"Those who live in the vicinity are accustomed to earthquakes. But the prospect that scientists now suggest is different from anything within living memory in southern California."
The Draft
Why the country needs it.
Lloyd Bentsen: Can Another Texan Apply?
A "cool cat" from Texas seeks out the Democratic nomination.