George Black

George Black's picture

George Black is a New York City-based writer specializing in international affairs and the environment. Born in Scotland (and a proud Scottish nationalist), he has a master’s degree in modern languages and literature from the University of Oxford.

In his 35-year career as a journalist, he has written for a wide range of magazines, newspapers, and digital publications and is the recipient of numerous awards. He has also worked extensively in television for the BBC, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), and he has been a frequent expert commentator on National Public Radio (NPR).

He is a former columnist for the Los Angeles Times and was foreign editor of The Nation from 1986-1991. From 2004-2014 he was executive editor of OnEarth magazine, published by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a leading U.S. environmental organization. Since then he has been a regular contributor to the newyorker.com, Salon, The Guardian, The Nation, and other publications. He is now working on an article for The New Yorker on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to clean up the Ganges.

Black is the author of seven books on a wide range of topics including U.S. policy in Latin America to the democracy movement in China to Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. His most recent book, Empire of Shadows: The Epic Story of Yellowstone, was a finalist for the 2013 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. He is currently at work at a book on the history, culture and environment of the Ganges, under contract for St. Martin’s Press. He has traveled extensively in India over the past seven years, and his book research has taken him to most parts of the Ganges from its source in the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. He has published articles on a variety of topics including the cell phone revolution and its impact on development in Uttar Pradesh; cremation and the wood industry in Varanasi; and renewable energy in Karnataka.

Black is a UK national and a permanent resident of the United States. He is married to the writer Anne Nelson. They have two children, David and Julia.