Writer: @TheAtlantic; Books: 2054; Halcyon; Fifth Act; 2034; Red Dress in Black & White; Places & Names; Waiting for Eden; Dark at the Crossing; Green on Blue
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Articles by Elliot Ackerman
America Will Regret Withdrawing from Iraq
I first arrived in Iraq in June 2004, as the insurgency in al-Anbar Province was raging. I was a newly minted Marine lieutenant leading a rifle platoon. At full strength, our platoon should’ve had about 40 Marines. Like most platoons in our battalion, we deployed at less than full strength. As the battalion we replaced got ready to rotate back to the States, a call went out for volunteers to extend their tours and bring us to full strength. Very few did.
I Thought Ukraine Was Losing. Then I Was Almost Hit by a Russian Drone.
I Thought Ukraine Was Losing. Then I Was Almost Hit by a Russian Drone. A Russian drone destroyed a gas station on August 27, 2026, in Kharkiv, Ukraine. (Liubov Yemets/Gwara Media/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images) It made me think Ukraine is going to win. At about 1 a.m. this past Sunday morning, I pulled into a gas station in Yahodyn, in Ukraine near the border with Poland.
Heroes Still Walk Among Us
Heroes Still Walk Among Us Actors Dexter Fletcher, Marc Warren, James Madio, and Ben Caplan appear in a scene from HBO’s Band of Brothers. (HBO via Getty Images) I watched ‘Band of Brothers’ days after 9/11 and wondered whether the heroes in the series still existed. Then I went to war and discovered that they did. When I think about the attacks on September 11, 2001, the memory I return to most often isn’t what happened that Tuesday.
Elliot Ackerman on Iran and Stars and Stripes
CBS News contributor Elliot Ackerman joins The Takeout with Major Garrett to discuss the limits of economic pressure against Iran and the importance of preserving the editorial independence of Stars and Stripes. Listen to the Interview August 21, 2026 LISTEN ON AUDACY The Limits of Economic Pressure on Iran Ackerman argues that the renewed emphasis on economic warfare reflects a military campaign struggling to find a path toward resolution.
The Cynical Coverage of Conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln Original
The Cynical Coverage of Conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln Navy sailors working with ordnance on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury, on February 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy via AP) The media covers military suicides when it’s politically useful. In 2006, I was deployed aboard the USS Iwo Jima as a Marine.
The Cynical Coverage of the USS Lincoln
In this essay for The Free Press, Elliot Ackerman examines the intense media coverage surrounding conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln during the war with Iran and argues that the hardships facing American service members should not become partisan political ammunition. Life Aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln After more than 260 days at sea and weeks of sustained combat operations, reports of suicide attempts aboard the aircraft carrier have raised concerns about the strain facing its crew.
Forged: Timeless Ways of Living
How does a father help his son become a good man? In this episode of Forged, Brian Williams speaks with Marine veteran, novelist, and journalist Elliot Ackerman about the small habits and embodied patterns that shape a man’s life and form the next generation: wearing a suit with intention, writing a thank-you note, keeping a friend, caring for meaningful objects, reading deeply, and learning to live with purpose.
The Veterans Who Become Novelists
Every year on Memorial Day, the nation pauses to remember and mourn the millions who have lost their lives in the service of our country. This year, the meaning of the day is especially acute. War continues to rage in Iran, where at least 13 American service members have been killed. Many more U.S. soldiers are stationed in countries across the globe. It is all too easy to take for granted our freedoms as Americans.
2084 by Elliot Ackerman, Admiral James Stavridis, USN: 9780593489895
“Gripping…Ackerman and Stavridis stage a harrowing global conflict that pits military might against an appetite for justice… equal parts haunting and entertaining.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review A gripping drama and chilling prophecy about the possible path to war for a planet devastated by climate change In their novel 2034, decorated military officers and award-winning authors Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis imagined a war between the US and China.
Fashion Might Be Art, but It’s Not Always Pretty
Met Gala 2026: Fashion Might Be Art, but It’s Not Always Pretty (L-R) Nicole Kidman, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, and Anna Wintour attend the 2026 Met Gala on May 4, 2026 in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for the Met Museum/Vogue) Suzy Weiss and Elliot Ackerman weigh in on the good, the bad, the peplum, and the leather. Lots of leather. NEW YORK CITY — It’s the first Monday in May, which means one thing for us clothes-minded people: the Met Gala.
Trump is Right: Laws Across the Middle East to Prevent Normalization with Israel are ‘Crazy’ - and Poisonous by Khaled Abu Toameh
US President Donald J. Trump recently said that he has never heard of a Lebanese law banning contact with Israel. “I never heard of that, but… I’m pretty sure that’ll be ended very quickly,” Trump told reporters. “I know Lebanon doesn’t want that… That’s crazy.” Trump is right. These laws are “crazy.” They are also poisonous.
It Was Too Easy to Get Inside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner By Elliot Ackerman
It Was Too Easy to Get Inside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner By Elliot Ackerman https://www.thefp.com/p/it-was-too-easy-to-get-inside-the Only after hiding under the table with my wife as gunshots rang out did it hit me how exposed we’d been all along. It was raining Saturday night in Washington, D.C. Given the heavy police presence outside the Washington Hilton, my wife Lea and I needed to walk the last two blocks to the entrance of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
It Was Too Easy to Get Inside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
It Was Too Easy to Get Inside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Given the rain, I was glad it didn’t take much security to get inside. Looking back now, maybe I shouldn’t have been. (Andrew Harnik via Getty Images) Only after hiding under the table with my wife as gunshots rang out did it hit me how exposed we’d been all along.
It Was Too Easy to Get Inside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
1 day ago Michael Glantz, a top agent at Creative Artists Agency, calmly ate his appetizer during the commotion at the White House correspondents’ dinner. He had his reasons. It was chaos inside the Washington Hilton ballroom on Saturday night, but not for one man who stayed in his chair, picking at a burrata …
Is Trump Asking Troops to Commit War Crimes?
Is Trump Asking Troops to Commit War Crimes? Soldiers in the U.S. Army National Guard listen as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a Memphis Safe Task Force roundtable on March 23, 2026. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images) Striking bridges and power plants would cross a bright ethical line—and force commanders to consider their obligations under law.
The Case Against the War
The enemy always gets a say in war. (Ahmed Saad via Reuters) Yes, it is possible to imagine Trump’s war against Iran going right, and every free and decent person should be rooting for that outcome. But it is all too easy to imagine all of it going wrong. When I fought in Iraq in 2004, one of my friends, another Marine lieutenant, carried a 20-year-old bloodstained field jacket in his pack the entire deployment.
I Wrote a Novel About War. Now I’m Watching It Unfold in Iran.
I Wrote a Novel About War. Now I’m Watching It Unfold in Iran. Naval units from Iran and Russia carry out joint drills near the Strait of Hormuz in Hormozgān, Iran, on February 19, 2026. (Iranian Army/Anadolu via Getty Images) A Russian warship in Iranian waters. Hypersonic threats to U.S. carriers. A regime desperate to survive. All featured in my 2021 book—and all are today’s strategic realities.
A Very Vexing Murder
Andrew debuts with a winsome mystery that reimagines the timid Harriet Smith from Jane Austen’s Emma as a skilled con artist whose innocuous appearance belies her street smarts and criminal prowess. When the wealthy Mrs. Churchill suspects that someone has attempted to poison her, she reaches out to Harriet, who has gained a reputation around Highbury as a discreet if unsavory fixer. Mrs. Churchill is convinced that her murderous foe is none other than Jane Fairfax, the woman aiming to seduce Mrs.
2084: A Novel of Future War
Novelist Ackerman and former NATO supreme allied commander Stavridis continue to offer chilling global forecasts with their grim yet gripping third geopolitical thriller (after 2054). By 2084, the U.S. and China have fallen from grace on the world stage: civil unrest in the U.S. leading to Florida’s secession and the long-term effects of China’s child-limit policy have created a power vacuum that’s been filled by India and Japan.
2084: A Novel of Future War
Novelist Ackerman and former NATO supreme allied commander Stavridis continue to offer chilling global forecasts with their grim yet gripping third geopolitical thriller (after 2054). By 2084, the U.S. and China have fallen from grace on the world stage: civil unrest in the U.S. leading to Florida’s secession and the long-term effects of China’s child-limit policy have created a power vacuum that’s been filled by India and Japan.
2084 by Elliot Ackerman, Admiral James Stavridis, USN: 9780593489895
ISBN9780593489895 Available onMay 12, 2026 Published byPenguin Press Pages288 Dimensions6 x 9 Elliot Ackerman is the author of the novels Sheepdogs, Halcyon, 2034 (coauthor), Red Dress in Black and White, Waiting for Eden, Dark at the Crossing, and Green on Blue, as well as the memoirs The Fifth Act: America’s End in Afghanistan and Places and Names: On War, Revolution, and Returning.
The ICE Shooter’s Trauma Is No Defense
The ICE Shooter’s Trauma Is No Defense “How can a society whose leaders daily engage in an assault on objective truth have a criterion for the use of violence that relies on objectivity?” (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images) Law enforcement officers must bring reasonable judgment to every encounter, no matter their past experiences.
How to Speak from the Heart
A Man Should Know: How to Speak from the Heart Public speaking is part of life. Here’s how to do it well. (Leif Skoogfors/Getty Images) When someone speaks to you from the heart, you know it. Say something real. Welcome to the final edition of A Man Should Know, a column from Elliot Ackerman about how today’s lost boys can become tomorrow’s good men. This week, Elliot rounds out the series with a reflection on speaking itself. It’s a gift, he says, to get to tell a story to an audience.
The Shadow of Iraq Looms over Venezuela
The Shadow of Iraq Looms over Venezuela Venezuelans across the world celebrated the end of Nicolás Maduro’s reign, but the extent of American involvement might just be getting started. (Lucas Aguayo Araos/Anadolu via Getty Images) Trump is risking another forever war. When President George W. Bush declared “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq in 2003, I was about to graduate college and was two weeks away from going on active duty in the Marines.
A Man Should Know: How to Read
Welcome back to A Man Should Know, a weekly column from Elliot Ackerman about how today’s lost boys can become tomorrow’s good men. This week, Elliot is joined by Old School host Shilo Brooks to reflect on reading, and how the right books can change our lives. I wasn’t much of a reader as a boy. On the weekends, my father insisted that my brother and I read for at least one hour on both Saturday and Sunday.
How to Wear a Tuxedo
A Man Should Know: How to Wear a Tuxedo “I told my son everything I wish someone would have told me in order to dress for a special event with confidence.” (John Pratt/Keystone Features/Hulton Archive via Getty Images) I was into my 30s the first time I wore a tuxedo. Here are all the rules I wish I’d known. Welcome back to A Man Should Know, a weekly column from Elliot Ackerman about how today’s lost boys can become tomorrow’s good men.
A Man Should Know: How to Host
A Man Should Know: How to Host A man’s social life shouldn’t devolve into a series of “playdates” arranged by his wife, girlfriend, or anyone else. (Slim Aarons/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) We are quick to categorize hosting as a feminine pursuit. That’s a mistake. Welcome back to A Man Should Know, a weekly column from Elliot Ackerman about how today’s lost boys can become tomorrow’s good men.
A Man Should Know: How to Propose
A Man Should Know: How to Propose “A proposal is the first shared decision of a marriage.” (H. Armstrong Roberts/Retrofile via Getty Images) The first step in a happy marriage might be a private proposal. Welcome back to A Man Should Know, a weekly column from Elliot Ackerman about how today’s lost boys can become tomorrow’s good men. This week, Elliot discusses one of the most important moments in any man’s life: the day he asks someone to marry him.
A Man Should Know: How to Travel
A Man Should Know: How to Travel “It seems reasonable to ask that our fellow travelers not treat the airport as their living room,” writes Elliot Ackerman. “However, it’s not unreasonable to want to be comfortable when you travel.” (via Getty Images) It seems reasonable to ask that we not treat the airport as a living room. But we also want to be comfortable when we travel. How do we strike the balance?
Hegseth Unbound the Troops and Ran Into the Law
Hegseth Unbound the Troops and Ran Into the Law Pete Hegseth conflates the rules of engagement and the law of war while ignoring both. Now, his crusade against military convention is backfiring. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson via AP Photo) He wants to unshackle commanders and strike decisively. But there are some rules even he can’t undo. The world is waiting for the Trump administration to explain the legal rationale for its assaults on alleged drug-trafficking boats.
I Served in the CIA’s Zero Units in Afghanistan
I never met Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the Afghan gunman accused of savagely murdering Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and wounding Andrew Wolfe, 24, both members of the West Virginia National Guard, in Washington, D.C., the day before Thanksgiving. But I was in the same CIA program as him in Afghanistan, where I served as a paramilitary case officer advising our Afghan partners.
How To Say Thank You
Welcome back to A Man Should Know, a weekly column from Elliot Ackerman about how today’s lost boys can become tomorrow’s good men. This week, as we celebrate Thanksgiving, Elliot reflects on gratitude—and why feeling thankful is no less important than how we express it. Meanwhile, Nellie Bowles embraces that spirit with TGIF: Gratitude Edition. One of the most remarkable letters I ever received arrived after my wife and I hosted some friends for dinner at home.
How to Form an Opinion
A Man Should Know: How to Form an Opinion Relationships cause us to reconsider our views far more than arguments. When you love and trust someone, you’re more likely to make an effort to see things from their point of view. Welcome back to A Man Should Know, a weekly column from Elliot Ackerman about how today’s lost boys can become tomorrow’s good men. This week, Elliot unpacks what it takes to form a thoughtful opinion—and why curiosity beats certainty every time.
The Crossroads: A Joe Pickett Novel
Box’s predictable latest thriller featuring Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett (after Battle Mountain) puts Joe’s daughters center stage. At the outset, Joe’s wife Marybeth gets a call from a hunter informing her that a bullet-riddled Game and Fish vehicle, possibly Joe’s, was spotted on an isolated road with somebody inside. Joe is soon identified as the victim, and his wounds, including a traumatic brain injury, have left him in a coma.
A Man Should Know: How to Own a Watch
A Man Should Know: How to Own a Watch I was wearing my watch the day my children were born, the night I met my wife, and the day we got married. Welcome back to A Man Should Know, a weekly column from Elliot Ackerman about how today’s lost boys can become tomorrow’s good men. This week, Elliot reflects on an often-overlooked skill in a man’s life: owning and treasuring something of value.
A Man Should Know: How to Be a Friend
Welcome back to A Man Should Know, a weekly column from Elliot Ackerman about how today’s lost boys can become tomorrow’s good men. This week, Elliot reflects on the blessing of having, and keeping, a friend. I don’t talk on the phone with one of my closest friends. We hardly ever meet for coffee or a beer. I’m friendly with his wife, and he’s friendly with mine, but the four of us have never sat down to a meal. Yet he is one of my best friends—if not my very best.
The Free Press
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How to Introduce Himself
A Man Should Know: How to Introduce Himself How do you help today’s boys become tomorrow’s good men? You start with the basics. Welcome to A Man Should Know, a brand-new series from The Free Press. It’s a response to a question: How can today’s lost boys become tomorrow’s good men? Young men are struggling when it comes to the pursuit of happiness. They’re increasingly online, unemployed, single, and lonely. There’s no shortage of voices telling them what to be.
Pete Hegseth Wants a ‘Warrior Culture.’ Does He Know What That Means?
Pete Hegseth Wants a ‘Warrior Culture.’ Does He Know What That Means? The secretary of defense talks a lot about peace through strength. In his speech to the military top brass, he projected weakness. President Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered nearly every general and admiral in the U.S. military to Quantico, Virginia, for a speech on Tuesday. The subject wasn’t a new strategy for countering China or a vision for AI integration into the force.
How the US slowly lost its way in Afghanistan conflict
TO LOSE A WAR: The Fall and Rise of the Taliban By Elliot Ackerman In one of the final scenes of Mike Nichols's 2007 movie Charlie Wilson's War, Representative Charlie Wilson of Texas, played by Tom Hanks, pleads with his colleagues to approve reconstruction money for Afghanistan. The country's mujahedeen, backed by the CIA, had by this point defeated the Soviets after a long and bloody war over the course of the 1980s.
Book Review: ‘To Lose a War,’ by Jon Lee Anderson Original
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. Dispatches From Afghanistan Show How the U.S. Lost Its Way — and the War A new book by the veteran correspondent Jon Lee Anderson captures a long war’s noble goals and crippling missteps.
How Being an Intelligence Officer Made Me a Better Writer
How Being an Intelligence Officer Made Me a Better Writer ‘Write what you know,’ they tell writers. I worked in intelligence, so naturally I wrote a spy novel. It’s been over a decade since I left a career in intelligence and special operations. Since then, people have occasionally commented on how it seems unexpected that I went on to become a writer, especially a writer of fiction.
The Vanishing Place
Rankin debuts with a triumphant thriller set in rural New Zealand. At the outset, a blood-stained child named Anya enters a grocery store in the village of Koraha and starts pulling items from the shelves and devouring them. When Constable Lewis Weston arrives, he’s stunned at her resemblance to an old friend named Effie, who disappeared from New Zealand two decades earlier before resurfacing as a police officer in Scotland.
The Infernus Gate
Ryan doesn’t pull any punches in the wholly satisfying conclusion to the Seven Swords series (following The Road of Storms). Guyime, now known as the Ravager King for all the blood on his hands, leads a motley fellowship, which includes a druid, a scholar, and a beastmaster.
‘Do Not Mourn Me Dead’
Welcome to “Things Worth Remembering,” in which writers share a poem or a paragraph that all of us should commit to heart. This week, to mark Memorial Day, former Marine Elliot Ackerman reflects on a letter written by a soldier who never came home. His words remind us of the best way to honor the dead. Of all American holidays, Memorial Day is beset by the most contradictions.
Met Gala Fashion Police: Who’s the Dandyiest?
Met Gala Fashion Police: Who’s the Dandiest? With few exceptions, the women looked like they were going to a business meeting in 1985. The men, meanwhile, went a little too hard on accessories. NEW YORK CITY—On Monday, celebrities braved a bitter drizzle and high humidity to show face at the annual Met Gala, supposedly a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, but really: It’s fashion’s prom night.
Sheepdogs - Elliot Ackerman (Buch) – lesen.de
'Skwerl, Cheese, Dickhead Mike, the White Russian-these characters are totally addictive. I couldn't put Sheepdogs down. A thriller and comedy in one, it's a wild ride' HARLAN COBEN A sly, funny, action-packed thriller introducing an instantly iconic spy duo, from the author of New York Times bestseller 2034 Skwerl and Cheese are down on their luck. Skwerl, who is resourceful like a squirrel (Marines win battles, not spelling bees), used to work for the CIA's elite paramilitary wing.
Don’t Let Him In
Lisa Jewell. Atria, $29.99 (384p) ISBN 978-1-6680-3387-6 A dangerous con man meets his match in this nasty thriller from bestseller Jewell (Breaking the Dark). For the past 30 years, Nick Radcliffe has assumed an array of identities to seduce, marry, and occasionally murder women of independent means across London. Now in his mid-50s, Nick has sunk his hooks into the recently widowed Nina Swann, who’s inherited a successful restaurant chain. The only problem?
How to Dress Like a Gentleman-and Why
When I was 29 years old, I left the Marines and joined the CIA. It was a major transition—I moved from coastal North Carolina to Washington, D.C., and I went from being Captain Ackerman to Mr. Ackerman. But the most intimidating change was something else: I would need a new wardrobe. I had worn a uniform to work my entire adult life, one designed solely for utility and stitched head to toe with pockets. Suddenly, the dress code demanded a suit and tie. It wasn’t like that for all of the CIA.
The Moral and Strategic Case for Taking in the Afghan Refugees
On a recent Saturday afternoon, I took my son to the newly opened Afghanistan and Iraq exhibit at the National Museum of the Marine Corps near Quantico, Va. As we walked among the weapons, equipment and uniforms, one display stood out. It contained an unusual uniform worn by a Raider, a member of U.S. Marine Corps special operations. I served in the Raiders and as an adviser to Afghan special operations units between 2008 and 2011.
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