Michael Totten

Michael James Totten (born September 1970) is an American writer who has reported from the Middle East, Africa, the Balkans, Cuba, Vietnam, and the Caucasus. His non-fiction work appears in various publications, websites, and on his blog. Totten's first book, The Road to Fatima Gate was published by Encounter Books in 2011. In his blog posts, he describes himself as an "independent journalist", and regularly comments on Middle Eastern conflicts.

Michael Totten
Totten at a Lebanese cafe in 2005
BornSep (1970) (age 53)
Salem, Oregon, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Oregon (English literature)
OccupationWriter
Spouse
Shelly Lynn Stephenson
​
​
(m. 2002)​
Writing career
Period2000s and 2010s
SubjectMiddle Eastern conflicts, fiction
Websitewww.michaeltotten.com

Early life and education
Totten as a high school senior in the late 1980s

Totten is of English[1] descent and was born in Salem, Oregon in September, 1970.[2] His father is a Republican and a military veteran.[3] Totten's grandfather was a World War II veteran.[4]

Career

Totten's work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times,[5] the New York Daily News,[6] Commentary,[7] and others.

In July 2007, Totten traveled to Baghdad to embed with several U.S. Army units before transitioning to Anbar province and embedding with U.S. Marines.[8] In late 2007 he embedded with U.S. Marines in Fallujah, and he embedded again with the U.S. Army in Baghdad in late 2008.

Totten won the 2007 Weblog Award for Best Middle East or Africa Blog,[9] he won it again in 2008, and was named "Blogger of the Year" in 2006 by The Week magazine for his dispatches from the Middle East.

Ideology

In comments on his own website from 2008 Totten described himself as a "weird combination of liberal, libertarian, and neocon" and a politically centrist.[10] He believed that the critics of the war in Iraq who noted the lack of progress from 2004 to 2006 were correct while the Bush administration was wrong. He supported the 2007 'surge' strategy.[11]

Totten was briefly a Libertarian during the 1990s but became a Democrat afterwards, though he has previously said that he was never fully content with being a Democrat and has considered returning to the Libertarians.[12]

Funding

Totten describes himself as an "independent journalist." Most of his trips—to Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Libya, Bosnia, Kosovo, Georgia, and several other places—are paid for out of his own pocket, although he has also accepted funding from the government of Azerbaijan, the American Jewish Committee and the Lebanese pro-western March 14 alliance for trips to Azerbaijan, Israel, and Lebanon, respectively.[13][14]

Personal life

In the early 2000s, Totten married Shelly Lynn Stephenson in Multnomah County, Oregon.[15][16][17] He is an atheist former christian.[18][19] They lived together in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Portland, Oregon until they moved in late 2020 or early 2021.[20]

Books

Totten's first book, The Road to Fatima Gate: The Beirut Spring, the Rise of Hezbollah, and the Iranian War Against Israel (Encounter Books, April 2011, ISBN 978-1-59403-521-0), reports his experiences in the Middle East, primarily those in Lebanon.

Belmont Estate Books is a label Totten has used to self-publish several additional books:

  • Tower of the Sun: Stories From the Middle East and North Africa (Belmont Estate Books, 2014, ISBN 9780692297537)
  • Where the West Ends (Belmont Estate Books, 2012, ISBN 9781475183641)
  • Resurrection: A Zombie Novel (Belmont Estate Books, 2014, ISBN 9780615964331)
  • Taken – A Novel (Belmont Estate Books, 2013, ISBN 9780615750965)
  • In the Wake of the Surge (Belmont Estate Books, 2011, ISBN 9780615508405)

References
  1. Totten, Michael J. (July 2005). "Al Qaeda Hits London". MichaelTotten.com. Retrieved June 16, 2017. I have never been to England, but it's where my family and my name are from.
  2. "Archive". Normblog. BlogSpot. September 28, 2003. Archived from the original on August 7, 2010. Michael J. Totten was born in Salem, Oregon in 1970. He studied English literature at the University of Oregon, and his interests have since expanded to include writing, history, politics, and travel.
  3. Totten, Michael J. (December 23, 2015). "The Truth About American Sniper". City Journal. I was raised with the anti-military prejudice common in my community, despite having a military veteran and Republican for a father.
  4. Totten, Michael J. (October 14, 2003). "Schizophrenic Liberalism". Dispatches. World Affairs Journal. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. Book review by Michael Totten of Mirror of the Arab World: Lebanon in Conflict by Sandra Mackey, The New York Times, March 30, 2008
  6. "Frontline Lessons from the Iraq Surge", Michael Totten, New York Daily News, August 29, 2007
  7. "The Worst since 9/11", Michael J. Totten, Commentary, August 22, 2007
  8. "Iraq Trip Confirmed", Michael J. Totten.com, July 5, 2007
  9. "The 2007 Weblog Award Winners"[Usurped!], Kevin Aylward, November 9, 2007
  10. Totten, Michael (5 January 2008). "Quick Poll". Michael J. Totten's Middle East Journal. Archived from the original on 9 January 2008. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
    see comment timestamped "January 7, 2008 1:25 AM"
  11. The Real Iraq, Michael J. Totten, City Journal, May 16, 2008
  12. Totten, Michael J. "The Libertarian Temptation". World Affairs Journal. Archived from the original on May 21, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  13. "On my way to Israel", Michael J. Totten, January 2009
  14. The Explosive Caucasus, Michael J. Totten, August 2008
  15. "Oregon, Marriage Indexes, 1906-2009". 2009. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  16. Totten, Michael J. (November 2, 2006). "My Last Domestic Politics Post of the Election Season". Dispatches. World Affairs Journal. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  17. Totten, Michael J. (July 24, 2004). "A Photo Tour of Tunisia". Archived from the original on May 27, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  18. "Jerks". Archived from the original on April 4, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  19. Totten, Michael J. (April 6, 2004). "Fighting Dirty". World Affairs Journal. American Peace Society. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015. I'm not a Christian anymore, but I know if I were I would think it a desecration.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  20. Totten, Michael J.z. "Against Suburbia". World Affairs Journal. Archived from the original on August 29, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

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