Richard Bernstein


Richard Bernstein is an American journalist, columnist, and author. He writes the Letter from America column for The International Herald Tribune. He has been a book critic at The New York Times and a foreign correspondent for both Time magazine and The New York Times in Europe and Asia.

Early life and education

Richard Bernstein was born in New York City but grew up on a poultry farm in East Haddam, Connecticut. After graduating from Nathan Hale-Ray High School, he earned a B.A. in history from the University of Connecticut and an M.A. in History and East Asian Languages from Harvard University. In 1971, he moved to Taiwan to study Chinese.

Career

In 1973, Bernstein joined the staff of Time magazine tasked with writing about Asia. In 1979, he opened the magazine's first bureau in the People's Republic of China and served as the first Beijing bureau chief. In 1982, he accepted a position with The New York Times where he served as the United Nations Bureau Chief, Paris Bureau Chief, National Cultural Correspondent, book critic, and Berlin Bureau Chief.

Published works

Bernstein's first book, From the Center of the Earth: The Search for the Truth About China, was named one of the "Notable Books of the Year 1982" by The New York Times and solidified his reputation as a China expert. The Coming Conflict with China was chosen as one of The New York Times "Notable Books of the Year 1997."
Bibliography
Bernstein lives in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. His wife is Zhongmei Li, a Chinese classical dancer who worked with Jia Zhoungli and whom he met at a New York film screening. Zhongmei attended the Beijing Dance Academy for 7 years and founded the New York-based Zhongmei Dance Company in 1992. Their son, Elias, attends Stuyvesant High School..