In the 1990s, Stiles edited a series of anthologies of primary sources on American history. These included The Citizen's Handbook (New York: Berkley Publishing Group, 1994); In Their Own Words: Civil War Commanders (New York: Perigee Books, 1995), In Their Own Words: Warriors and Pioneers (New York: Perigee Books, 1996), In Their Own Words: Robber Barons and Radicals (New York: Perigee Books, 1997), In Their Own Words: The Colonizers (New York: Perigee Books, 1998), and In Their Own Words: Founding Fathers (New York: Perigee Books, 1999), later republished as The American Revolution. Stiles also wrote for periodicals, authoring pieces for Smithsonian,Denver Post, and the Los Angeles Times.
Biographies
Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War
In 2002, Stiles published Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002). This was a widely noted reassessment of the legendary outlaw, focusing on his life and historical role, rather than his folk-culture status. Stiles argued that Jesse James won political support by depicting himself as a Confederate avenger after the Civil War, as opposed to the traditional notion that he was an anti-railroad Robin Hood figure.[5]
The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt
In 2009, after seven years of work, Stiles published his second biography The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009). This massive study was the first comprehensive account of the life of "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, the nineteenth-century shipping and railroad mogul, financial backer of Vanderbilt University, and founder of the Gilded Age Vanderbilt dynasty. This book was also widely and very favorably reviewed.[7][8] It went on to win the 2009 National Book Award for Nonfiction[2] and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Biography.[9] It was also named a New York Times Notable Book and one of the best books of the year by The New Yorker, the Financial Times, the Christian Science Monitor, the Boston Globe, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and other publications.[6]
Custer's Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America
Stiles next released a biography of George Armstrong Custer, Custer's Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2015), a study of the popular federal cavalry general in the American Civil War who famously died at the hands of Lakota, Cheyenne, and allied Native American forces in 1876. Writing in the Boston Globe, Matthew Price found it to be "a biography of stunning richness and sophistication . . . [that] turns the focus squarely on Custer and away from the grim terminus that has defined his legacy."[10] Thomas Powers remarked in the New York Review of Books that Stiles's relegation of the Battle of Little Bighorn to the epilogue "is about the boldest purely literary decision I’ve seen in a long while, and the effect is startling."[11] The book has been named a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography[12] and for the Guggenheim-Lehrman Prize in Military History.[13] It received the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for History.[4] It was also a finalist for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography.[14]
Other writings, appearances, and professional positions
Stiles has published numerous reviews and essays. He has written for the New York Times Book Review, the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Salon.com, The Atlantic online, and the New York Observer. He is a popular public speaker and has appeared on several television documentaries. He served as a consultant and on-screen interview subject in the PBS series The American Experience, for the films Jesse James and Grand Central, among other programs. He also taught nonfiction creative writing at Columbia University, and belonged to the faculty of the 2014 World Economic Forum annual meetings.[15] He is a former member of the San Francisco Writer's Grotto.
Stiles practices and teaches Japanese Shotokan karate-do, and holds a 5th Dan from the Japan Karate Association. A resident of New York City for twenty years, he now lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife, son, and daughter.[15]
^"2019 Summit Highlights Photo". T.J. Stiles, the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in Biography and History, addressing the Academy of Achievement delegates and members during a symposium session at the International Achievement Summit in New York City.
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