An Unquiet American

Looking at the world—its politics and history, its villains and spies—through the lens of literature.

“Literature is the salvation of the damned.”

—John Cheever, The Journals of John Cheever

An Unquiet American is devoted to sustained thought: essays that link fiction and poetry with history, politics, and the study of espionage to examine how power and violence shape human lives. The work here moves from the siege of Troy to today’s headlines, tracing how human beings have long grappled with war, secrecy, loyalty, and loss. This Substack is shaped by my career as a bestselling novelist and a creative writing instructor to veterans and civilians affected by war.

From that work, I’ve learned that literature does not erase trauma, but it can restore language and meaning when violence has stripped them away. Writing, approached with care and discipline, can help build resilience—not by offering answers, but by providing structure, clarity, and voice.

An Unquiet American is for readers who want to think historically and morally—and for writers who want to understand and engage the literature of war, crime, and espionage with seriousness and craft.

Free Subscribers Receive

• Essays that examine intelligence, secrecy, and state power in historical and political context, using literature to illuminate how these forces shape human lives.

• Reflections on war, crime, and moral injury.

Paid Subscribers receive all free content and get access to writing prompts and craft discussions tied to the literature of war, crime, and espionage while supporting the research and writing behind the essays.

About Me

I’m a multi-award-winning and bestselling novelist and longtime teacher of creative writing. Alongside my fiction, I work with combat veterans and civilians affected by war, using reading and writing to help restore language and meaning when violence has disrupted them. My work—fictional and nonfictional—circles the same concerns: war and its aftermath, secrecy and power, moral injury, and the role of story in helping us endure what cannot be undone.