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David E. Hoffman
History & Commentary
David E. Hoffman is an American journalist and nonfiction author whose work examines Soviet espionage, the nuclear arms race, and authoritarian repression.
Biography
David Emanuel Hoffman is an American writer and journalist born on November 14, 1953. He spent most of his journalism career at The Washington Post, working there from 1982 to 2009 and again from 2012 to 2025. His roles included Moscow bureau chief from 1995 to 2001 and contributing editor.
Hoffman won a Pulitzer Prize in 2010 for The Dead Hand, his book about the legacy of the nuclear arms race. He received another Pulitzer Prize in 2024 for his “Annals of Autocracy” article series, which examined how authoritarian regimes repress dissent. His book The Billion Dollar Spy draws on previously secret CIA documents and interviews with participants to recount Soviet engineer Adolf Tolkachev’s espionage for the United States.
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Books by David E. Hoffman
The Billion Dollar Spy
The Billion Dollar Spy recounts how Soviet engineer Adolf Tolkachev supplied the United States with secret military aviation research from 1979 to 1985. Drawing on previously secret CIA documents and participant interviews, it describes his motivations, the risks he and his CIA handlers faced, and their efforts to evade the KGB.