Trofimov, Yaroslav 1969–

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Trofimov, Yaroslav 1969–

PERSONAL: Born July, 1969, in Kiev, Ukraine. Education: New York University, M.A.

ADDRESSES: Agent—Jay Mandel, William Morris Agency, 1325 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019.

CAREER: Former reporter for Bloomberg News; Wall Street Journal, New York, NY, foreign correspondent, 1999–.

WRITINGS:

Faith at War: A Journey on the Frontlines of Islam, from Baghdad to Timbuktu, Henry Holt (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Yaroslav Trofimov was born in the Ukraine but moved to Madagascar as a child. He attended New York University and worked as a reporter in the United States, France, and the former Soviet Union before he traveled to the Middle East in 1994, just as the Oslo peace process was about to begin. Trofimov learned Arabic and Hebrew and covered suicide bombings, rocket attacks, and shootings as he traveled from Lebanon to Gaza to the Persian Gulf. In 1997 he moved to Rome, Italy, where he wrote about business and politics, first for the Bloomberg News and then for the Wall Street Journal. Within hours of the September 11, 2001, attacks Trofimov's editor asked him to return to the Middle East. Although Rome was his base, his assignments were located across a wide swath of the Middle East and Africa. His book Faith at War: A Journey on the Frontlines of Islam, from Baghdad to Timbuktu documents his three years in Muslim countries including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Yemen, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Lebanon, and Mali.

Steve Coll remarked in the Washington Post Book World that "Trofimov is an intrepid, Arabic-speaking traveler who moves in landscapes few other Westerners traverse. As a roving foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, he has often produced newspaper stories rich in detail and nuance, and he has established himself as one of the best in the business." In wartime Iraq, Trofimov was a "unilateral" journalist, moving freely and at great risk through the country, rather than being "embedded" under the jurisdiction of the Pentagon. Because of his unique experiences and journalistic style, he unearths information and offers insights seldom seen in the work of more traditional contemporary journalists.

Trofimov writes of people's reactions, ranging from resentment to celebration, to the United States' invasion of Iraq, and reports on the cultures he finds, such as in Mali, where Islam and indigenous religions peacefully coexist. A Publishers Weekly contributor wrote that "Trofimov puts just the right blend of cultural perspective and personal experience into his tour." A Kirkus Reviews critic noted that the view that the Iraq conflict was the beginning of an endless divide between the West and Islam is felt most by wealthier Muslims and that "hating Americans has been de rigueur for years now; even the staff of the Jeddah Chuck E. Cheese, by Trofimov's account, is likely to assume that any Westerner is a Zionist spy." The reviewer called Faith at War "essential for readers walking the minefield of U.S.-Arab relations."