Brazaitis, Tom 1940–2005

(Thomas Joseph Brazaitis)

PERSONAL: Born August 8, 1940, in Cleveland, OH; died of cancer March 30, 2005, in Washington, DC; married Sheila Loftus (divorced); married Eleanor Clift (a journalist), c. 1990; children: (first marriage) Mark, Sarah; stepchildren (second marriage): Edward, Woody, Robert. Education: John Carroll University, B.S.S., teacher's certificate.

CAREER: Journalist. Worked for weekly newspapers, Cleveland, OH, c. 1960s; Plain Dealer, Cleveland, 1971–2005, began as a beat reporter, became Washington correspondent, 1974, bureau chief, 1970–98, senior editor and op-ed writer, 1998–2005. Founding co-president, Regional Reporters's Association, Washington. Military service: U.S. Army, 1962–64; attained rank of first lieutenant.

AWARDS, HONORS: Woodrow Wilson visiting fellow.

WRITINGS:

(With wife, Eleanor Clift) War without Bloodshed: The Art of Politics, Scribner (New York, NY), 1996.

(With Eleanor Clift) Madam President: Shattering the Last Glass Ceiling, Scribner (New York, NY), 2000, revised edition published as Madam President: Women Blazing the Leadership Trail, Routledge (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: For Sidelights, see Clift, Eleanor.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, June 1, 1996, Mary Carroll and Gilbert Taylor, review of War without Bloodshed: The Art of Politics, p. 1640.

Library Journal, July, 2000, Robert F. Nardini, review of Madam President: Shattering the Last Glass Ceiling, p. 119.

New York Times Book Review, July 30, 2000, Joyce Purnick, review of Madam President, p. 26.

Political Science Quarterly, spring, 2004, Kathleen Knight, review of Madam President, p. 218.

Presidential Studies Quarterly, spring, 1997, Nelson W. Polsby, review of War without Bloodshed, p. 399.

Publishers Weekly, April 29, 1996, review of War without Bloodshed, p. 57; June 19, 2000, review of Madam President, p. 69.

Washington Monthly, July, 2000, Myra MacPherson, review of Madam President, p. 46.

ONLINE

Eagles Talent Connection Web site, http://eaglestalent.com/ (September 12, 2005), author profile.

OBITUARIES

PERIODICALS

Washington Post, March 31, 2005, p. B7.