December 2, 2024
The scholars and staff of the Ethics and Public Policy Center mourn the passing of Lance Morrow, the Henry Grunwald Senior Fellow at EPPC since 2017.
The author of nine books, he was a two-time winner of the National Magazine Award—the first for his original coverage in essay form of American cultural affairs, the second for his essay that was part of Time’s special coverage of September 11th. Three weeks ago, he received the Thomas L. Phillips Career Achievement Award from The Fund for American Studies. Last April, Modern Age published a retrospective of his career in journalism.
Morrow’s essays appeared in The Wall Street Journal, City Journal, Smithsonian, The New York Times, The Atlantic, and other publications, offering probing examinations of American culture and politics in the transition from the 20th to the 21st century. He wrote about every presidential election from Nixon to Trump, and every war from Vietnam to Bosnia to the Middle East. Over four decades at Time, he was the author of more than 150 cover stories, including eight “Man of the Year” articles.
Morrow grew up in Washington, DC, attended Gonzaga High School, and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University. For nine years (1996-2005), he was a University Professor at Boston University, where he taught presidential history and the art of the essay.
“Lance Morrow was a titan of journalism and a prince of a man. We were fortunate to count him as a colleague and friend at EPPC. He inspired trust and friendship even in those who knew him only for a brief time. May he rest in peace.” – President Ryan T. Anderson
“Lance Morrow always had a gleam in his eyes, a sparkle in his prose, a delightful story to tell, and a fond appreciation even of the rogues he ran across. His rich insights on American politics and culture in his years as an EPPC scholar drew on his decades of experience in journalism and on his keen powers of observation. We will miss him dearly.” – Distinguished Senior Fellow and President Emeritus Ed Whelan
“Lance Morrow sought to identify and explicate the kernel of truth about the human condition hidden beneath the flow of events and the endless personality parade that make up ‘the news.’ His voice – serious but never pedantic, concerned but never despondent – will be sorely missed.” – Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel
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Other colleagues and friends of Lance Morrow are also offering tributes in his memory. These will be collected below as they appear.
Wall Street Journal: “Lance Morrow’s knowledge of American politics and society was vast, much of it based on his own experience and excellent memory. He contributed many pieces to our pages in recent years, each one written with his characteristic honesty and graceful style. America has lost one of its finest chroniclers.”
Wall Street Journal: “Lance Morrow on the Great American Story: Remembering the craft and insight of a writer with a moral sense who told the truth as he saw it.”
New York Times: “His voice carried weight on the influential back page and as the writer of many “Man of the Year” cover articles. As a memoirist he chronicled his heart attacks.”
Washington Post: “During nearly four decades at Time magazine, Mr. Morrow chronicled America’s tragedies, triumphs, and evolving culture.”
Brit Hume: “Lovely writer, lovely man. I used to read his columns and find myself thinking, “I wish I could write like that guy.” I could not, of course. Few could RIP.”
City Journal: “To the end, Morrow’s take on the American scene remained learned but restless, affectionate but unsentimental. His vast knowledge, reading, and experience could take you anywhere, and often did, in the best fashion of the essayist. There was no one else like him.”
Encounter Books: “Lance Morrow’s wisdom, wit, and his deep love of American culture will be deeply missed.”
James Morrow: “Through his warmth and wit and wisdom he showed me, and through his books and columns many, many others, how to look at the world differently.”
Bridget Garavalia, Wall Street Journal: “The Journal’s post-election analysis has been missing a voice. After reading your obituary, ‘Lance Morrow, 1939-2024‘ (Dec. 2), I know why. Morrow’s many gifts will be missed on these pages. It will take a while to stop looking for his insights, broad historical perspective and grace.”
Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe: “One of the greats has passed on. Lance Morrow’s writing was humane, informed, intelligent, elegant, wide-ranging, and always — always — interesting.”
Paul Grondahl, Times Union: “He never left the ink-stained trade that became a lifelong obsession. He honed his craft across seven decades of relentless deadlines and millions of words poured out in award-winning essays for Time magazine, columns for the Wall Street Journal and a dozen books.”
Michael Taube, National Post: “A brilliant essayist and legendary back-page columnist for Time Magazine.”
Brian Anderson, City Journal: “As with his great profiles and columns for Time back in the day, his writing for CJ was often moving (without being sentimental), and always perceptive. RIP to a legendary journalist…”
Robert Pondiscio, American Enterprise Institute: “Saddened beyond measure that Lance Morrow has passed. Proud to have called him a friend. What a mind. What a voice. What a loss.”
