Podcast #248 – Peter Cozzens

Podcast #248 – Peter Cozzens

From Biographers International Organization by Biographers International Organization

February 27, 2026 · 32 min

About this episode

Peter Cozzens discusses his latest book on the American West and his experiences as a Foreign Service Officer.

Deadwood: Gold, Guns, and Greed in the American West (Knopf, 2025) is the latest book by this award-winning author and editor of nineteen books on the American Civil War and the American West. A retired Foreign Service Officer at the U.S. Department of State, Cozzens also served as a captain in the U. S. Army. His previous book, The Earth Is Weeping: The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West, received the 2017 Gilder Lehrman Prize for the best military history work in the English language. In December 2024, The Economist selected it as one of the seven greatest military history books ever written. In 2002, Cozzens received the American Foreign Service Association’s highest award, given annually to one Foreign Service Officer for exemplary moral courage, integrity, and creative dissent. Fellow biographer and BIO member John A. Farrell interviewed Peter Cozzens.

People in this episode

Host: Biographers International Organization

Guest: Peter Cozzens

Topics covered

  • American Civil War
  • American West
  • military history
  • biography
  • literature

Keywords

  • Peter Cozzens
  • American West
  • military history
  • biography
  • Deadwood

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Economist, American Foreign Service Association

Books & works: Deadwood: Gold, Guns, and Greed in the American West, The Earth Is Weeping: The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West

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