John Lewis Gaddis, who spoke at a Strauss Center event last month, won a 2012 Pulitzer Prize for his biography of George Kennan.

Gaddis’ book George F. Kennan: An American Life chronicles the life and policy achievements of the American diplomat. At the Strauss Center talk and book signing, Gaddis spoke on Kennan’s influential role in U.S. foreign policy and his innovative contributions to Cold War strategy. Gaddis also discussed the thirty-year process of writing this biography, which today’s award recognizes as an insightful and distinguished contribution to the genre.