Joseph J. Ellis is an American professor, historian and best-selling author of books about the Founding Fathers of the United States, including Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation, which won the Pulitzer Prize for history in 2001, American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson (1997), and His Excellency: George Washington (2004). Reviewers generally praise Ellis's writing for being both insightful and accessible.
Ellis became the subject of controversy when the Boston Globe revealed in 2001 that Ellis—an acclaimed historical biographer—had been lying for years about his own biography. Ellis had told stories to students in his classes and to reporters about his overseas tour of duty in the Vietnam War (he served in uniform in America but did not go to Vietnam) and about his efforts as an anti-war and civil rights activist (all apparently fictional). As a result of the scandal, he was suspended for one year from his teaching position at Mount Holyoke College. [1]
