Dreifus, Claudia 1944–

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Dreifus, Claudia 1944–

PERSONAL: Born November 24, 1944, in New York, NY, daughter of Henry and Marianne (Willdorff) Dreifus. Education: New York University, B.S., 1966. Politics: "Radical feminist."

ADDRESSES: Home and office—158 9th Ave., New York, NY 10011. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Henry Holt and Company, Inc., 175 5th Ave., New York, NY 10010; fax: 212-633-0748.

CAREER: Journalist, writer, and educator. Organizer of drug and hospital workers union in New York, NY, 1967–68; freelance writer, 1968–. New York University, associate adjunct professor of journalism, 1974; New School for Social Research, instructor, 1975; New York University, New York, NY, associate visiting professor in the Department of Journalism, 1975, instructor in magazine writing in the School of Continuing Education, 1979; YWCA, New York, NY, lecturer in non-fiction writing, 1979–84; City College of New York, distinguished visiting professor, 1994–98; New School for Social Research, World Policy Institute, New York, NY, senior fellow, 1997; Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, New York, NY, adjunct professor. Also served as a contributing writer at the New York Times.

MEMBER: American Society of Journalists and Authors, PEN, Society of Magazine Writers.

AWARDS, HONORS: Merit for Service to Women award, Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), 1976; Outstanding Article award, 1987, American Society of Journalists and Authors; Simon Rockower Award for Distinguished Commentary, American Jewish Press Association, 1988; American Values Award, Community Action Association, 1996.

WRITINGS:

NONFICTION

Radical Lifestyles, Lancer (New York, NY), 1971.

Woman's Fate: Raps from a Feminist Consciousness-Raising Group, Bantam (New York, NY), 1973.

(Editor) Seizing Our Bodies: The Politics of Women's Health Care, Vintage Books (New York, NY), 1978.

Interview, Seven Stories Press (New York, NY), 1997.

Scientific Conversations: Interviews on Science from the New York Times, foreword by Natalie Angier, Times Books/Henry Holt (New York, NY), 2001.

Work is represented in anthologies, including Radical Feminism, Women's Liberation Blueprint for the Future, and Seeing Through the Shuck. Contributor to numerous periodicals, including McCall's, Evergreen Review, Nation, New York Times Book Review, Rolling Stone, Realist, Family Circle, Ms., Newsday, Penthouse, New York Daily News Sunday Magazine, Signature, Social Policy, Viva, Glamour, Scientific American, SEED, and Progressive. News editor, East Village Other, 1969–71.

SIDELIGHTS: Claudia Dreifus is a journalist whose forte is the interview. Her aptly titled book Interview presents interviews the author conducted with various people, including Toni Morrison, Dan Rather, and the Dalai Lama, all of which previously appeared in periodicals such as the New York Times and Playboy. "Not all the pieces are equally interesting, but the variety of the voices here makes irresistible reading," noted a Publishers Weekly contributor. Rebecca Wondriska, writing in the Library Journal, commented that the author's "questions are intelligent and frequently pointed." Writing in the Columbia Journalism Review, Neil Hickey noted: "Nuggets lurk in these transcripts and they're worth panning for." Hickey went on to write, "Altogether, Dreifus's book is a clinic on the interviewer's craft, a day at the races for tape cassette jockeys, and a treat for journalists everywhere who refuse to take no—or silence or evasion—for an answer." Nation contributor Miriam Schneir wrote that "Dreifus chooses her interview subjects in part for their capacity to astonish—and astonish they do."

Scientific Conversations: Interviews on Science from the New York Times presents interviews with scientists working in a wide range of fields and includes the well-known, such as Stephen Jay Gould, as well as those working on interesting projects but receiving little media attention. "The beauty of the book is that it allows one to see scientists as real people," wrote Amy Hark in SB&F. Hark went on to note: "For scientists or those simply fascinated by science, this collection is well worth a read." Booklist contributor Gilbert Taylor called the work "a lively reprise from the paper's science section."