Divided We Fall: America's Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation
The clearest entry point to French's current political and constitutional analysis.
Author guide
David French Books in Order
David French is an American attorney, author, journalist, and public commentator. A graduate of Harvard Law School and a former Cornell Law School lecturer, he has served as senior counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice and the Alliance Defending Freedom, and as president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. He served as a U.S. Army Reserve judge advocate in Iraq and received the Bronze Star. French is a senior editor of The Dispatch and a columnist at Time. His books address religious liberty, campus free speech, military-family experience, terrorism, and political polarization.
nonfictionpoliticslawreligionmemoircurrent affairs
Catalog record updated .
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Read in order
Books by series
nonfiction · published
FIRE's Guides to Student Rights on Campus
A series of guides addressing legal and practical rights for students, including free speech and religious liberty on college campuses.
- 4 FIRE's Guide to Free Speech on Campus
Book 4 · reference · 2005
Outside the series
Bibliography by category
Novels (3)
- Rise of ISIS: A Threat We Can't Ignore
nonfiction · 2014
Nonfiction (1)
- Home and Away: A Story of Family in a Time of War
memoir · 2011
Frequently asked questions about David French
Who is David French?
David French is an American lawyer, author, and journalist who writes as an Opinion columnist for The New York Times. He is also a former constitutional litigator and former president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE).
Sources: lipscomb.edu (opens in a new tab)fire.org (opens in a new tab)nytimes.com (opens in a new tab)
Where did David French grow up and go to school?
He grew up in Georgetown, Kentucky, earned a political science degree from Lipscomb University in 1991, and graduated from Harvard Law School. Lipscomb faculty Craig Bledsoe and Steve Prewitt encouraged him toward law school.
Sources: lipscomb.edu (opens in a new tab)fire.org (opens in a new tab)
How did David French move from law into journalism?
After practicing commercial and constitutional law, working on religious-liberty and campus-speech cases, and leading FIRE, French began writing full time. He later worked at National Review, helped launch The Dispatch, and joined The New York Times as an Opinion columnist in January 2023.
Sources: lipscomb.edu (opens in a new tab)fire.org (opens in a new tab)nytimes.com (opens in a new tab)
Did David French serve in the military, and what award did he receive?
Yes. As a U.S. Army Reserve judge advocate, he deployed to Diyala Province, Iraq, in 2007 during Operation Iraqi Freedom and received the Bronze Star.
Sources: lipscomb.edu (opens in a new tab)lipscomb.edu (opens in a new tab)
What is David French best known for?
French is best known for bringing a constitutional-law and civil-liberties perspective to debates over free speech and religious liberty through legal advocacy and journalism. His commentary also regularly addresses law, culture, religion, and armed conflict.
Sources: fire.org (opens in a new tab)pbs.org (opens in a new tab)nytimes.com (opens in a new tab)