Jere van Dyk

Jere Van Dyk
Born	(1945-12-14) December 14, 1945 (age 79) United States
Education	University of Oregon
Occupation(s)	Journalist, author
Known for	Reporting on Afghanistan and Pakistan Being kidnapped in 2008 Author of Captive and The Trade

Jere Van Dyk (born 14 December 1945) is an American journalist and author known for his reporting from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Over his career, he has worked for The New York Times and CBS News, published books on conflict and kidnapping, and appeared widely as a commentator on international affairs. He was captured and held by the Taliban in 2008, an experience he later chronicled in his memoir Captive. In 2022, he received a Foreign Press Award. ^[1]

Athletics

In college, Van Dyk competed for the Oregon Ducks track and field team under coach Bill Bowerman. He specialized in middle-distance events and achieved personal bests of 1:47.3 in the 800 metres and 3:40.4 in the 1500 metres. ^[2]

Journalism career

In the early 1980s, Van Dyk lived with the Afghan Mujahideen while covering the Soviet–Afghan War as a correspondent for The New York Times, producing Pulitzer Prize–nominated articles. ^[3]

After the September 11 attacks, he returned to Afghanistan and Pakistan as a reporter for CBS News, covering the U.S.-led war and regional conflicts. ^{[4] [5]}

In 2008, Van Dyk was hiking in the tribal areas of Pakistan—off limits to foreigners—while researching the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region when he was kidnapped by the Taliban and held for 45 days. ^[6] He later chronicled this ordeal in his memoir Captive: My Time as a Prisoner of the Taliban (2010). ^[7]

From 2013 to 2015, Van Dyk served as an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, during which time he researched the Haqqani Network, ISIS, the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. ^[8] These experiences informed his 2017 book The Trade: My Journey into the Labyrinth of Political Kidnapping, which received a review in The New York Times Book Review. ^[9]

Public speaking and policy work

Van Dyk has made many media appearances and given public lectures. He has featured in interviews and discussions on platforms listed on his “Media and Public Speaking” page, and appeared in the C-SPAN video library. ^{[10] [11]}

Works

• In Afghanistan (1983)
• Captive: My Time as a Prisoner of the Taliban (2010)
• The Trade: My Journey into the Labyrinth of Political Kidnapping (2017)

References

1. "Foreign Press Awardee 2022". Press Freedom Global Alliance. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
2. "July 26: An Interview with Jere Van Dyk, Former U.S. Track Star and Author of "Captive"". Runner's World. 26 July 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
3. Giovanni, Janine di (15 December 2017). "A Freed Hostage Audits the Murky Business of Captive Negotiations". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
4. "Jere Van Dyk". Hachette Book Group. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
5. "Jere Van Dyk". Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
6. "Jere Van Dyk: Captured by the Taliban". CBS News. 25 June 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
7. Baker, Jeff (10 July 2010). "How 'Captive' author Jere Van Dyk discovered himself while at the Taliban's mercy". OregonLive. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
8. "Jere Van Dyk". LinkedIn. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
9. "The Trade: My Journey into the Labyrinth of Political Kidnapping". The New York Times. 15 December 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
10. "Jere Van Dyk". C-SPAN. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
11. "The Trade: My Journey Into the Labyrinth of Political Kidnapping (Event)". New America. Retrieved 19 September 2025.