Biography

Thomas C. Hauser (born February 27, 1946) is an American author known for his biographies and novels. Hauser graduated from Columbia College in 1967 and Columbia Law School in 1970.

He made his debut as a writer in 1978 with The Execution of Charles Horman: An American Sacrifice. Horman's wife, Joyce Horman, and his parents, Edmund and Elizabeth Horman, cooperated with Hauser on the book describing both the fate of Charles and his family's quest to uncover the truth in Chile. It was adapted as Costa-Gavras's 1982 film Missing, starring Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek. A later book by Hauser, Final Warning: The Legacy of Chernobyl (co-authored with Robert Peter Gale), served as the basis for the 1991 television film Chernobyl: The Final Warning, starring Jon Voight and Jason Robards.

In 1981, Hauser published a novel, Ashworth & Palmer, set in a fictional law firm, which was inspired by his experience as an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore from 1971 through 1977, following his graduation from Columbia Law School. Later novels recreated the lives of Beethoven, Mark Twain, and Charles Dickens.

Hauser also wrote Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times, a biography of boxer Muhammad Ali. The book was nominated for the National Book Award. In 1991 he was awarded the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award for Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times. Subsequently, Ali and Hauser co-authored HEALING: A Journal of Tolerance And Understanding and met with student audiences across the United States to discuss their subject. For their efforts to combat bigotry and prejudice, they were named as co-recipients of the Haviva Reik Award. More recently, Hauser authored Muhammad Ali: A Tribute to the Greatest.

He also collaborated with golfer Arnold Palmer on a biography entitled Arnold Palmer A Personal Journey published in 1994.

Hauser is a keen follower of boxing and has written about the sport for numerous print publications such as the New York Times and The Ring and various websites such as The Sweet Science, and Boxing Scene. He has been featured in numerous documentaries about the sport including the Academy Award-winning When We Were Kings.

On nine occasions, articles written by Hauser have been named "best investigative writing" of the year by the Boxing Writers Association of America. In 2004, the organization honored him with the Nat Fleischer Award for Career Excellence in Boxing Journalism. In 2023, the BWAA bestowed the A.J. Liebling award for Outstanding Boxing Writing upon Hauser, an honor that had been given out only once in the preceding seven years. Hauser is the only person in the 85-year history of the BWAA to have received both the Fleischer and Liebling Awards.

From 2012 through 2020, Hauser was a consultant to HBO Sports. In 2003, at the request of the late Senator John McCain, Hauser testified before the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation regarding the regulation of professional boxing. On December 4, 2019, it was announced that Hauser had been chosen by the electors for boxing's highest honor: induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.