Richard Bernstein was born in New York City but grew up on a poultry farm in East Haddam, Connecticut. He earned a B.A. in history from the University of Connecticut, then did graduate work at Harvard University in History and East Asian Languages, receiving an M.A. Bernstein lives in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City, New York, with his wife Zhongmei Li and his son.

Bernstein joined the staff of Time magazine in 1973. In 1979, he opened the magazine's first bureau in the People's Republic of China and served as the first Beijing bureau chief. While on staff at The New York Times his assignments included United Nations Bureau Chief, Paris Bureau Chief, National Cultural Correspondent, book critic, and Berlin Bureau Chief.

Bernstein's first book, From the Center of the Earth: The Search for the Truth About China (1982), was named one of the "Notable Books of the Year 1982" by The New York Times and solidified his reputation as a China expert. The Coming Conflict with China (1997) was chosen as one of The New York Times "Notable Books of the Year 1997."

Bibliography

• From the Center of the Earth: The Search for the Truth About China (1982)
• Fragile Glory: A Portrait of France and the French (1990)
• Dictatorship of Virtue: Multiculturalism and the Battle for America's Future (1994)
• The Coming Conflict with China (1997), with Ross. H. Munro
• Ultimate Journey: Retracing the Path of an Ancient Buddhist Monk Who Crossed Asia in Search of Enlightenment (2001)
• Out of the Blue: The Story of September 11, 2001, from Jihad to Ground Zero (2002)
• The East, the West, and Sex: A History of Erotic Encounters (2009)