David Elliot Cohen is an American author and publisher who has, over a 30-year span, created more than 70 photography books. He is probably best known for the bestselling Day in the Life and America 24/7 series of photography books that he co-created with Rick Smolan.
Cohen created four New York Times bestseller: A Day in the Life of America (1986), A Day in the Life of the Soviet Union (1987), Christmas in America (1988), and America 24/7 (2003). His 2009 book, The Historic Front Pages was a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller. His 2008 book, What Matters combined photo-reportage about essential issues of our time with essays by prominent commentators including Samantha Power, Jeffrey Sachs and Bill McKibben. The Chicago Tribune called the book, "Powerful and passionate."
He also wrote a travelogue, One Year Off (1999), which chronicles a rambling 16-month trip around the world by land, air, and sea with his three children, Kara, William, and Lucas. The San Francisco Chronicle called the book "honest, reflective, and often uproariously funny,". The New York Times was less flattering, calling it, "a book that proves it is also possible to go almost everywhere and learn almost nothing."
Cohen was born in Buffalo, New York, grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania, and lived in Manhattan for ten years before settling in Marin County, California. He graduated from Yale University in 1977 with a degree in English literature. His honors include a National Jewish Book Award, the American Jewish Committee's humanitarian award, a Catholic Press Association Award and a silver medal from the king of Spain for the promotion of Spanish tourism.