About the Author
J. Michael Cleverley writes non-fiction. His book on Larry Thorne was a best seller in Europe and in America remains the definitive study of this illustrious Special Forces hero and legend.
Michael also spent a career as an American diplomat. After retiring from the U.S. Department of State, he has taken temporary assignments with the State Department and taught university political science, economics, and American history.
Over his State Department career, Michael Cleverley was Deputy US Permanent Representative to the UN agencies in Rome and Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassies in Athens and Helsinki. He also worked at the American missions in Pretoria, London, Milan. He holds diplomas from the National War College, the Harvard Kennedy School, and Brigham Young University. Mike was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and speaks Finnish, Italian, and Greek.
Michael and his wife, Seija Kaarina, have four children. Seija Kaarina is the daughter of Finnish Karelian refugee parents. She moved to the United States in 1969.
His publications include:
Family Stories …and How I Found Mine, (Baltimore: Clearfield, 2020).
Lauri Törni: Syntynyt Sotilaaksi, (Helsinki: Otava, 2003) was several months on Finland’s best seller list.
A Scent of Glory: The Times and Life of Larry A Thorne, (Athens: Daphne, 2003), was published and marketed only in Greece.
Born a Soldier, the Times and Life of Larry Thorne, (Booksurge, 2008), now available on Amazon.com
Lauri Törni Yrke Soldat, (Hallstavik: Militärhistoriskt Bibliotek, 2008)
An American Tune: A Memoir, (Kindle Direct Publishing; 2024)
Michael Cleverley, An Oral History, (Association for Diplomatic Studies & Training, 2024)
Nascut Pentru A Fi Soldat, Timpurile si viata lui Larry Thorne, (Bucharest: Editura Militara, 2011)
Urodzony Zolnierz Czasy i zyeie Larry’ego Thorne’a, (Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Replika, 2014)
“Sotilaan Pimeä Puoli,”Suomen Kuvalehti, No 43, 2013.
“Greece’s Struggle to Escape the Past: A View from Inside,” with Thomas J. Miller, Mediterranean Quarterly, Fall, 2011
“Tales of Lauri Törni,” The Finnish American Reporter, Feb., 2009.
“How to Measure an Ambassador,” Foreign Service Journal, March, 2007.
“The First American Official Killed in This War,” Foreign Service Journal, December, 2003.
“Strategy after the Cold War,” Essays on Strategy VII, (Washington, DC: National Defense University Press, 1990).
“The Problem of Technology Transfer Controls,” Global Affairs, Summer, 1989.
