Douglas Brinkley

 

Easton Press Douglas Brinkley books

Witness To America - co-authored with Stephen Ambrose - 2001
The Wilderness Warrior - signed first edition - 2009
American Moonshot - signed first edition - 2019

 

 

Historian Douglas Brinkley

Douglas Brinkley, born on December 14, 1960, in Atlanta, Georgia, is an American historian, author, and professor, known for his prolific works on American history and his contributions to the field of environmental history. With a career that spans academia, writing, and public engagement, Brinkley has become a respected figure in the study and dissemination of historical knowledge. Brinkley earned his bachelor's degree from Ohio State University and went on to complete his doctorate in U.S. diplomatic history at Georgetown University. Early in his career, he demonstrated a commitment to public history and engaged scholarship.

As a historian, Brinkley has authored numerous books, covering a wide range of topics in American history. Some of his notable works include The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter's Journey Beyond the White House, Wheels for the World: Henry Ford, His Company, and a Century of Progress, and The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America.

In addition to his prolific writing, Brinkley is a dedicated educator. He has held various academic positions, including the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities and Professor of History at Rice University. His enthusiasm for teaching and mentorship has influenced a new generation of historians. Beyond his roles in academia and writing, Douglas Brinkley has been involved in public history initiatives. He has served as a commentator and consultant for documentaries, contributing his expertise to projects related to American history, politics, and environmental issues. Brinkley's passion for environmental history is evident in works such as The Quiet World: Saving Alaska's Wilderness Kingdom, 1879-1960.

Throughout his career, Douglas Brinkley has received recognition for his contributions to the understanding of American history. His ability to engage both academic and general audiences has made him a prominent figure in the dissemination of historical knowledge, bringing the stories of the past to life for a broad audience.

Is Douglas Brinkley related to David Brinkley?

No, Douglas Brinkley is not related to David Brinkley. While they share the same last name, they are not directly related. David Brinkley (1920–2003) was a highly respected American television newscaster and journalist, best known for his work as co-anchor of the NBC Nightly News and ABC's This Week with David Brinkley. 

 

 

Witness to America - An Illustrated Documentary History of the United States from the Revolution to Today

Witness to America includes nearly 150 works drawn from America's history, from the first shots of the Revolutionary War to the twenty-first century. From Patrick Henry's rousing "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!" speech to John Brown's stand at Harpers Ferry; from Franklin D. Roosevelt's promise of a New Deal to Neil Armstrong's account of walking on the moon; from 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina to Barack Obama's landmark speech on race: this sweeping volume brings the milestones in American history vividly to life.

Here are unique and revealing selections from such historical figures as John Adams, Walt Whitman, Mark Twain, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy, as well as influential individuals, among them Booker T. Washington, Charles Lindbergh, Ernie Pyle, Rosa Parks, and Betty Friedan. While many of the selections come from notable citizens, most are from ordinary Americans schoolteachers, students, homemakers, pioneers, and soldiers who describe the everyday events that have epitomized American life over the course of its history, indelibly demonstrating both the variety and vitality of the American character.

Witness to America sweeps across the vast territory that is our nation, illuminating the movements, ideas, inventions, and events that have shaped and defined us from the Pony Express to the personal computer; from the frontier to the rise of suburbia; from farming to modernization and the information age. Within these pages discover the art of whaling, learn about survival on the Gold Rush trail, experience the glory and trauma of war, and glean new insight on the great leaders. Here are debates and speeches, diary entries, letters, memoirs, court records, and more including many first-person accounts that make history come alive as never before, such as a powerful description of the atomic explosion from a correspondent on the Enola Gay and a young student's evaluation of the changing roles of women at her high school.

Witness to America is a fascinating, highly readable, and entertaining collection that shows us what America is and where it may go.

The Wilderness Warrior - Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America

From New York Times bestselling historian Douglas Brinkley comes a sweeping historical narrative and eye-opening look at the pioneering environmental policies of President Theodore Roosevelt, avid bird-watcher, naturalist, and the founding father of America’s conservation movement now approaching its 100th anniversary.

American Moonshot - John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race

“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win.” President John F. Kennedy

On May 25, 1961, JFK made an astonishing announcement: his goal of putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade. In this engrossing, fast-paced epic, Douglas Brinkley returns to the 1960s to recreate one of the most exciting and ambitious achievements in the history of humankind. American Moonshot brings together the extraordinary political, cultural, and scientific factors that fueled the birth and development of NASA and the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo projects, which shot the United States to victory in the space race against the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War.

Drawing on new primary source material and major interviews with many of the surviving figures who were key to America’s success, Brinkley brings this fascinating history to life as never before. American Moonshot is a portrait of the brilliant men and women who made this giant leap possible, the technology that enabled us to propel men beyond earth’s orbit to the moon and return them safely, and the geopolitical tensions that spurred Kennedy to commit himself fully to this audacious dream. Brinkley’s ensemble cast of New Frontier characters include rocketeer Wernher von Braun, astronaut John Glenn and space booster Lyndon Johnson.

A vivid and enthralling chronicle of one of the most thrilling, hopeful, and turbulent eras in the nation’s history, American Moonshot is an homage to scientific ingenuity, human curiosity, and the boundless American spirit.