Daniel James Brown | |
|---|---|
 Brown in 2014. | |
| Born | 1951 (age 72–73) Berkeley, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Author |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Diablo Valley College University of California, Berkeley (BA) University of California, Los Angeles (MA) |
| Website | |
| www | |
Daniel James Brown (born 1951) is an American author of narrative nonfiction books.
Brown was born in Berkeley, California. He grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. He attended Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at the University of California at Berkeley and a Master of Arts degree from the University of California at Los Angeles. [1] Brown taught writing at San Jose State University and Stanford University before becoming a technical writer and editor. [1] He now writes narrative nonfiction full-time.
Brown's debut book, Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894 (2006), traces the personal stories and social, economic, and environmental causes of the Great Hinckley Fire of September 1, 1894, which burned an area of up to 250,000 acres (1,000 km2; 390 sq mi), including the town of Hinckley, Minnesota. The fire killed hundreds, including Brown's great-grandfather.
Brown's second book, The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride (2009), traces the footsteps of Sarah Graves, a young bride who left her home in Illinois in the spring of 1846, bound for California. Sarah was one of a handful of the ill-fated Donner Party members who attempted to hike out of the Sierra Nevada to save herself and her family. [2] [3]
Brown's third book, The Boys in the Boat (2013), celebrates the 1936 U.S. men's Olympic eight-oar rowing team—9 working-class boys rowing for the University of Washington. [4] It is also the story of one young man in particular, Joe Rantz. MGM and George Clooney's production company have purchased the rights to adapt the book for a feature film, to be directed by George Clooney. [5]
Brown's fourth book, Facing the Mountain: A True Story of Japanese American Heroes in World War II (2021), covers the World War II patriotism and courage of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a special Japanese American Army unit that overcame brutal odds in Europe; their families, incarcerated behind barbed wire in the American West due to the American internment policy; and a young man who refused to surrender his constitutional rights, even if it meant imprisonment.
Under a Flaming Sky, The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894 (2006)
The Indifferent Stars Above, The Harrowing Sage of a Donner Party Bride (2009)
The Boys in the Boat, Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Olympics (2013) [12]
On June 8, 2024, the University of Washington awarded Brown with an honorary degree. [21]
William Saroyan was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film The Human Comedy. When the studio rejected his original 240-page treatment, he turned it into a novel, The Human Comedy.
The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The National Book Awards were established in 1936 by the American Booksellers Association, abandoned during World War II, and re-established by three book industry organizations in 1950. Non-U.S. authors and publishers were eligible for the pre-war awards. Since then they are presented to U.S. authors for books published in the United States roughly during the award year.
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IndieBound is a marketing movement for independent bookstores launched in 2008 by the American Booksellers Association. With resources targeted for "indie" booksellers, it promotes fiscal localism. IndieBound's curated reading lists include the Indie Next List and the Indie Bestseller List.
Don Freeman was an American painter, printmaker, cartoonist, and an illustrator and writer of children's books. He was active from the 1930s to the 1970s and often used Times Square as the backdrop of his memorable works.
Joseph Harry Rantz was an American rower who won Olympic gold in the men's eight at the 1936 Summer Olympics.
Donald Bruce Hume was an American rower who won Olympic gold at the 1936 Summer Olympics.
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Columbine is a non-fiction book written by Dave Cullen and published by Twelve on April 6, 2009. It is an examination of the Columbine High School massacre, on April 20, 1999, and the perpetrators Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. The book covers two major storylines: the killers' evolution leading up to the attack, and the survivors' struggles with the aftermath over the next decade. Chapters alternate between the two stories. Graphic depictions of parts of the attack are included, in addition to the actual names of friends and family.
A'Lelia Perry Bundles is an American journalist, news producer and author, known for her 2001 biography of her great-great-grandmother Madam C. J. Walker.
Phillip M. Hoose is an American writer of books, essays, stories, songs, and articles. His first published works were written for adults, but he turned his attention to children and young adults to keep up with his daughters. His work has been well received and honored more than once by the children's literature community. He won the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, Nonfiction, for The Race to Save the Lord God Bird (2004), and the National Book Award, Young People's Literature, for Claudette Colvin (2009).
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The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics is a non-fiction novel written by Daniel James Brown and published on June 4, 2013.
Jamie Ford is an American author. He is best known for his debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. The book spent 130 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List, and was also awarded best "Adult Fiction" book at the 2010 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature. The book was also named the No. 1 Book Club Pick for Fall 2009/Winter 2010 by the American Booksellers Association.
Malala's Magic Pencil is a 2017 picture book authored by Malala Yousafzai and illustrated by Kerascoët. The book was published by Little, Brown and Company in the U.S., and Puffin Books in the U.K., with Farrin Jacobs as editor. It shows Yousafzai growing up in Swat, Pakistan, and wishing for a magic pencil to solve her problems; she learns that she is able to make change, such as advancing rights to female education, without one. The book has received very positive reviews, praising both Yousafzai's writing and Kerascoët's illustrations. The book appears on several lists of best children's books of 2017.
The Boys in the Boat is a 2023 American biographical sports drama film produced and directed by George Clooney from a screenplay by Mark L. Smith, based on the 2013 book of the same name by Daniel James Brown. The film follows the University of Washington rowing team, and their quest to compete in the 1936 Summer Olympics. It stars Joel Edgerton as coach Al Ulbrickson Sr. and Callum Turner as rower Joe Rantz.
Don Brown is an American author and illustrator of children's books.
I was impressed with Brown's research, imagining the countless interviews, the exhumation of journals and logs, and the patient review of long-defunct newspaper articles and photographs it must have involved. The Boys in the Boat is, then, an often inspiring feat of narrative non-fiction...
| External videos | |
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 "YouTube video from author presentation at City Opera House in Traverse City, Michigan, August 27, 2014". | |
| Daniel James Brown, Author of The Boys in the Boat, Lake Leelanau Chase Regatta, October 26, 2013. |
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| National | |
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