Daniel James Brown

Daniel James Brown
Brown in 2014.
Brown in 2014.
Born1951 (age 73–74)
Berkeley, California, U.S.
OccupationAuthor
Alma materDiablo Valley College
University of California, Berkeley (BA)
University of California, Los Angeles (MA)
Website
www.danieljamesbrown.com

Daniel James Brown (born 1951) is an American author of narrative nonfiction books.

Biography

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.

Career

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.

Awards and recognition

Under a Flaming Sky, The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894 (2006)

  • 2006 INDIE NEXT NOTABLE Selection by the American Bookseller's Association[6]
  • Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers, Summer 2006[7]
  • Notable Books of 2006 by Booklist magazine[8]
  • Finalist for the 2007 Washington State Book Award[9]

The Indifferent Stars Above, The Harrowing Sage of a Donner Party Bride (2009)

  • 2009 INDIE NEXT NOTABLE Selection (June) by the American Bookseller's Association[10]
  • New York Times Sunday Book Review Editor's Choice (May 10, 2009)[11]
  • Finalist for 2010 Washington State Book Award[9]

The Boys in the Boat, Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Olympics (2013)[12]

  • Was a finalist of 2014 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing in non-fiction category[13]
  • Shortlist for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2013[14]
  • Notable Books Online 2014 Notable Books[15]
  • Indie Next List for July 2013[16]
  • 2014 Indies Choice/Adult Nonfiction Book of the Year (American Booksellers Association)[17]
  • 2014 Washington State Book Award for Nonfiction[18]
  • 2014 Association des Ecrivains Sportifs, Prix Etranger Sport & Littérature[19]
  • 2015 One Maryland One Book [20]

On June 8, 2024, the University of Washington awarded Brown with an honorary degree.[21]

References

  1. ^ a b "Daniel James Brown-About".
  2. ^ Mary Roach, "Desperate Journey", The New York Times, May 1, 2009. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  3. ^ "The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride", Kirkus, May 20, 2010. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  4. ^ Janet Maslin, "Riding Waves of Thrills, Chills and Carats", The New York Times, June 6, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  5. ^ "Clooney set to direct Berlin Olympics true life drama". RTE. August 10, 2020.
  6. ^ "INDIE NEXT NOTABLE Selection by the American Bookseller's Association".
  7. ^ "Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers".
  8. ^ "Notable Books of 2006 by Booklist magazine".
  9. ^ a b "2007 Whidbey Island Writers Conference". Archived from the original on 2014-04-25.
  10. ^ "JUNE 2009 INDIE NEXT LIST NOTABLES".
  11. ^ "New York Times Sunday Book Review Editor's Choice (May 10, 2009)".
  12. ^ Jay Parini (13 July 2013). "The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown – review". The Guardian. 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...
  13. ^ "William Saroyan International Prize for Writing", accessed 12 January 2015.
  14. ^ "Shortlist for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2013". Archived from the original on 2014-06-08. Retrieved 2014-04-23.
  15. ^ Notable Books Online 2014 Notable Books.
  16. ^ "Indie Next List for July 2013". Archived from the original on 2014-03-19. Retrieved 2014-04-23.
  17. ^ "ABA Announces 2014 Indies Choice and E.B. White Read-Aloud Award Winners".
  18. ^ "Washington State Book Award Winners". Archived from the original on 2015-05-14. Retrieved 2014-12-20.
  19. ^ "Association des Ecrivains Sportifs Prix Etranger Sport & Littérature".
  20. ^ Maryland Humanities Council. "The 2015 One Maryland One Book". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02.
  21. ^ "UW graduation to feature speaker whose bestselling book inspired a George Clooney film". The Seattle Times. 2024-04-24. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
External videos
video icon "YouTube video from author presentation at City Opera House in Traverse City, Michigan, August 27, 2014".
video icon Daniel James Brown, Author of The Boys in the Boat, Lake Leelanau Chase Regatta, October 26, 2013.