Douglas Brinkley
Douglas Brinkley (born December 14, 1960) is an American author, Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities,[1] and professor of history at Rice University. Brinkley is a history commentator for CNN, Presidential Historian for the New York Historical Society, and a contributing editor to the magazine Vanity Fair.[2] He is a public spokesperson on conservation issues. He joined the faculty of Rice University as a professor of history in 2007.[3]Brinkley joined the board of directors for the National Archives Foundation in 2023.[4]
Douglas Brinkley
December 14, 1960
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Nonfiction
Early life[edit]
Brinkley was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1960, but after his father was transferred to the Toledo, Ohio headquarters of Owens-Illinois in 1969, did his remaining elementary and secondary schooling in Perrysburg, Ohio. His mother was a high school English teacher. In fourth grade Doug memorized the Presidents, their vice presidents, as well as the opposing presidential and vice presidential candidates.
Education[edit]
Brinkley was educated at Perrysburg High School,[5] followed by Ohio State University, from which he earned a B.A. (1982), and Georgetown University, earning an M.A. (1983) and Ph.D. (1989) in U.S. diplomatic history. He has been on the faculty of Hofstra University, the University of New Orleans, Tulane University, and Rice University.
He received an honorary doctorate for his contributions to American letters from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.[6]
Critical reception[edit]
Stephen Ambrose called Brinkley "the best of the new generation of American historians."[20] Brinkley and Ambrose had co-authored three books.[21] Patrick Reardon of the Chicago Tribune called Brinkley America's "new past master."[22] In addition, during the 2013 inauguration coverage, CNN referred to him as "a man who knows more about the presidency than just about any human being alive."[23] In contrast, in 2006, historian Wilfred McClay in the New York Sun appraised Brinkley's scholarship as one that has failed to "put forward a single memorable idea, a single original analysis, or a single lapidary phrase."[24] Similarly, author Bill Bryson characterized Brinkley as "a minor American academic and sometime critic whose powers of observation and generosity of spirit would fit comfortably into a proton and still leave room for an echo".[25]
Personal life[edit]
Brinkley lives in Austin, Texas. He and his wife Anne have three children, Johnny, Benton, and Cassady. He is a member of the Century Association, the Council on Foreign Relations and Society of American Historians.