Denis Brian (11 December 1923 – 30 May 2017) was a Welsh journalist and writer, notable for writing the 1996 biography ''Einstein: A Life''.
Brian was born in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
on 11 December 1923. He graduated from
Ravensbourne School, Bromley in 1939 and then worked as a reporter for the Irish News Service in Fleet Street for two years. Upon reaching the age of eighteen, he joined the Royal Air Force; after two years' training (mostly in Canada) he became a
Lancaster bomber pilot with the rank of flight lieutenant. He flew 36 missions and was awarded the
DFC. After WWII he studied playwriting at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...
and several of his plays were produced in English theatres. In 1957 Brian emigrated to the United States, where he worked as a freelance writer and editor for several publications, including the ''Writer's Literary Agency''. In the early 1960s he began writing books. His novel ''The love-minded'' received favourable reviews. In the 1970s he moved to
West Palm Beach
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...
.
Brian died in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, on 30 May 2017, at the age of 93.
Selected works
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* 2nd edition, 1980
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[In his preface to ''The Elected and The Chosen'' ]Alan Dershowitz
Alan Morton Dershowitz ( ; born September 1, 1938) is an American lawyer and former law professor known for his work in U.S. constitutional law and American criminal law. From 1964 to 2013, he taught at Harvard Law School, where he was appoin ...
wrote “I think of myself as quite knowledgeable with regard to American and Jewish history having read quite widely in both fields. I was shocked when I read this book to find out how much I didn’t know.”
References
External links
Denis Brian the Author, blogspot.com*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brian, Denis
1923 births
2017 deaths
British biographers
British non-fiction writers
British male writers
Male non-fiction writers
Royal Air Force pilots of World War II
British World War II bomber pilots
Writers from Cardiff
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)