Adam Brookes is a Canadian-born British-American novelist and journalist. He is the author of multiple spy thriller novels including ''Night Heron'' (2014) drawing on his life in journalism and years in China, featuring fictional journalist Philip Mangan. The book received positive reviews from outlets including

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'', and ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

''. His follow-up novels include ''Spy Games'' (2015) and ''The Spy's Daughter'' (2017), which along with 'Night Heron' comprise the Philip Mangan book trilogy. ''The Spy's Daughter'' received recognition from '' The Telegraph'' as one of its 50 Best Books of 2017. As a journalist in the area of spycraft and foreign relations, he has been a frequent commentator and panelist on military and international affairs. His 2023 historical nonfiction book ''Fragile Cargo: The World War II Race to Save the Treasures of China's Forbidden City'' covers the saga of the relocation of treasures from the National Beijing Palace Museum during World War II, and how they emerged at their final destination of the

National Palace Museum The National Palace Museum (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Kwet-li̍p kù-kiung pok-vu̍t-yèn), is a museum in Taipei, Republic of China (Taiwan). It has a permanent collection of nearly 700,000 pieces of Chinese artifacts and artworks, many of which wer ...

in Taiwan.

Early life and education

Brookes was born in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

and moved to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, growing up in a village in Oxfordshire. He studied Chinese at the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

. Brookes worked as a journalist for the BBC in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

as Jakarta Correspondent. He then worked as BBC's

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Correspondent in China for six years before moving to its Washington, D.C. office.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brookes, Adam Alumni of SOAS University of London Spy fiction writers Thriller writers 21st-century novelists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people