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

Biography

Brown was born in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

. He grew up in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

. He attended

Diablo Valley College Diablo Valley College (DVC) is a public community college with campuses in Pleasant Hill and San Ramon in Contra Costa County, California. DVC is one of three public community colleges in the Contra Costa Community College District (along with ...

Pleasant Hill, California Pleasant Hill is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 34,613 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It was municipal corporation, incorporated in 19 ...

, and earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in English at the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree from the

University of California at Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the Ca ...

. Brown taught writing at

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

and

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

before becoming a technical writer and editor. 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 Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

in the spring of 1846, bound for

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Sarah was one of a handful of the ill-fated

Donner Party The Donner Party, sometimes called the Donner–Reed Party, was a group of American pioneers who migrated to California interim government, 1846-1850, California in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a multitude of mishaps, they spent ...

members who attempted to hike out of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

to save herself and her family. Brown's third book, ''

The Boys in the Boat ''The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics'' is a non-fiction book written by Daniel James Brown and published on June 4, 2013. Background ''The Boys in the Boat'' is a true story based ...

'' (2013), celebrates the 1936 U.S. men's Olympic eight-oar rowing team—9 working-class boys rowing for the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

. It is also the story of one young man in particular, Joe Rantz. MGM and George Clooney's production company purchased the rights to adapt the book for a feature film directed by

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and philanthropist. Known for his leading man roles on screen in both blockbuster and independent films, Clooney has received numerous accolades, including two Ac ...

. 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 * Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers, Summer 2006 * Notable Books of 2006 by Booklist magazine * Finalist for the 2007 Washington State Book Award ''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 * New York Times Sunday Book Review Editor's Choice (May 10, 2009) * Finalist for 2010 Washington State Book Award ''The Boys in the Boat, Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Olympics'' (2013) * Was a finalist of 2014 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing in non-fiction category"William Saroyan International Prize for Writing"
accessed January 12, 2015. * Shortlist for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2013 * Notable Books Online 2014 Notable Books * Indie Next List for July 2013 * 2014 Indies Choice/Adult Nonfiction Book of the Year (American Booksellers Association) * 2014 Washington State Book Award for Nonfiction * 2014 Association des Ecrivains Sportifs, Prix Etranger Sport & Littérature * 2015 One Maryland One Book On June 8, 2024, the University of Washington awarded Brown with an honorary degree.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Daniel James 1951 births Living people 21st-century American non-fiction writers San Jose State University faculty Stanford University faculty Writers from Berkeley, California