Douglas Brinkley

Douglas Brinkley (born 1961) is an author and professor of history, currently lecturing at Tulane University. He is most famous for his John Kerry biography, Tour of Duty.

The late historian, Stephen E. Ambrose, once called Brinkley "the best of the new generation of American historians" [1].

During the early 1990's, Brinkley taught American Arts and Politics aboard the Majic Bus, a roving, natural-gas powered transcontinental classroom, from which emerged the book, The Majic Bus: an American Odyssey.

Brinkley is editing a three-volume series of letter collections from Hunter Thompson. The first volume is called The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967. It was published on April 7, 1998. The second volume, Fear And Loathing In America: The Brutal Odyssey of an Outlaw Journalist, was released on December 13, 2000. The third and final volume, The Mutineer: Rants, Ravings, and Missives from the Mountaintop 1977-2005, is scheduled to be released on January 1, 2007.

In January 2006, Brinkley and fellow historian, Julie M. Fenster, released Parish Priest, a biography of Fr. Michael J. McGivney, the founder of the Knights of Columbus.

In May 2006, he released The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, a record of the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast. Brinkley spoke about the book and his experiences during Hurricane Katrina on NPR's Fresh Air in September of 2005 [2].

Brinkley lives in New Orleans with his wife and two children.