Historian Douglas Brinkley to deliver next Bucksbaum Lecture at Drake University

The Des Moines Register

Drake University has selected a historian and environmental conservationist to be its next Bucksbaum lecturer.

Douglas Brinkley, professor of history at Rice University, will deliver the 39th installment of the Martin Bucksbaum Distinguished Lecture Series, the Des Moines university announced in a press release.

Members of the public can attend Brinkley's lecture for free at 7 p.m. Nov. 14 in the Knapp Center, 2525 Forest Ave.

Douglas Brinkley, a CNN historian and author of numerous works of nonfiction, will be the 39th Bucksbaum Lecturer at Drake University.

The speaker may be a familiar face for some, thanks to numerous appearances on CNN as a presidential historian.

“He is a well-known and well-spoken individual with a long historical perspective, a scholar’s curiosity, and a remarkable ability to communicate complicated subjects in an easy-to-understand way," said Neil Hamilton, chair of the Bucksbaum Lecture selection committee, in the press release.

Brinkley is also known for his nonfiction books on the careers of people like John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, plus many more. He's written about issues like civil rights, land conservation, the Vietnam War and American Catholicism, according to the release.

Five of his books have been selected for The New York Times' Notable Books of the Year lists, and five became New York Times bestsellers.

Brinkley is also a contributing editor to Vanity Fair, Los Angeles Times Book Review and American Heritage magazines, as well as an editor for Audubon magazine.

Brinkley holds a bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University and master’s and doctoral degrees from Georgetown University. He has received honorary doctorates from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.