Brooks D. Simpson
Encyclopedia
Brooks Donohue Simpson, an American historian, is ASU Foundation Professor of History
at Arizona State University
. He was born August 4, 1957, in Freeport, New York
. Educated at the Phillips Exeter Academy
, he graduated in 1975; four years later he graduated from the University of Virginia
. Receiving his M.A. in history at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
in 1982, he earned his Ph.D. in 1989.
After working three years as an assistant editor for The Papers of Andrew Johnson
, based at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Simpson joined the faculty at Wofford College
in Spartanburg, South Carolina
, in 1987. Three years later, in 1990, he migrated west to Arizona State University
, where he presently teaches.
Simpson is the author of six books, the coauthor of another, and the editor or coeditor of seven other books. He is perhaps best known for his work on Ulysses S. Grant
. Ulysses S. Grant: Triumph over Adversity, 1822-1865, published by Houghton Mifflin
in 2000, was a New York Times Notable Book and a Choice Outstanding Academic Title for that year http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/catalog/titledetail.cfm?textType=awards&titleNumber=696194. He has appeared several times on C-SPAN
, speaking on Henry Adams http://www.americanwriters.org/chapters/four.asp and Grant http://www.booknotes.org/Program/?ProgramID=1573, as well as on PBS's
American Experience
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/grant/. In 2009 the U. S. State Department asked him to travel to Turkey for two weeks to lecture on Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama in historical context. After serving four years as one of the contributors to the prize-winning "Civil Warriors" blog, http://civilwarriors.net/wordpress/ in late 2010 Simpson started his own blog, "Crossroads." http://cwcrossroads.wordpress.com/
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
at Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
. He was born August 4, 1957, in Freeport, New York
Freeport, New York
Freeport is a village in the town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, USA, on the South Shore of Long Island. The population was 42,860 at the 2010 census. A settlement since the 1640s, it was once an oystering community and later a resort popular with the New York City theater community...
. Educated at the Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...
, he graduated in 1975; four years later he graduated from the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
. Receiving his M.A. in history at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
in 1982, he earned his Ph.D. in 1989.
After working three years as an assistant editor for The Papers of Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
, based at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Simpson joined the faculty at Wofford College
Wofford College
Established in 1854 and related to the United Methodist Church, Wofford College is an independent, Phi Beta Kappa liberal arts college of 1,525 students located in downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. The historic campus is recognized as a national arboretum and features “The...
in Spartanburg, South Carolina
Spartanburg, South Carolina
thgSpartanburg is the largest city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina, and is located northwest of Columbia, west of Charlotte, and about northeast of...
, in 1987. Three years later, in 1990, he migrated west to Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
, where he presently teaches.
Simpson is the author of six books, the coauthor of another, and the editor or coeditor of seven other books. He is perhaps best known for his work on Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
. Ulysses S. Grant: Triumph over Adversity, 1822-1865, published by Houghton Mifflin
Houghton Mifflin
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is an educational and trade publisher in the United States. Headquartered in Boston's Back Bay, it publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults.-History:The company was...
in 2000, was a New York Times Notable Book and a Choice Outstanding Academic Title for that year http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/catalog/titledetail.cfm?textType=awards&titleNumber=696194. He has appeared several times on C-SPAN
C-SPAN
C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
, speaking on Henry Adams http://www.americanwriters.org/chapters/four.asp and Grant http://www.booknotes.org/Program/?ProgramID=1573, as well as on PBS's
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
American Experience
American Experience
American Experience is a television program airing on the Public Broadcasting Service Public television stations in the United States. The program airs documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and people in American history...
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/grant/. In 2009 the U. S. State Department asked him to travel to Turkey for two weeks to lecture on Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama in historical context. After serving four years as one of the contributors to the prize-winning "Civil Warriors" blog, http://civilwarriors.net/wordpress/ in late 2010 Simpson started his own blog, "Crossroads." http://cwcrossroads.wordpress.com/
Honors and awards
- NEH Travel to Collections Award, 1990;
- Huntington Library Fellow, 1991;
- Newberry Library Fellow, 1991;
- American Philosophical Society Grant, 1991;
- Dirksen Congressional Research Center Grant, 1991;
- Father Smith Lecturer, Gonzaga University, 1994;
- American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship, 1994;
- Fulbright Scholarship, Leiden University, 1995;
- Interdisciplinary Fellow, ASU, 1998;
- ASU Alumni Faculty Research Award, 2003.
Books
- Advice After Appomattox: Letters to Andrew Johnson, 1865-1866. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1987. With LeRoy P. Graf and John Muldowny.
- Let Us Have Peace: Ulysses S. Grant and the Politics of War and Reconstruction, 1861-1868. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1991. Paperback edition, 1997.
- The Political Education of Henry Adams. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1996.
- America's Civil War. Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson, 1996.
- Union and Emancipation: Essays on Race and Politics in the Civil War Era. Kent: Kent State University Press, 1997. With David W. Blight.
- Think Anew, Act Anew: Abraham Lincoln on Slavery, Emancipation, and Reconstruction. Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson, 1998.
- The Reconstruction Presidents. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1998. Paperback edition, 2009.
- Sherman's Civil War: Selected Correspondence of William T. Sherman, 1860-1865. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1999. With Jean V. Berlin.
- Gettysburg: A Battlefield Guide. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1999. With Mark Grimsley.
- Ulysses S. Grant: Triumph Over Adversity,1822-1865. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2000.
- Collapse of the Confederacy. Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 2001. Paperback edition, 2002. With Mark Grimsley.
- The Civil War: The First Year in the Words of Those Who Lived It. New York: Library of America, 2011. With Stephen W. Sears and Aaron Sheehan-Dean.
- The Civil War in the East: Struggle, Stalemate, and Victory. Santa Barbara: Praeger, 2011.
Blog
- Crossroads Blog currently edited by Brooks Simpson.