John Adams, Truman, Brave Companions, Mornings on Horseback (2001)

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David Gaub McCullough (born July 7, 1933) is an American author, narrator, historian, and lecturer. He is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian award. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, McCullough earned a degree in English literature from Yale University. His first book was The Johnstown Flood (1968); and he has since written eight more on such topics as Harry S Truman, John Adams, and the Brooklyn Bridge. McCullough has also narrated multiple documentaries such as The Civil War (TV series) by Ken Burns, as well as the 2003 film Seabiscuit; and he hosted American Experience for twelve years. McCullough's two Pulitzer Prize-winning books, Truman and John Adams, have been adapted by HBO into a TV film and a mini-series, respectively. McCullough's most recent history, The Greater Journey (2011), is about Americans in Paris from the 1830s to the 1900s. McCullough's fourth work was his first biography, reinforcing his belief that "history is the story of people".[25] Released in 1981, Mornings on Horseback tells the story of seventeen years in the life of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States.[26] The work ranged from 1869, when Roosevelt was ten years old, to 1886, and tells of a "life intensely lived."[26] The book won McCullough's second National Book Award[27][a] and his first Los Angeles Times Prize for Biography and New York Public Library Literary Lion Award.[28] Next, he published Brave Companions, a collection of essays that "unfold seamlessly".[29] Written over twenty years, the book[30] includes essays about Louis Agassiz, Alexander von Humboldt, John and Washington Roebling, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Conrad Aiken, and Frederic Remington.[30] With his next book, McCullough published his second biography, Truman (1993) about the 33rd president. The book won McCullough his first Pulitzer Prize, in the category of "Best Biography or Autobiography."[31] And his second Francis Parkman Prize. Two years later, the book was adapted as Truman (1995), a television movie by HBO, starring Gary Sinise as Truman.[8] Working for the next seven years,[33] McCullough published John Adams (2001), his third biography about a United States president. One of the fastest-selling non-fiction books in history,[8] the book won McCullough's second Pulitzer Prize for "Best Biography or Autobiography."[31] He started it as a book about the founding fathers and back-to-back presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson; but dropped Jefferson to focus on Adams.[32] HBO adapted John Adams as a seven-part miniseries by the same name.[34] Premiering in 2008, it starred Paul Giamatti in the title role.[34] The DVD version of the miniseries includes the biopic, "David McCullough: Painting with Words." McCullough's 1776, tells the story of the founding year of the United States, focusing on George Washington, the amateur army, and other struggles for independence.[33] Because of McCullough's popularity, its initial printing was 1.25 million copies, many more than the average history book.[2] Upon its release, the book was a number one best-seller in the United States.[33] A miniseries adaptation of 1776 was rumored. McCullough considered writing a sequel to 1776.[33] However, he signed a contract with Simon & Schuster to do a work about Americans in Paris between 1830 and 1900, The Greater Journey, which was published in 2011.[35][36] The book covers 19th-century Americans, including Mark Twain and Samuel Morse, who migrated to Paris and went on to achieve importance in culture or innovation. Other subjects include Elihu Washburne, the American ambassador to France during the Franco-Prussian War, and Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female doctor in the United States. McCullough has received numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in December 2006, the highest civilian award that a United States citizen can receive. In 1995 the National Book Foundation conferred its lifetime Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. McCullough has been awarded more than 40 honorary degrees, including one from the Eastern Nazarene College in John Adams' hometown of Quincy, Massachusetts. McCullough has received two Pulitzer Prizes, two National Book Awards, two Francis Parkman Prizes, the Los Angeles Times Book Award, and New York Public Library's Literary Lion Award, among others. McCullough was chosen to deliver the first annual John Hersey Lecture at Yale University on March 22, 1993. He is a member of the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship and the Academy of Achievement. In 2003, the National Endowment for the Humanities selected McCullough for the Jefferson Lecture, the U.S. federal government's highest honor for achievement in the humanities. McCullough's lecture was entitled "The Course of Human Events." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_McCullough