Douglas Brinkley, Noted Author, Historian, and Media Pundit, to Headline Refuge Centennial
The man the Chicago Times has dubbed “the new past master”, Douglas Brinkley, will speak on his most recent work Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America, at a celebration honoring the 100th anniversary of the Alaska Maritime and Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuges in Anchorage on October 2 at the Wendy Williamson Auditorium, University of Alaska Anchorage Campus. The event beings at 6 p.m. with the opening reception for Wings Over Wild Lands: A Photographic Celebration of 100 Years of Conserving Alaska’s Wild Lands and Wildlife. Brinkley’s talk will begin at 7:30 p.m. Yukon Delta and Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuges were established by President Roosevelt in 1909.
Brinkley will also speak in Homer at the Alaska Islands & Ocean Visitor Center on October 3 at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and seating is limited. Both events are free.
Ken Burns had this to say about Brinkley’s new book: "No president has been a greater champion of our natural world - especially its wildlife - than Theodore Roosevelt. Now that extraordinary force of nature has his own champion in Douglas Brinkley. This is a stirring account of the man who turned our attention to conservation and the many glories of our American landscape."
Douglas Brinkley is a professor at Rice University and the author of dozens of books, six of which have been selected as New York Times Notable Books of the Year. Brinkley is a frequent commentator on national media. Within the past month he has been on Meet the Press and The Daily Show promoting his Roosevelt book and on CNN with a historical perspective on Senator Ted Kennedys career. Although Brinkley specializes in presidential biographies and in depth analyses of important moments in American history, he also takes on pop culture in his role as contributing editor of Vanity Fair where he broke the story last fall of Lance Armstrongs return to the Tour de France and published a Johnny Depp interview this summer.
Wings Over Wild Lands,shown in Anchorage only, features stunning wildlife and landscape images of the Alaska Maritime and Yukon Delta refuges. Most of the images for the show were shot by Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges members Tom Collopy and Mary Frische of Wild North Photography who also curated the show.
Co sponsors for the events are Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges, University of Alaska Anchorage Student Activities, and University of Alaska Anchorage, Kachemak Bay Campus, Kenai Peninsula College.
For more information about these events contact Poppy Benson, poppy_benson@fws.gov, (907)226-4606.
