Davis, Donald A. 1939- (Don Davis, Donald Alan Davis)

PERSONAL:

Born October 5, 1939, in Savannah, GA; son of Oden Harry and Irma Artice Davis; married Robin Murphy, March 17, 1983 (deceased May 11, 2005); children (from previous marriage): Russell Glenn, Randall Scott. Education: University of Georgia, B.A., 1962.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Boulder, CO. E-mail—tedsalad@mesanetworks.net.

CAREER:

Writer, journalist, editor, lecturer, educator, historian, columnist, novelist, and war correspondent. Athens Banner-Herald, Athens, GA, reporter, 1961-62; Savannah Morning News, Savannah, GA, reporter, 1962; United Press International (UPI), journalist, 1963-65, 1967-83, Vietnam correspondent, 1971-73, New England editor, 1977-80, White House correspondent, 1981-83; St. Petersburg Times, St. Petersburg, FL, reporter and editor, 1965-66; San Diego Union, San Diego, CA, political reporter and columnist, 1983-91. Boston University, instructor in journalism, 1979; University of Colorado, instructor in writing, 1998-99. U.S. Naval War College, lecturer, 1983; Queen Elizabeth 2, lecturer, 1991.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Keizai Koho Center, Tokyo, Japan, fellow, 1985; Overseas Press Club, fellow, 2000.

WRITINGS:

UNDER NAME DON DAVIS

The Nanny Murder Trial, St. Martin's Paperbacks (New York, NY), 1993.

Fallen Hero: The Shocking True Story behind the O.J. Simpson Tragedy, St. Martin's Paperbacks (New York, NY), 1994.

Bad Blood: The Shocking True Story behind the Menendez Killings, St. Martin's Paperbacks (New York, NY), 1994.

Appointment with the Squire (novel), Naval Institute Press (Annapolis, MD), 1995.

Hush Little Babies, St. Martin's Paperbacks (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Steve Thomas) JonBenet: Inside the Ramsey Murder Investigation, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Lee Vyborny) Dark Waters: An Insider's Account of the NR-1, the Cold War's Undercover Nuclear Sub, New American Library (New York, NY), 2003.

UNDER NAME DONALD A. DAVIS

Lightning Strike: The Secret Mission to Kill Admiral Yamamoto and Avenge Pearl Harbor, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2005.

(With Jack Coughlin and Casey Kuhlman) Shooter: The Autobiography of the Top-Ranked Marine Sniper, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2005.

(With Jack Coughlin) Kill Zone (novel), St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2007.

Stonewall Jackson (biography), foreword by General Wesley K. Clark, Palgrave Macmillan (New York, NY), 2007.

Pacific Rim Report newsletter, publisher, 1985-88.

SIDELIGHTS:

Donald A. Davis is a multifaceted writer, novelist, and journalist. He is the author of several works of both fiction and nonfiction. As a nonfiction writer, he navigates true crime writing, biography, and military history with equal ease. He worked at many journalism posts in a career that started in the early sixties and lasted almost thirty years. Among his many news positions, he served as a Vietnam correspondent for United Press International; as a reporter on newspapers such as the Athens Banner Herald, the Savannah Morning News, the St. Petersburg Times, and the San Diego Union. He has been a lecturer at the U.S. Naval War College and has taught journalism at Boston University and writing at the University of Colorado. He often collaborates with other authors, but also produces many books under his own byline.

Davis's novel Appointment with the Squire is a historical thriller centered on a Nazi plot to assassinate Franklin Roosevelt in 1945. Wilhelm Mueller, a member of the dreaded SS and a ruthless killer, travels by U-boat to the United States in search of his presidential quarry. After landing in Georgia, he takes on the identity of a murdered police officer and manipulates his way into becoming the deputy sheriff of Warm Springs, Georgia, a vacation spot popular with President Roosevelt. There, Mueller intends to dispatch Roosevelt at the first opportunity. Standing in his way is Jack Cole, an Army intelligence analyst with a grudge against Mueller, who left him for dead in Belgium. A Publishers Weekly reviewer remarked that "this fast-paced fictional debut is studded with vivid scenes drawn from history." With this novel, Davis pens a "thoroughly absorbing and chilling ‘might have been’ story," commented Booklist reviewer Roland Green.

Kill Zone is a collaboration between Davis and Jack Coughlin, a former Marine sniper who "took readers inside the mind of a military assassin" in his memoir, Shooter: The Autobiography of the Top-Ranked Marine Sniper, also written with Davis, stated David Pitt in a Booklist review. Protagonist Kyle Swanson, a skilled Marine sniper, is assigned to rescue kidnapped American general Bradley Middleton, who is being held hostage in the Middle East. Swanson quickly finds out, however, that his mission is complicated: the kidnappers are American mercenaries involved in a plot to disable the U.S. military. Swanson's mission becomes even more perilous after the helicopter carrying him and other members of the rescue team crashes, leaving him with no resources but his wits, sharply honed battle skills, and his high-tech killing device, the sniper rifled he calls Excalibur. Coughlin and Davis produce a "tight, suspenseful story," Pitt remarked. Davis is also the author of several works of true-crime writing, military history, and biography. In Fallen Hero: The Shocking True Story behind the O.J. Simpson Tragedy, Davis recounts the events behind the O.J. Simpson murder trial, in which he was accused of savagely killing his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman. He relates the behind-the-scenes friction between the police and the prosecutors, and explores the former sports superstar's trial and acquittal.

Lightning Strike: The Secret Mission to Kill Admiral Yamamoto and Avenge Pearl Harbor offers readers a "well-paced, action-packed narrative of a minor episode in WWII that had major results," commented a Kirkus Reviews contributor. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, well educated and urbane, was the master planner behind the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the Imperial Japanese Navy's harrowing campaign in the Pacific. He initially opposed going to war with the United States, realizing that if the threat against America was grave enough, Americans would not hesitate to fight and die. However, when the decision was handed down to engage the Americans, Yamamoto discharged his duties professionally and efficiently. Even when the attack on Pearl Harbor came, Yamamoto was not in favor of a sneak attack, which he considered a dishonorable tactic. The attack was supposed to proceed after the Japanese ambassador issued a declaration of war to the American government, but when the ambassador fell behind schedule, Yamamoto had no choice but to proceed with the plans. Later in the war, when American code breakers learned that Yamamoto was due to visit Bougainville, fighter aircraft were sent to find and shoot down his plane. Davis offers the viewpoints of five pilots who were involved in the successful plan to kill Yamamoto. Davis also points out how official military versions of the mission differed greatly from the stories told by the pilots who were involved in it, "which lends immediacy to Davis's arguments concerning evidence and confirmation," the Kirkus Reviews critic stated.

Stonewall Jackson provides a concise biography of one of the Civil War's best-known figures, and a Southern hero and military genius whose ferocity, tactical brilliance, and military acumen earned the respect of even his most enduring foes. Davis recounts Jackson's early life as an orphan who grew up with only an intermittent education. He describes Jackson's tenure at West Point, where he graduated in the top third of his class and where his fellow cadets "remarked upon his rustic and taciturn manner, his queer health notions, bizarre dietary practices, iron discipline, punctilious observance of rules and powers of trance-like concentration," commented a Kirkus Reviews critic. Davis describes Jackson's early military career, his time as a teacher at the Virginia Military Institute, and his experiences during the Civil War, which turned Jackson into a military legend. The Kirkus Reviews contributor called the book a "handy introduction" to Jackson. Booklist reviewer Gilbert Taylor remarked: "This rapid read ably introduces the famous warrior," and called the book "an accessible biography for student research."

Written with Lee Vyborny, Dark Waters: An Insider's Account of the NR-1, the Cold War's Undercover Nuclear Sub presents a history of the U.S. Navy's smallest nuclear submarine. Based on ideas from legendary General Hyman Rickover, the NR-1 was so secret that there were many in the U.S. Navy who did not know of the submarine's existence. Despite all best intentions, the NR-1 had numerous troubles, ranging from frequent battery fires to a slow pace in the water. It had no attack capability and was designed more for underwater reconnaissance and research. The cramped vessel was hard on its crew of twelve, and only slightly more than seaworthy, but it became the world's deepest-diving vessel and long-range deep submersible seacraft, fueled by a nuclear reactor that allowed it to stay submerged for months at a time. The NR-1 also had a scientific mission, helping scientists advance studies in underwater archaeology. Davis explores the submarine's storied history, the unique camaraderie that developed among those who served onboard, and the vessel's modern-day role and mission. Roland Green, writing in Booklist, called the book a "useful addition to modern naval history and pure candy for submarine buffs."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 15, 1995, Roland Green, review of Appointment with the Squire, p. 1306; December 15, 2002, Roland Green, review of Dark Waters: An Insider's Account of the NR-1, the Cold War's Undercover Nuclear Sub, p. 713; June 1, 2007, Gilbert Taylor, review of Stonewall Jackson, p. 30; August, 2007, David Pitt, review of Kill Zone, p. 46.

Civil War Times, January, 2008, Gordon Berg, review of Stonewall Jackson, p. 66.

Entertainment Weekly, July 15, 1994, Matthew Flamm, review of Fallen Hero: The Shocking True Story behind the O.J. Simpson Tragedy, p. 56.

Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 2004, review of Lightning Strike: The Secret Mission to Kill Admiral Yamamoto and Avenge Pearl Harbor, p. 1075; July 1, 2007, review of Stonewall Jackson.

Library Journal, February 15, 2003, Mark Ellis, review of Dark Waters, p. 153; March 15, 2005, Edwin B. Burgess, review of Lightning Strike, p. 95; June 15, 2007, Matthew J. Wayman, review of Stonewall Jackson, p. 77.

Publishers Weekly, February 13, 1995, review of Appointment with the Squire, p. 65; June 11, 2007, review of Stonewall Jackson, p. 48; September 10, 2007, review of Kill Zone, p. 42.

Reference & Research Book News, August, 2004, review of Lightning Strike, p. 35.

ONLINE

Palgrave Macmillan Web site,http://www.palgraveusa.com/ (May 22, 2008), author profile.