American novelist
Brock Brower
Born Brock Hendrickson Brower
(1931-11-27 ) November 27, 1931Died April 16, 2014(2014-04-16) (aged 82) Nationality American Occupation(s) Journalist, author Years active 1959–2006 Known for
Esquire magazine profiles Notable work The Late Great Creature (1972)Spouse Ann Montgomery (married 1956-2014) Children 5
Brock Hendrickson Brower (November 27, 1931 – April 16, 2014) was an American novelist, magazine journalist, and TV writer of various magazines, including
Esquire ,
Life ,
Harper’s Magazine , and
The New York Times Magazine .
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[2]
[3]
Background
The son of
Charles H. Brower , Brock Hendrickson Brower was born in
Plainfield, New Jersey , and raised in
Westfield, New Jersey . In 1953, he graduated from
Dartmouth College , where he served as managing editor for
The Dartmouth .
[4] He then attended
Harvard Law School but left to study English literature for his MA as a
Rhodes Scholar at
Oxford University 's
Merton College .
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[2]
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Career
From 1956 to 1958, Brower served two years in the U.S. Army in intelligence at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
[2]
In 1959, he joined Esquire ], for which he wrote profiles of
Alger Hiss ,
Norman Mailer , and
Mary McCarthy .
[1]
He also wrote profiles of Vice Presidents
Spiro T. Agnew and
Walter F. Mondale . He profiled presidential candidates including
Hubert Humphrey ,
Richard Nixon ,
George W. Romney , and
Eugene McCarthy . He was writing about
Ted Kennedy just before the Chappaquiddick incident in 1969.
[1]
[2]
In the late 1970s, he "helped originate" the ABC News program
20/20 for
Hugh Downs and for
3-2-1 Contact (a science show produced by the
Children’s Television Workshop ).
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[2]
From 1989 to 1991, he was a speechwriter for Attorney General
Richard Thornburgh .
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[2]
From 1996 to 2006, he taught journalism at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and was a writer-in-residence at
Princeton University .
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Personal life and death
In 1956, he married Ann Montgomery, an American fashion model, in Paris.
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[2]
Brower died of cancer in
Santa Barbara, California , on April 16, 2014, at age 82.
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Survivors include his wife, five children (Monty, Emily, Elizabeth, Margaret, and
Alison ), brother Charles, and five grandchildren. He was predeceased by Anne C. Brower, bone radiologist and Episcopal priest.
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Awards
Awards made to Brower include:
[2]
His 1972 comedic novel The Late Great Creature was nominated for the
National Book Award for Fiction .
[1]
[2]
Works
Books:
Debris (1967)
The Inchworm War and the Butterfly Peace (1970)
The Late Great Creature (1972, 2011)
[7]
Putting America’s House in Order (1996) with co-author
David M. Abshire
Blue Dog, Green River (2005)
Articles for Esquire :
"The Art of Fiction CXI" (December 1959)
[8]
"A Lament for Old-Time Radio" (April 1960)
[9]
"The Great Bubble Gum War" (September 1960)
[10]
"The Problems of Alger Hiss" (December 1960)
[11]
"Who's in Among the Analysts" (July 1961)
[12]
"Fraternities" (October 1961)
[13]
"The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Revisited" (March 1962)
[14]
"Mary McCarthyism" (July 1962)
[15]
"The Brothers Cassini" (February 1963)
[16]
"The Vulgarization of American Demonology" (June 1964)
[17]
"Rockabye" (April 1968)
[18]
"Dylan’s Boathouse" (January 1971)
[19]
"Play It Again, Sam, Bogie, Harry, Wendell, Claude" (November 1971)
[20]
"The Conscience of Leon Jaworski" (February 1975)
[21]
References
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Bernstein, Albert (29 April 2014).
"Brock Brower, magazine journalist, novelist and TV writer, dies at 82" . Washington Post . Retrieved 2 September 2016 .
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"Obituaries 4/30/14" . Town Topics. 30 April 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2016 .
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"Obituaries" . Rhodes Trust. Archived from
the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2016 .
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"Alums of The Dartmouth make their mark in journalism" . The Dartmouth. 16 April 1999. Retrieved 2 September 2016 .
^ Levens, R.G.C., ed. (1964). Merton College Register 1900–1964 . Oxford: Basil Blackwell. p. 453.
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"Brower, Brock, 1931–" . Library of Congress. Retrieved 2 September 2016 .
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Olmsted, Larry (22 September 2011).
"40 Years Later, Acclaimed Novel Back From Dead" . Forbes . Retrieved 2 September 2016 .
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Brower, Brock (December 1959).
"The Art of Fiction CXI: A posthumous interview with Wm. Shakespeare" . Esquire . Retrieved 7 February 2018 .
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Brower, Brock (April 1960).
"A Lament for Old-Time Radio: Those dear dead old radio days beyond recall" . Esquire . Retrieved 7 February 2018 .
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Brower, Brock (September 1960).
"The Great Bubble Gum War: Mighty industries clash in the struggle to fill the mandibles of card-carrying children" . Esquire . Retrieved 7 February 2018 .
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Brower, Brock (December 1960).
"The Problems of Alger Hiss: The past, the small jobs and a certain notoriety" . Esquire . Retrieved 7 February 2018 .
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Brower, Brock (July 1961).
"Who's in Among the Analysts: Or how to tell one from the other before you settle for the couch" . Esquire . Retrieved 7 February 2018 .
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Brower, Brock (October 1961).
"Fraternities: It's national vs. local in this civil war" . Esquire . Retrieved 7 February 2018 .
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Brower, Brock (March 1962).
"The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Revisited: They have another bridgehead now" . Esquire . Retrieved 7 February 2018 .
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Brower, Brock (March 1962).
"Mary McCarthyism: The lady is pretty and nice and smart. Smarter than you are, probably" . Esquire . Retrieved 7 February 2018 .
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Brower, Brock (February 1963).
"The Brothers Cassini: Oleg and Igor: the Clothes and the Column" . Esquire . Retrieved 7 February 2018 .
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Brower, Brock (June 1964).
"The Vulgarization of American Demonology: What was once, monster-wise, noble and true and frightening has become no more than a comic shadow of its former self" . Esquire . Retrieved 7 February 2018 .
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Brower, Brock (April 1968).
"Rockabye: If at last you don't succeed, die, die, die again" . Esquire . Retrieved 7 February 2018 .
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Brower, Brock (January 1971).
"Dylan's Boathouse: For sale: chrmg wterside cottge w/slp-in quartrs for the Muse" . Esquire . Retrieved 7 February 2018 .
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Brower, Brock (November 1971).
"Play It Again, Sam, Bogie, Harry, Wendell, Claude: One more time, those good old Forties' blues" . Esquire . Retrieved 7 February 2018 .
^
Brower, Brock (February 1975).
"The Conscience of Leon Jaworski: Never underestimate it; those who did are very, very sorry" . Esquire . Retrieved 7 February 2018 .
External links