Brian Moynahan (30 March 1941 – 1 April 2018) was an English journalist, historian and biographer. He was born in 1941, the son of the dermatologist Edmund Moynahan of Guy's and Great Ormond Street Hospitals. He was educated at

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governors , ...

and

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

, where he was a Foundation Scholar and editor of the student magazines ''Cambridge Opinion'' and ''Broadsheet''. He graduated in 1962 with a double First in history. He was a leader writer with ''The

Yorkshire Post ''The Yorkshire Post'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds in Yorkshire, England. It primarily covers stories from Yorkshire although its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's National Newspaper". It was previously owned by ...

'' before covering wars in Vietnam, Laos and Borneo, the ''violencia'' in Colombia and the American intervention in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

, for ''Town Magazine'', and ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

''. He also wrote on industry and business in the Far East. He was editor of Town before joining the staff of ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' in 1968. As a foreign correspondent, Moynahan covered the Arab-Israeli, Ethiopian and Lebanese conflicts, as well as events in Europe and Russia. He was latterly ''

'' Europe editor, based in Paris, before concentrating on writing books. These include the award-winning history, ''The Russian Century,'' ''The Faith'', a history of Christianity, ''If God Spare My Life'', a biography of

William Tyndale William Tyndale (; sometimes spelled ''Tynsdale'', ''Tindall'', ''Tindill'', ''Tyndall''; – ) was an English biblical scholar and linguist who became a leading figure in the Protestant Reformation in the years leading up to his executi ...

, described as "a triumph, authoritative, vital, passionate, closely attentive to the sources" and the best-selling ''Airport International'' and ''Jungle Soldier''. His last book, ''Leningrad Siege and Symphony'', an account of Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony, was a Spectator Book of The Year.

Death

Moynahan died on 1 April 2018 at the age of 77.

Works

* ''Airport International'' (1978) * ''Fool's Paradise'' (1983) * ''Claws of the Bear, a history of the Soviet Armed Forces'' (1989) * ''Comrades 1917, Russia in Revolution'' (1992) * ''The Russian Century'' (1994) * ''Rasputin, the Saint who Sinned'' 1998 * ''The British Century'' 1999 * ''The Faith, a history of Christianity'' 2003 * ''If God Spare My Life'' 2003 * ''The French Century'' 2007 * ''Forgotten Soldiers'' 2008 * ''Jungle Soldier'' 2010 * ''Leningrad Siege and Symphony, Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony'' 2014

Review

“A stupendous story, driven by a furious narrative yet biblical in its thematic confrontations of beauty and evil. It’s vivid in three dimensions: The Red Army’s battles with Hitler’s war machine; the ordeals of the Russian people terrorized by the malevolent maniac in the Kremlin; and throughout the faint but swelling counterpoint of hope as the great Dmitri Shostakovich struggles to write the score of his Seventh Symphony to express the soul of his martyred city . . . This is history to cherish.”—Sir Harold Evans, Editor at Large at ''Reuters'', author of ''The American Century'', and publisher of ''The Russian Century'', writing about Moynahan's book Leningrad: Siege and Symphony.

References

External links

Interview with Brian Moynahan
quercusbooks.co.uk, 23 August 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Moynahan, Brian 1941 births 2018 deaths Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge English journalists English reporters and correspondents English writers People educated at Sherborne School The Sunday Times people