Bruce Henderson (author)

Bruce Henderson is an American journalist and author of more than 20 nonfiction books, including a #1 ''New York Times'' bestseller, ''And the Sea Will Tell''. His most recent ''New York Times'' bestseller is ''Sons and Soldiers: The Untold Story of the Jews Who Escaped the Nazis and Returned with the U.S. Army to Fight Hitler''. Henderson's books have been translated into French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Danish, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese, Hungarian and Czech. A member of the Authors Guild, Henderson has taught reporting and writing courses at USC School of Journalism and Stanford University.

Born in Oakland, California, he served in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War and attended college on the G.I. Bill. He worked as an investigative reporter for several newspapers, including the ''Los Angeles Herald-Examiner'', and as an associate editor at ''New West'' and ''California''. His writing has appeared in many other periodicals, such as ''Smithsonian Magazine'' ("Cook vs. Peary", April 2009), ''Esquire'', and ''Playboy''.

Notable books

Henderson's most recent book, ''New York Times'' bestseller'' Sons and Soldiers: The Untold Story of the Jews Who Escaped the Nazis and Returned with the U.S. Army to Fight Hitler'', is the true story of the German-born Jews, dubbed the Ritchie Boys, who fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s, came of age in America, and returned to Europe at enormous personal risk as members of the U.S. Army's Military Intelligence Service to play a key role in the Allied victory. ''Sons and Soldiers'' has been published in twelve foreign countries. USA Today called it "thrilling...a spellbinding account of extraordinary men at war" and ''The New York Post'' hailed it as "the last great unknown tale of World War II".

Henderson also wrote ''Rescue at Los Baños: The Most Daring Prison Camp Raid of World War II'', a narrative nonfiction account of the February 23, 1945, Raid at Los Baños that freed more than 2,000 civilian prisoners of war – most of them American men, women and children, as well as other Allied nationalities – from an Imperial Japanese Army internment camp located 40 miles south of Manila. ''Rescue at Los Baños'' has received positive reviews from the trade and the media. Kirkus Reviews called it "riveting" and The Costco Connection called the book "history as exciting as any work of fiction."

Henderson's national bestseller ''Hero Found: The Greatest POW Escape of the Vietnam War'' is the story of U.S. Navy pilot Dieter Dengler, who was shot down over Laos in January 1966 and escaped from a Pathet Lao POW camp six months later. Henderson and Dengler served together on the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CVA-61) in 1965–66.

His true crime book ''And the Sea Will Tell'', written with Charles Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, was a #1 ''New York Times'' hardcover bestseller and highly rated CBS miniseries. "The book succeeds on all counts", reported the ''Los Angeles Times''. "The final pages are some of the most suspenseful in trial literature." Henderson followed with another true crime title, ''Trace Evidence: The Hunt for the I-5 Serial Killer''.

Henderson's book ''True North: Peary, Cook, and The Race to the Pole'' examined the ongoing controversy as to which explorer reached the North Pole first: Robert Peary in 1909 or Frederick Cook in 1908. ''Publishers Weekly'' commented: "This adventure yarn delivers as both a cautionary tale and a fitting memorial to polar exploration." Henderson's other Arctic title, ''Fatal North: Murder and Survival on the First North Pole Expedition'', tells the story of the ill-fated Charles Francis Hall expedition to the North Pole.

An experienced collaborative writer, Henderson co-authored '' Time Traveler: A Scientist's Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality'', the autobiography of African-American theoretical physicist Ronald Mallett, as well as ''Ring of Deceit: Inside the Biggest Sports and Bank Scandal in History'', which chronicles the meteoric rise and fall of boxing promoter and convicted swindler Harold Smith.

Partial bibliography

*''Sons and Soldiers: The Untold Story of the Jews Who Escaped the Nazis and Returned with the U.S. Army to Fight Hitler ()
*''Rescue at Los Baños: The Most Daring Prison Camp Raid of World War II'' ()
*'' Hero Found: The Greatest POW Escape of the Vietnam War'' ()
*''Down to the Sea: An Epic Story of Naval Disaster and Heroism in World War II'' ()
*''And the Sea Will Tell'' ()
*''Trace Evidence: The Hunt for an Elusive Serial Killer'' ()
*''Fatal North: Murder and Survival on the First North Pole Expedition'' ()
*''True North: Peary, Cook, and The Race to the Pole'' ()
*''Ghetto Cops: On the Streets of the Most Dangerous City in America'' ()
*''Ring of Deceit: Inside the Biggest Sports and Bank Scandal in History'' ()
*''Time Traveler: A Scientist's Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality'' ()
*''Spy Dust: Two Masters of Disguise Reveal the Tools and Operations That Helped Win the Cold War'' ()
*''Leap of Faith: An Astronaut's Journey into the Unknown'' ()
*''Taking Back Our Streets: Fighting Crime in America'' ()
*''Ernest & Julio: Our Story'' ()

Film adaptations

A four-hour television miniseries adaptation of ''And the Sea Will Tell'' aired on CBS in 1991. Filmed in Vancouver, B.C. and Tahiti, it starred Rachel Ward, Richard Crenna, and James Brolin. ''Ring of Deceit: Inside the Biggest Sports and Bank Scandal in History,'' has been optioned for film by two-time Academy Award-winning director Rob Minkoff.

References

External links

Official Website and Blog

Author's Facebook Page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Bruce
Living people
American non-fiction writers
Writers from Oakland, California
Year of birth missing (living people)