Don Brown

Award-winning author Don Brown explores a very timely subject: the history of vaccines A Shot in the Arm!, book 3 in the Big Ideas that Changed the World series, is the history of vaccinations and the struggle to protect people from infectious disease. Beginning with smallpox--perhaps humankind's greatest affliction to date--and concluding with an overview of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brown traces the evolution of vaccines and examines deadly diseases such as measles, polio, anthrax, rabies, cholera, and influenza. The book is narrated by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who historically popularized inoculation in England in the early 18th century. Brown covers the science behind how our immune systems work, the discovery of bacteria, and major achievements from scientists like Louis Pasteur, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, and Edward Jenner, the "father of immunology." Brown also tackles the public and political response to vaccination throughout history, addressing head-on the anti-vaccination movement and debunking false claims that vaccines cause autism. A reminder of progress made so far as well as the millions of lives still to be saved, A Shot in the Arm! is a fascinating deep-dive for readers young and old. Back matter includes an author's note, timeline, bibliography, notes, and index. Big Ideas That Changed the World is a graphic novel series that celebrates the hard-won succession of ideas that ultimately changed the world. Humor, drama, and art unite to tell the story of events, discoveries, and ingenuity over time that led humans to come up with a big idea and then make it come true.

Award-winning author Don Brown explores computers and technology in book two of the Big Ideas series Machines That Think! explores machines from ancient history to today that perform a multitude of tasks, from making mind-numbing calculations to working on assembly lines. Included are fascinating looks at the world’s earliest calculators, the birth of computer programming, and the arrival of smartphones. Contributors discussed include Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, Ada Lovelace, and Bill Gates. From the abacus to artificial intelligence, machines through the ages have pushed the boundaries of human capability and creativity. Back matter includes a timeline, endnotes, a bibliography, an author’s note, and an index.

Invent Wow: A Proven 3-Step System for Turning Your WOW IDEAS Into Profitable ProductsWhen I was growing up, I always thought there were only two ways to get rich. Number one - you were born rich. Number two - some family member left you a bunch of money when they kicked the bucket. As much as people love to talk up the American Dream, I grew up inside the American Reality - raised in a trailer in New Jersey, to a 14-year-old mother. But now, things are a little different. I've done lots of cool stuff with my life, but most people know me as "the Ab Roller Guy," and there's one in nearly every garage, basement, weight room, and exercise facility around the world. It was a journey, but from being a butcher to working for minimum wage at a gym, to making the invention that would change my life - I found a path to freedom and stability. Today, I'm sharing that path with anyone struggling with money, curious about the world, or looking to take themselves to the next level. It's called Invent WOW Inside, I share my story and tips for reaching the top of the invention world. You don't have to be Leonardo DaVinci to be a good inventor, and no, everything hasn't "been invented already." You won't just learn about the business end of inventing - I'll also highlight the exact methods that allow me to have better ideas with blockbuster value, years ahead of my competitors. My first brilliant idea and why "the rule of five" meant it was doomed to fail. The one family member who saved my entire career by helping me say NO to a corporate powerhouse. Why singing an NDA didn't protect me from a DOGFIGHT with people all over the world stealing my first idea. The steps I took to develop the Ab Roller into a knockout product. I did them by accident, but when you read this, you'll have a system. How I stayed afloat when the Patent Office LOST my patent and exposed me to every ripoff under the sun. It's not just the story of my success, it's about me helping you tell your own story. You'll also discover: The three steps to a WOW invention - the kind that spreads like wildfire, knocks people's socks off and gets you big checks from jump-street (this is super critical) Why your ideas DON'T always have to be creative or innovative to be amazing. How do you know you're ideas any good - and why an idea that's TOO fresh will have investors running for the hills My WOW IDEA test. For each of these eight features, you're going to give your product a score of one to five. We are going to transform that idea in your head into a workable prototype. Some companies say you don't need to do this, but ... well ... How to invest and create a real physical prototype when you don't have a bunch of money to spend. As one of the most ripped-off inventors in modern history, I know all about the value (and limitations) of a non-disclosure agreement. Read about creating an NDA and keep your intellectual property YOURS. Why should you spend as little money as possible on prototyping - and spend as much money and time as possible on ... THIS. I'll fill you in on this and more inside my book. Branding your invention - and why someone made millions with a generic idea just for having a cool name. How to run a successful campaign on Kickstarter - and get thousands of customers to PAY YOU to give you what you want. Every phase, from inspiration to profit, is covered inside the pages of Invent WOW

Invent Wow: A Proven 3-Step System for Turning Your WOW IDEAS Into Profitable ProductsWhen I was growing up, I always thought there were only two ways to get rich. Number one - you were born rich. Number two - some family member left you a bunch of money when they kicked the bucket. As much as people love to talk up the American Dream, I grew up inside the American Reality - raised in a trailer in New Jersey, to a 14-year-old mother. But now, things are a little different. I've done lots of cool stuff with my life, but most people know me as "the Ab Roller Guy," and there's one in nearly every garage, basement, weight room, and exercise facility around the world. It was a journey, but from being a butcher to working for minimum wage at a gym, to making the invention that would change my life - I found a path to freedom and stability. Today, I'm sharing that path with anyone struggling with money, curious about the world, or looking to take themselves to the next level. It's called Invent WOW Inside, I share my story and tips for reaching the top of the invention world. You don't have to be Leonardo DaVinci to be a good inventor, and no, everything hasn't "been invented already." You won't just learn about the business end of inventing - I'll also highlight the exact methods that allow me to have better ideas with blockbuster value, years ahead of my competitors. My first brilliant idea and why "the rule of five" meant it was doomed to fail. The one family member who saved my entire career by helping me say NO to a corporate powerhouse. Why singing an NDA didn't protect me from a DOGFIGHT with people all over the world stealing my first idea. The steps I took to develop the Ab Roller into a knockout product. I did them by accident, but when you read this, you'll have a system. How I stayed afloat when the Patent Office LOST my patent and exposed me to every ripoff under the sun. It's not just the story of my success, it's about me helping you tell your own story. You'll also discover: The three steps to a WOW invention - the kind that spreads like wildfire, knocks people's socks off and gets you big checks from jump-street (this is super critical) Why your ideas DON'T always have to be creative or innovative to be amazing. How do you know you're ideas any good - and why an idea that's TOO fresh will have investors running for the hills My WOW IDEA test. For each of these eight features, you're going to give your product a score of one to five. We are going to transform that idea in your head into a workable prototype. Some companies say you don't need to do this, but ... well ... How to invest and create a real physical prototype when you don't have a bunch of money to spend. As one of the most ripped-off inventors in modern history, I know all about the value (and limitations) of a non-disclosure agreement. Read about creating an NDA and keep your intellectual property YOURS. Why should you spend as little money as possible on prototyping - and spend as much money and time as possible on ... THIS. I'll fill you in on this and more inside my book. Branding your invention - and why someone made millions with a generic idea just for having a cool name. How to run a successful campaign on Kickstarter - and get thousands of customers to PAY YOU to give you what you want. Every phase, from inspiration to profit, is covered inside the pages of Invent WOW

New Year’s Day, 1918. America has declared war on Germany and is gathering troops to fight. But there’s something coming that is deadlier than any war. When people begin to fall ill, most Americans don’t suspect influenza. The flu is known to be dangerous to the very old, young, or frail. But the Spanish flu is exceptionally violent. Soon, thousands of people succumb. Then tens of thousands . . . hundreds of thousands and more. Graves can’t be dug quickly enough. What made the influenza of 1918 so exceptionally deadly - and what can modern science help us understand about this tragic episode in history? With a journalist’s discerning eye for facts and an artist’s instinct for true emotion, Sibert Honor recipient Don Brown sets out to answer these questions and more in Fever Year.

On the morning of July 2, 2012, in the most dangerous warzone in the world, Lieutenant Clint Lorance took command of his small band of American paratroopers at the spearhead of the American War in Afghanistan. Intelligence reports that morning warned of a Taliban ambush against Lorance's platoon. Fifteen minutes into their patrol, three military-age Afghan males crowded on a motorcycle and sped aggressively down a Taliban-controlled dirt road toward Lorance's men. Three weeks earlier, outside the massive American Kandahar Airfield, Taliban terrorists struck by motorcycle, riding into a crowded area, detonating body-bombs and killing twenty-two people. Sixty-three days before that, three Ohio National Guard soldiers were murdered in another motorcycle-suicide bombing. Suicide-by-motorcycle had become a common Taliban murder-tactic against Americans. Lorance had seconds to react. Either open fire and protect his men, or ignore the speeding motorcycle and pray like hell that his men weren't about to get blown the hell up. In a split-second decision, Lorance ordered his men to fire. When no weapons were found on the Afghan bodies, the Army betrayed one of its finest young officers and prosecuted Lorance for "murder." Hiding crucial evidence from the military jury, and ordering his own men to testify against him or face murder charges themselves, they railroaded Lorance into a 20-year prison sentence at Fort Leavenworth, where he remains today. TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE chronicles the true story of the most despicable political prosecution in American military history.

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong took “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” when the Apollo 11 landed on the moon. But it wasn’t just one man who got us to the moon. The Moon Landing explores the people and technology that made the moon landing possible. Instead of examining one person’s life, it focuses on the moon landing itself, showing the events leading up to it and how it changed the world. The book takes readers through the history of rocket building: from ancient Chinese rockets, to “bombs bursting in air” during the War of 1812, to Russia’s Sputnik program, to the moon landing. Beautifully illustrated and well-researched, this book is the perfect resource for curious readers and tomorrow’s scientists. It includes a timeline of space travel, a bibliography, and an index.

Starting in 2011, refugees flood out of war-torn Syria in Exodus-like proportions. The surprising flood of victims overwhelms neighbouring countries, and chaos follows. Resentment in host nations heightens as disruption and the cost of aid grows. By 2017, many want to turn their backs on the victims. The refugees are the unwanted. Don Brown depicts moments of both heartbreaking horror and hope in the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis. Shining a light on the stories of the survivors, The Unwanted is a testament to the courage and resilience of the refugees and a call to action for all those who read.

The incomparable Don Brown chronicles the ballooning misadventures of John Jeffries, scientist and aviation pioneer. Swept up by the European ballooning craze of the 1780s, Dr. John Jeffries longed to become the first person to fly across the English Channel. But first he had to outwit a rascally copilot, keep the balloon from bursting, and avoid crashing into the sea. The good doctor's quick-thinking solutions will surprise young readers--and keep them giggling. Orbis Pictus and Sibert Honor winner Don Brown tells this quirky true story with his usual accuracy and heart.

"A complete visual package." --Booklist, starred reviewOn a clear, warm Sunday, April 14, 1935, a wild wind whipped up millions upon millions specks of dust to form a duster--a savage storm--on America's high southern plains. The sky turned black, sand-filled winds scoured the paint off houses and cars, trains derailed, and electricity coursed through the air. Sand and dirt fell like snow--people got lost in the gloom and suffocated... and that was just the beginning. Don Brown brings the Dirty Thirties to life with lively artwork in this graphic novel of one of America's most catastrophic natural events: the Dust Bowl.

Almost 14.5 billion years ago, it all started with a BIG BANG and what began as a cloud of gas, dust, and rock eventually took shape and bloomed into a molten sphere. Battered by asteroid collisions, ice ages, and shifting tectonic plates, our fledgling planet finally pushed forth continents. But if you think the earth has calmed down since then--think again Geological activity continues to sculpt the earth's landscape, sometimes with terrible consequences for its inhabitants: earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis. In this one-of-a-kind, wild, but true history of Earth, the Sibert Honor medalist Don Brown takes on big concepts with humor and ease.

Kirkus' Best of 2015 list School Library Journal Best of 2015 Publishers Weekly's Best of 2015 list Horn Book Fanfare Book Booklist Editor's Choice On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina's monstrous winds and surging water overwhelmed the protective levees around low-lying New Orleans, Louisiana. Eighty percent of the city flooded, in some places under twenty feet of water. Property damages across the Gulf Coast topped $100 billion. One thousand eight hundred and thirty-three people lost their lives. The riveting tale of this historic storm and the drowning of an American city is one of selflessness, heroism, and courage--and also of incompetence, racism, and criminality. Don Brown's kinetic art and as-it-happens narrative capture both the tragedy and triumph of one of the worst natural disasters in American history. A portion of the proceeds from this book has been donated to Habitat for Humanity New Orleans.

THE U. S. NAVY’S BILLION-DOLLAR CONTRACT FOR THE SALE OF DRONES LANDS TWO NAVY JAG OFFICERS IN THE GUN SIGHTS OF A KILLER. Caroline is just getting her feet wet at the prestigious Code 13, but is thankful for at least one familiar face—her old flame, P. J. MacDonald. He loops her into the assignment he is currently working on—the legality of a proposed drone-sharing contract with Homeland Security that would allow the sale of drones for domestic surveillance. The contractor wants a legal opinion clearing the contract for congressional approval. But the mob wants the proposal dead-on-arrival. When P. J. is gunned down in cold blood and a second JAG officer is killed, one thing becomes clear: whoever is ordered to write the legal opinion on the drones becomes a target. Which is exactly why Caroline goes to her commanding officer and volunteers to write the legal opinion herself. She is determined to avenge P. J.’s death and trap the killer, even if that means making herself a target. It is a deadly game of Russian roulette for the sake of justice, but Caroline is determined to see it through, even if it costs her life.

On August 6, 2011—three months after members of Navy SEAL Team Six killed Osama Bin Laden—Taliban forces took down a United States helicopter, call sign "Extortion 17." The attack killed the Air National guard crew, seven unidentified members of the Afghan military, and seventeen members of Navy SEAL Team Six—warrior brothers from the same Team that had killed Osama Bin Laden just ninety days prior. Don Brown, a former U. S. Navy JAG officer stationed at the Pentagon and a former Special Assistant United States Attorney, re-creates the wartime action, tells the life stories of the elite warriors our nation lost on that day, and tears apart the official military explanation of the incident contained in the infamous Colt Report, which reveals either gross incompetence or a massive cover-up. Were the seven Afghan soldiers aboard that helicopter really undercover Taliban who either maneuvered the chopper within easy range of being shot down or sabotaged it from within? Were the SEALS sacrificed on the altar of political correctness and deliberately flown into a known Taliban hot zone? Through a serious examination of the evidence, and the lack thereof, Brown tackles the issues of the case as only an experienced military prosecutor can. Author Don Brown, a former United States Navy JAG officer stationed at the Pentagon, and former Special Assistant United States Attorney, is the author of ten military and legal novels, including the nationally bestselling novels Treason and The Malacca Conspiracy. He lives and practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina.

A man and his son dreamed of America's freedom, but the dream became a nightmare when they ended up at Guantanamo Bay. Hasan Makari and his son, Najib, both Lebanese nationals, have dreamed of the day they would experience the shining freedom of America. But when they arrive in the US, they are arrested, accused of terrorism, and incarcerated at the Guantanamo Bay Prison Camp in Cuba, all on false charges. Suddenly, they face the nightmare of death by execution. Their only hope is Navy JAG Officer Matt Davis, who has been assigned to the case of his life-to defend the Makaris in court at Guantanamo Bay. Matt believes his clients are innocent, but he faces monumental opposition-not only from powerful federal prosecutors with a huge agenda and an unlimited budget, but also from the woman he loves who, as a fellow JAG officer, has been ordered onto the prosecution team to convict the Makaris. As the drama unfolds in Cuba, Emily Gardner, a top-ranking TSA lawyer, has just received a larger-than-life nomination as General Counsel for the Department of Homeland Security. While preparing for confirmation by the US Senate, she discovers a shocking scheme that will turn her life upside down. Can Emily expose the truth in time to save the lives of those being accused-and escape with her own life? Somewhere between the war-torn plains of Northern Lebanon and the secret torture chamber of Guantanamo Bay lie the keys to justice.