David Baldacci
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David Baldacci | |
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![]() Baldacci at the 2015 National Book Festival | |
Born | Richmond, Virginia, U.S. | August 5, 1960
Occupation | Novelist |
Alma mater | Virginia Commonwealth University University of Virginia |
Period | 1996–present |
Genre | Thrillers, children's literature |
Notable works | Absolute Power |
Spouse | Michelle Collin (m. 1990) |
Children | 2 |
Signature | ![]() |
Website | |
www |
David Baldacci (born August 5, 1960)[1] is a bestselling American novelist. An attorney by education, Baldacci writes mainly suspense novels and legal thrillers. His fans include former President Barack Obama. [2]
Biography[]
Early life and education[]
David Baldacci was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. He graduated from Henrico High School and earned a B.A. in Political Science from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law, after which he practiced law for nine years in Washington, D.C. He is of Italian descent from Barga, in Tuscany.[3]
Career[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2d/City_of_Richmond_Business_District.jpg/220px-City_of_Richmond_Business_District.jpg)
Baldacci began writing stories as a child, when his mother gave him a notebook in which to record them. He wrote for more than two decades, penning short stories and later screenplays without much success.
While practicing law, he turned to novel writing, taking three years to write Absolute Power. Published in 1996, it was an international best seller. To date, Baldacci has published 40 best-selling novels for adults as well as seven novels for younger readers.
Personal life and charities[]
Baldacci resides in Fairfax County, Virginia, with his family.[4]
Baldacci and his wife, Michelle, are the co-founders of the Wish You Well Foundation,[5] which works to combat illiteracy in the United States.[6] Baldacci became involved with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society after his sister, author Sharon Baldacci, was diagnosed with MS.[7]
Works[]
Baldacci's first novel, Absolute Power, tells the story of a fictional American president and his Secret Service agents who are willing to commit murder in order to cover up the accidental death of a woman with whom the President was having an affair. It was adapted as a film, Absolute Power (1997), starring Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman.
Baldacci wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of his novel Wish You Well; the movie was shot on location in southwest Virginia with Academy Award winner Ellen Burstyn, Josh Lucas, and Mackenzie Foy in the lead roles.
Baldacci was a consulting producer on King & Maxwell, a TNT television series based on his characters Sean King and Michelle Maxwell. Jon Tenney and Rebecca Romijn starred.
The Christmas Train, Baldacci's eighth novel, was adapted in 2017 by Hallmark Channel as a Hallmark Hall of Fame feature presentation. The TV movie starred Dermot Mulroney, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Danny Glover and Joan Cusack and was directed by Ron Oliver.
Baldacci's novels have been published in over 45 languages and in more than 80 countries, with over 130 million worldwide sales as of 2018.[8]
Bibliography[]
Sean King and Michelle Maxwell series[]
- Split Second (2003)
- Hour Game (2004)
- Simple Genius (2007)
- First Family (2009)
- The Sixth Man (2011)
- King and Maxwell (2013)
The Camel Club series[]
- The Camel Club (2005)
- The Collectors (2006)
- Stone Cold (2007)
- Divine Justice (2008)
- Hell's Corner (2010)
A. Shaw and Katie James series[]
- The Whole Truth (2008)
- Deliver Us From Evil (2010)
John Puller series[]
- Zero Day (2011)
- The Forgotten (2012)
- The Escape (2014)
- No Man's Land (2016)
- John Puller guests in the Atlee Pine thriller Daylight (November 2020)
Will Robie series[]
- The Innocent (2012)
- The Hit (2013)
- The Target (2014)
- The Guilty (2015)
- End Game (2017)
- Will Robie guests in the Amos Decker thriller Walk The Wire (2020)
Amos Decker series[]
- Memory Man (2015)
- The Last Mile (2016)
- The Fix (2017)
- The Fallen (2018)
- Redemption (2019)
- Walk The Wire (2020)
Atlee Pine series[]
- Long Road to Mercy (2018)
- A Minute to Midnight (2019)
- Daylight (2020, John Puller crossover)
- Mercy (2021)[9]
Aloysius Archer series[]
- One Good Deed (2019)
- A Gambling Man (2021)
Stand-alone novels[]
- Absolute Power (1996)
- Total Control (1997)
- The Winner (1998)
- The Simple Truth (1998)
- Saving Faith (1999)
- Wish You Well (2001)
- Last Man Standing (2001)
- The Christmas Train (2003)
- True Blue (2009)
- (2011)
- No Time Left (novella) (2012)
- Bullseye (novella, Will Robie / Camel Club, 2014)
- The Final Play (2021)[10]
For young readers[]
Freddy and the French Fries series[]
- Freddy and the French Fries: Fries Alive! (Little, Brown and Company, 2005), Baldacci's debut novel for young readers
- Freddy and the French Fries: The Mystery of Silas Finklebean (Little, Brown and Company, 2006)
The 39 Clues series[]
- Day of Doom (Scholastic Publishing, 2013), Book 6 in the "Cahills vs. Vespers" series of The 39 Clues books
The Finisher (Vega Jane) series[]
- (Scholastic Press, 2014), Book 1 in Baldacci's Vega Jane series for middle-grade/YA readers
- The Keeper (Scholastic Press, 2015)
- The Width of the World (Scholastic Press, 2017)
- The Stars Below (Scholastic Press, 2019)
Adaptations[]
- Absolute Power (1997 film), starring Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, and Ed Harris.
- King & Maxwell (2013 TV series), starring Jon Tenney and Rebecca Romijn.
- Wish You Well (2013 film), starring Mackenzie Foy, Josh Lucas, and Ellen Burstyn.
- , starring Dermot Mulroney, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Danny Glover and Joan Cusack.
References[]
- ^ Baldacci, David. "Memoirs". gohiblog.com. Archived from the original on 2012-05-23.
- ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2014/12/01/everybody-including-president-obama-was-buying-books-this-weekend/
- ^ "Vero cognome Baldacci, il nonno Amedeo sarebbe emigrato per gli Stati Uniti nel 1901 Originario di Barga David Ford, noto autore americano - il Tirreno dal 1997.it » Ricerca". Ricerca.gelocal.it. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
- ^ The introduction to The Target
- ^ "Home". Wish You Well Foundation.
- ^ Alison Bonaguru (2013). "David Baldacci". Virginia Living. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
- ^ "David Baldacci". National MS Society. 2013. Archived from the original on May 17, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
author Sharon Baldacci was diagnosed with MS.
- ^ Memmott, Carol (February 27, 2013). "David Baldacci clues kids in to Smithsonian's treasures". USA Today. McLean, VA: Gannett. ISSN 0734-7456. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
- ^ Baldacci, David (2021-11-16). Mercy. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5387-1969-5.
- ^ "The Final Play - Pan Macmillan AU". Pan Macmillan Australia. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
External links[]
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to David Baldacci. |
Library resources |
By David Baldacci |
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- Official website
- David Baldacci at IMDb
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Freddy and the French Fries website
- David Baldacci at site Goodreads.com
Interviews[]
- Profile in Newsweek, March 2009
- Modern Signed Books BlogTalkRadio Interview with Rodger Nichols about No Man's Land October 2016
- Modern Signed Books interviews David Baldacci, May 2018
- 1960 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American novelists
- 20th-century American male writers
- 21st-century American novelists
- American male novelists
- American male screenwriters
- American thriller writers
- Henrico High School alumni
- Writers from Richmond, Virginia
- People from Vienna, Virginia
- University of Virginia School of Law alumni
- Virginia Commonwealth University alumni
- Virginia lawyers
- Lawyers from Richmond, Virginia
- 21st-century American male writers
- Novelists from Virginia
- Screenwriters from Virginia