(When lobbyist Faith Lockhart stumbles upon a corruption s...)
When lobbyist Faith Lockhart stumbles upon a corruption scheme at the highest levels of government, she becomes a dangerous witness who the most powerful men in the world will go to any lengths to silence.
(Witnessing a murder with ties to a prestigious businessma...)
Witnessing a murder with ties to a prestigious businessman's club, homeless conspiracy theorist Harry Stone steals a crucial piece of evidence from the scene and is subsequently pursued by a dangerous member of the club and a secret service agent who slowly uncovers the truth.
(While a gifted con artist plots against the most ruthless...)
While a gifted con artist plots against the most ruthless businessman in the world, the Camel Club must stop a renegade CIA agent from selling American secrets to the highest bidder. The assassination of the speaker of the House has rocked the nation. And the Camel Club has found a chilling connection with another death: that of the director of the Library of Congress's Rare Books and Special Collections Division.
(The Camel Club faces their greatest threat yet: a casino ...)
The Camel Club faces their greatest threat yet: a casino king and a stone-cold killer who are determined to bury the truth. Oliver Stone, the leader of the mysterious group that calls itself the Camel Club, is both feared and respected. Keeping a vigilant watch over our leaders in Washington D.C., the club has won over some allies, but it has also made some formidable enemies.
(Following a family tragedy, siblings Lou and Oz must leav...)
Following a family tragedy, siblings Lou and Oz must leave New York and adjust to life in the Virginia mountains - but just as the farm begins to feel like home, they'll have to defend it from a dark threat in this New York Times bestselling coming-of-age story. Precocious twelve-year-old Louisa Mae Cardinal lives in the hectic New York City of 1940 with her family. Then tragedy strikes and Lou and her younger brother, Oz, must go with their invalid mother to live on their great-grandmother's farm in the Virginia mountains.
(A powerful defense contractor, a reluctant intelligence a...)
A powerful defense contractor, a reluctant intelligence agent, and an ambitious journalist race to contain and control an international crisis that could destroy the world in this #1 New York Times bestselling thriller. "Dick, I need a war." Nicolas Creel is a man on a mission. He heads up the world's largest defense contractor, The Ares Corporation. Dick Pender is the man Creel retains to "perception manage" his company to even more riches by manipulating international conflicts.
(A mysterious high-profile homicide in the nation's capita...)
A mysterious high-profile homicide in the nation's capital collides with the dark side of national security in David Baldacci's new, heart-stopping thriller. Mason "Mace" Perry was a firebrand cop on the D.C. police force until she was kidnapped and framed for a crime. She lost everything - her badge, her career, her freedom-and spent two years in prison. Now she's back on the outside and focused on one mission: to be a cop once more. Her only shot to be a true blue again is to solve a major case on her own, and prove she has the right to wear the uniform.
(With a master spy and the United States government after ...)
With a master spy and the United States government after him, former CIA assassin Oliver Stone is America's most wanted man-but escaping D.C. won't protect him from a lethal world of political corruption. Known by his alias, "Oliver Stone," John Carr is the most wanted man in America. With two pulls of the trigger, the men who destroyed Stone's life and kept him in the shadows were finally silenced. But his freedom comes at a steep price: The assassinations he carried out prompt the highest levels of the U.S. government to unleash a massive manhunt. Yet behind the scenes, master spy Macklin Hayes is playing a very personal game of cat and mouse. He, more than anyone else, wants John Carr dead.
(When burglar Luther Whitney breaks into a Virginia mansio...)
When burglar Luther Whitney breaks into a Virginia mansion, he witnesses a brutal crime involving the president - a man who believes he can get away with anything - and now, Luther may be the only one who can stop him. In a heavily guarded mansion in the Virginia countryside, professional burglar and break-in artist Luther Whitney is trapped behind a two-way mirror.
(Locked in a battle of nerve and wits, a mysterious intell...)
Locked in a battle of nerve and wits, a mysterious intelligence operative and a vigilante agent race against time to take down a greedy businessman bent on destroying millions of lives. Evan Waller is a monster... He has built a fortune from his willingness to buy and sell anything...and anyone. In search of new opportunities, Waller has just begun a new business venture: one that could lead to millions of deaths all over the globe.
(When a convicted killer is saved by another man's confess...)
When a convicted killer is saved by another man's confession, Amos Decker, now an FBI special task force detective, must find the truth in this "utterly absorbing". Convicted murderer Melvin Mars is counting down the last hours before his execution for the violent killing of his parents twenty years earlier- when he's granted an unexpected reprieve. Another man has confessed to the crime.
(America's best hitman was hired to kill but when a D.C. g...)
America's best hitman was hired to kill but when a D.C. government operation goes horribly wrong, he must rescue a teenage runaway and investigate her parents' murders. It begins with a hit gone wrong. Robie is dispatched to eliminate a target unusually close to home in Washington, D.C. But something about this mission doesn't seem right to Robie, and he does the unthinkable. He refuses to pull the trigger. Now, Robie becomes a target himself and is on the run.
(Army Special Agent John Puller, a combat veteran, is the ...)
Army Special Agent John Puller, a combat veteran, is the man the United States Army often calls on when the toughest crimes need solved. In this book, the crime is personal; his aunt is found dead in Paradise, Florida in what is ruled as a tragic accident. Puller isn't convinced, though, and just before she died, his aunt mailed a letter to his father that suggests that Paradise isn't what it seems.
(A man accused of burglary seems innocent but two ex-Secre...)
A man accused of burglary seems innocent but two ex-Secret Service agents quickly learn that nothing is more dangerous than the truth. A woman is found murdered in the woods. It seems like a simple case but it soon escalates into a terrible nightmare. Someone is replicating the killing styles of the most infamous murderers of all time. No one knows this criminal's motives...or who will die next.
(Master assassin Will Robie must track down a deadly rogue...)
Master assassin Will Robie must track down a deadly rogue agent, but the attacks conceal a larger threat that could send shockwaves through the U. S. government and around the world. Will Robie is a master of killing. A highly skilled assassin, Robie is the man the U.S. government calls on to eliminate the worst of the worst - enemies of the state, monsters committed to harming untold numbers of innocent victims. No one else can match Robie's talents as a hitman...no one, except Jessica Reel.
(Two Secret Service agents sworn to guard their protectees...)
Two Secret Service agents sworn to guard their protectees lost them in a single moment, they're about to learn that the violence has just begun. Michelle Maxwell has just wrecked her promising career at the Secret Service. Against her instincts, she let a presidential candidate out of her sight for the briefest moment and the man whose safety was her responsibility vanished into thin air.
(When two former Secret Service agents investigate a messa...)
When two former Secret Service agents investigate a message from a soldier who was supposedly killed, they're determined to protect his son...even if they pay for it with their lives. It seems at first like a simple, tragic story. Tyler Wingo, a teenage boy, learns the awful news that his father, a soldier, was killed in action in Afghanistan.
(Vega Jane was always told no one could leave the town of ...)
Vega Jane was always told no one could leave the town of Wormwood. She was told there was nothing outside but a forest filled with danger and death. And she always believed it - until the night she saw Quentin Herms run away. Vega knows Quentin didn't just leave - he was chased. And he left behind a trail of clues that point to a dark conspiracy at the heart of Wormwood.
(The President knows it's a perilous, high-risk assignment...)
The President knows it's a perilous, high-risk assignment. If he gives the order, he has the opportunity to take down a global menace, once and for all. If the mission fails, he would face certain impeachment, and the threats against the nation would multiply.
(Special Agent Puller's brother is the country's most want...)
Special Agent Puller's brother is the country's most wanted criminal, but his conviction points to a cover-up and a dangerous enemy bent on burying the truth. It's a prison unlike any other. Military discipline rules. Its security systems are unmatched. None of its prisoners dream of escaping.
(After failing a critical assignment overseas, Will Robie ...)
After failing a critical assignment overseas, Will Robie must investigate a murder accusation against his father - but to save him, he'll have to face a violent and deadly fallout in this New York Times bestselling thriller.
(After his father is accused of murder, combat veteran and...)
After his father is accused of murder, combat veteran and Special Agent John Puller must investigate his past and learn the truth about his mother in this New York Times bestselling thriller - but someone hiding in the shadows wants revenge.
(Two of the government's most lethal assassins scour rural...)
Two of the government's most lethal assassins scour rural Colorado to find their missing handler--and discover an insidious and lethal threat along the way in this New York Times bestselling thriller. Will Robie and Jessica Reel are two of the most lethal people alive. They're the ones the government calls in when the utmost secrecy is required to take out those who plot violence and mass destruction against the United States.
(FBI detective Amos Decker must forge an uneasy alliance w...)
FBI detective Amos Decker must forge an uneasy alliance with the Defense Intelligence Agency to prevent an international incident that could spell the end of the United States as we know it.
(The sole survivor of a devastating ambush, FBI Hostage Re...)
The sole survivor of a devastating ambush, FBI Hostage Rescue Team agent Web London would do anything to find out what really happened that night and a ten year old boy may be the unexpected key. Web London was trained to penetrate hostile ground and come out alive. Then ten seconds in a dark alley cost him everything: his friends, his fellow agents, his reputation.
(Atlee Pine, an FBI agent with special skills assigned to ...)
Atlee Pine, an FBI agent with special skills assigned to the remote wilds of the southwestern United States who must confront a new threat and an old nightmare.
(Star FBI detective Amos Decker and his colleague Alex Jam...)
Star FBI detective Amos Decker and his colleague Alex Jamison must solve four increasingly bizarre murders in a dying rust belt town - and the closer they come to the truth, the deadlier it gets in this rapid-fire #1 New York Times bestseller. Something sinister is going on in Baronville. The rust belt town has seen four bizarre murders in the space of two weeks. Cryptic clues left at the scenes - obscure bible verses, odd symbols - have the police stumped.
(A rags-to-riches deal for single mother LuAnn Tyler is de...)
A rags-to-riches deal for single mother LuAnn Tyler is deadlier than she ever could have imagined. She is twenty, beautiful, dirt-poor, and hoping for a better life for her infant daughter when LuAnn Tyler is offered the gift of a lifetime, a $100 million lottery jackpot. All she has to do is change her identity and leave the U.S. forever.
(When cop-turned-attorney John Fiske comes to Washington t...)
When cop-turned-attorney John Fiske comes to Washington to investigate his brother's murder, he unearths decades-old secrets and discovers the truth is anything but simple in this #1 New York Times bestselling thriller. It's never what it seems... Young attorney Michael Fiske broke the law when he took Rufus Harms's prison letter from the Supreme Court. But he also sealed his own fate. Suddenly everyone who has anything to do with Harms or his appeal mysteriously dies.
(Detective Amos Decker discovers that a mistake he made as...)
Detective Amos Decker discovers that a mistake he made as a rookie detective may have led to deadly consequences in the latest Memory Man thriller in David Baldacci's #1 New York Times bestselling series.
(When her husband mysteriously disappears in a plane crash...)
When her husband mysteriously disappears in a plane crash into the Virginia countryside, a devastated wife must sort out truth from lies in this page-turning New York Times bestseller. Sidney Archer has it all: a husband she loves, a job at which she excels, and a cherished young daughter.
(Vega Jane fought her way out of the village where she was...)
Vega Jane fought her way out of the village where she was born, crossed a wilderness filled with vicious creatures, and raised a ragtag army behind her. But each triumph earned through grit and pain only brought her closer to him.
(Redemption is the latest memory man thriller in David Bal...)
Redemption is the latest memory man thriller in David Baldacci’s Sunday Times bestselling series. FBI consultant Amos Decker discovers that he may have made a fatal mistake when he was a rookie homicide detective.
David Baldacci is an American bestselling author of popular novels for adults and young readers. He is not only one of the bestselling American novelists, but also a philanthropist and screenwriter. His works have been adapted for both feature film and television. He is also regarded as the co-founder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, which supports literacy efforts across America.
Background
Ethnicity:
Baldacci is of Italian descent from Barga, in Tuscany.
David Baldacci was born on August 5, 1960, in Richmond, Virginia, where he currently resides. He began writing stories since childhood when his mother gave him a lined notebook in which to write down his stories.
Education
David received his general education at the Henrico High School in Virginia. Then he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Virginia Commonwealth University and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.
After receiving a degree in Law from the University of Virginia, David Baldacci practiced law for nine years, first as a trial and then as a corporate attorney in Washington, D.C. While practicing law, he turned to novel writing, taking three years to write Absolute Power.
David Baldacci has published more than 20 novels and most of his novels have ended up in New York’s bestselling list. He has also written two young adult novels which are Freddy and the French Fries: Fries Alive! and Freddy and the French Fries: The Adventures of Silas Finklebean. He also published a novella “Office Hours” for Holland’s year 2000 “Month of the Thriller”. Besides this, in 2002 he published a short story as part of a mystery anthology, which was called “The Mighty Jones”.
Baldacci has written seven original screenplays. His novel, “Absolute Power” was highly acclaimed and he won the Gold Medal Award for best Mystery/Thriller from southern writer’s guild. It also won Britain’s W. H. Smith’s Thumping Good Read award for fiction in 1997 and was also selected for People’s Magazine “Page Turner of the Week”. The novel was also made into a major motion picture starring Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman by Castle Rock Entertainment.
Some of his most bestselling novels include: Absolute Power, Total Control, The Winner, The Simple Truth, Saving Faith, Wish You Well, Last Man Standing, The Christmas Train, Split Second, Hour Game, The Camel Club, The Collectors, Simple Genius, Stone Cold, The Whole Truth, The Sixth Man.
Baldacci is a contributing editor of Parade Magazine, which has a readership of over 75 million. He also continued his philanthropic efforts through different services, the greatest of which is setting up a foundation with his wife “Wish You Well”, which supports the family literacy in the United States.
He also works for National Multiple sclerosis society as a National Ambassador and participates in several other renowned charities as Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, American Cancer Society and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
In 2008 his the Wish You Well Foundation partnered with Feeding America to launch Feeding Body & Mind, a program to address the connection between literacy, poverty, and hunger. Through Feeding Body & Mind, more than 1 million new and gently used books have been collected and distributed through food banks to families in need.
Baldacci resides in Fairfax County, Virginia, with his family.
(America's best hitman was hired to kill but when a D.C. g...)
2012
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As a young student, David wrote short stories in his spare time, so he took an early interest in literature.
Currently, David dedicates a fair amount of his life doing philanthropic work through the Wish You Well Foundation, established by David and his wife, Michelle. The Foundation supports family and adult literacy in the United States by fostering and promoting the development and expansion of literacy and educational programs. It expanded by partnering with Feeding America to launch Feeding Body and Mind, a program to address the connection between literacy, poverty, and hunger.
Quotations:
“Why can't people just sit and read books and be nice to each other?”
“Small mistakes tend to lead to large ones. Ours is a lifetime appoinment, and all you have is your reputation. Once it's gone, it doesn't comeback.”
“When a poor man gives something, that is a sacrifice indeed. When a rich man gives something, it hardly rises to the same level.”
“Depending on the situation, sometimes you can know a person better in ten minutes than someone you have crossed paths with all your life.”
“Today might not be so good. But tomorrow, you got another chance to get it right.”
“All you have to do [to win a Pulitzer Prize] is spend your life running from one awful place to another, write about every horrible thing you see. The civilized world reads about it, then forgets it, but pats you on the head for doing it and gives you a reward as appreciation for changing nothing.”
“The real worth of a person came from how he acted during the bad times.”
“It's my experience that most folk who ride trains could care less where they're going. For them it's the journey itself and the people they meet along the way. You see, at every stop this train makes, a little bit of America, a little bit of your country, gets on and says hello.”
“The human spirit was the strongest medicine on earth. And sometimes all it needed was a little encouragement to pull off a miracle.”
“Confidence is one thing, disrespect is quite another.”
“Because life doesn't work that way. You can do everything perfectly. Do everything you think you're supposed to be doing. Fulfill every expectation that other people may have. And you still won't get the results you think you deserve. Life is crazy and maddening and often makes no sense.”
“It's not getting from A to B. It's not the beginning or the destination that counts. It's the ride in between...This train is alive with things that should be seen and heard. It's a living, breathing something -- you just have to want to learn its rhythm.”
“You know what kind of person it takes to run for President? Not normal. They could start out okay, but by the time they reach that level they've sold their soul to the devil so many times and stomped the guts out of enough people that they are definitely not like you and me, not even close.”
“Time doesn't really heal, it just makes you not to give a crap.”
“Two people can care for each other but not want the same things.”
“Most folks here got rules 'bout trespassing. Warning shot's fired right close to the head. Get they's attention. Next shot gets a lot more personal. Now I'm too old to waste time firing a warning shot.....”
“It's not the beginning or the destination that counts. It's the ride in between.”
“Pender laughed. "Verify? In this day and age? Who cares about verifying anything? It's all about the speed. Who gets there first defines the truth. You know that as well as any man living.”
“As my father wrote, one's courage, hope, and spirit can be severely tried by the happenstance of life. But as I learned on this Virginia mountain, so long as one never loses faith, it is impossible to ever truly be alone.”
“It's the hardest thing in the world to put yourself in someone else's place, try to really feel what they feel, figure out why they do the things they do. Especially when it's easier to stick a label on something. Or someone.”
“Confidence is inspiring. Yet so often misplaced."
Membership
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
,
United States
Wish You Well Foundation
Personality
David Baldacci is a peacemaker by nature. Because he intuitively knows what people want, or feel, he can be extremely diplomatic and tactful. Patient and cooperative that he is, David works well with groups and somehow finds a way of creating harmony among diverse opinions. Baldacci describes himself as "a Virginia native, through and through."
Interests
As Baldacci stated himself, he likes reading, swimming, sunning, floating in the water with a cool drink, or doing nothing.
Writers
Mark Twain
Sport & Clubs
Baldacci enjoys every possible water sport: motorboating, wakeboarding, skiing, slalom, tubing, some sailing, cruising on Sea-Doos. Baldacci, 50, rates himself an 8 or 9 on a scale of 10 as a water-skier, but not so much when it comes to wakeboarding (a 4 or 5).
Connections
David Baldacci is married to Michelle Collin (born on May 5, 1990), and has two children. For Baldacci, most days spent at his SML home aren’t anywhere near that exciting. He and wife Michelle travel from their home in northern Virginia to Azalea Point, their refuge on the Bedford side near Smith Mountain Dam, with their two teenage children “off and on all year and at Christmas,” he said. Their six-bedroom home has been remodeled to include a new kitchen (Baldacci is an enthusiastic cook), gym and library/media center with 16-foot rolling book shelves. That room is where the family gathers to watch TV and play games, including euchre, a trick-taking card game similar to bridge that is especially popular in the Midwest, from where Michelle hails.
His son Collin is a proficient water-skier. “He’s the only person I know who got up on a slalom ski the first time,” said Baldacci.