NORMAN — H.W. Brands historian and best-selling author will speak at a President’s Associates dinner at the University of Oklahoma on Thursday, Oct. 22. Prior to dinner, Brands will meet with OU students for an informal discussion. In his recent book, "Reagan: The Life," Brands establishes Ronald Reagan as one of the two great presidents of the 20th century, a peer to Franklin Roosevelt.

“H.W. Brands is a keen student of the skill of leadership especially presidential leadership,” said OU President David L. Boren. “With his new biography and his previous book on Franklin Roosevelt, he will provide a strong comparison of the two.”

Brands presents history through stories. His books, "The First American" and "Traitor to His Class" were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize and the Los Angeles Times Prize. He has written 25 books and his articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and many other newspapers, magazines and journals. His writings have earned critical and popular acclaim.       

Brands is a regular guest of national radio and television programs and is frequently interviewed by the American and foreign press. His writings have been published in several countries and translated into German, French, Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

Brands worked as an oral historian at the University of Texas School of Law and has taught at Vanderbilt University. Other teaching positions include Texas A&M University, where he remained for 17 years and in 2005, he joined the faculty at the University of Texas at Austin, where he currently holds the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History.

Limited seating is available by reservation for OU students, faculty and staff, with overflow seating available to the public. For reservations, more information and accommodations on the basis of disability, please call OU Public Affairs at 405-325-3784 or email specialevents@ou.edu.