inspiring. It is an experience I am very honored to have had.
About Brad Thor
Libertas: What other publications or books would you recommend that today’s young people read? —————————————————————————— BT: I think Glenn Beck has done a terrific job of making the complicated policy and economic problems of our day really easy to understand. Arguing with Idiots and Broke are terrific, and I highly recommend them. I also recommend Beck’s Common Sense and The Original Argument. In the blogosphere, visit Townhall.com, HumanEvents. com, RedState.com, MicheleMalkin.com, AmericanThinker. com, TheBlaze.com, and HotAir.com.
Brad Thor is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Full Black, Foreign Influence, The Apostle, The Last Patriot (which is banned in Saudi Arabia), The First Commandment, Takedown, Blowback, State of the Union, Path of the Assassin, The Lions of Lucerne, and his New York Times bestselling spin-off series The Athena Project. Brad is a member of Glenn Beck TV (GBTV) and has appeared on Fox News Channel, CNN, CNN Headline News, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS programs to discuss terrorism, as well as how closely his novels of international intrigue parallel the real threats facing the world today. Brad has served as a member of the Department of Homeland Security’s Analytic Red Cell Unit, and is a fellow of the Alexandrian Defense Group. He also sits on the International Free Press Society’s Board of Advisors and has served as a judge for the Sam Adams Alliance Annual Awards. In 2008, Brad shadowed a black ops team in Afghanistan to research his thriller, The Apostle. Brad graduated cum laude from the University of Southern California where he studied creative writing, film, and television production. He is an active supporter of the USO, Disabled American Veterans, the Wounded Warrior Project, the Yellow Ribbon Fund, and the Salvation Army.
Libertas: Can you share with our readers what your next book is about? —————————————————————————— BT: Full Black dealt with a lot of the forces trying to collapse the country from within. There’s a few I didn’t get to that I’d like to tackle in the new book. To find out who and what they are, you’ll have to wait until this summer when Black List is released.
For more information, visit BradThor. com. You can also follow Brad Thor on Twitter (@bradthor) and on Facebook.
Libertas: Of today’s conservative leaders, whom do you most admire? —————————————————————————— BT: There’s a whole host of people I admire and whom I consider leaders. They all fall into different categories—each one important for the message they deliver and the people they reach. In the policy arena, I admire Governor Sarah Palin and Senators Marco Rubio, Jim DeMint, and Rick Santorum. In the media, I deeply admire my good friend Glenn Beck, Laura Ingraham, Hugh Hewitt, Rush Limbaugh, and Mark Levin. In the blogosphere, I very much admire Michelle Malkin, Monica Crowley, Mark Steyn, Peter Schweizer, Guy Benson, Erick Erickson, Andrew Klavan, Jim Hoft, and Ed Morrissey. Libertas: What advice do you have for young people aspiring to be successful writers? —————————————————————————— BT: To be even a moderately successful writer, you have to be a great reader. Read, read, read. Then make sure you take some time to get out and experience life—really experience it. I think Thoreau said it best when he stated, “How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.” And, when you do sit down to write, make sure you ignore the number one piece of advice young writers are given: write what you know. That’s ridiculous. If it were true, we never would have gotten Tom Clancy; he was selling insurance. [Harry Potter author] JK Rowling was a mother on the dole. There was no Hogwarts she could jet off to in order to learn about wizards and Quidditch. Write what you feel compelled to write about. You’ll often find the genre you’re best suited to write in is the same genre you love to read.
Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Winter 2012
39