Meltzer's books have appeared on the bestseller lists for fiction, non-fiction (History Decoded), advice (Heroes for My Son and Heroes for My Daughter), children's books (I Am Amelia Earhart and I Am Abraham Lincoln), and comic books (Justice League of America, for which he won an Eisner Award).[5][6][7][8][9]
Meltzer is also responsible for helping find the missing 9/11 flag that the firefighters raised at Ground Zero at the World Trade Center site, making national news on the 15th anniversary of 9/11. Using his TV show, Brad Meltzer's Lost History, he told the story of the missing flag and asked Americans for their help in returning it. Four days later, a former Marine walked into a fire station in Everett, Washington, said that he saw Meltzer's TV show, and that he now wanted to return the flag. Meltzer unveiled the flag at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York, where it is now on display.[10][11]
Known for his thorough research, Meltzer counts former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush as fans, and both have helped him with his research.[12] During Brad's research, Bush gave Brad the secret letter he left for President Bill Clinton in the Oval Office desk.[13]
As an inspirational speaker, Meltzer's TEDx Talk, "How to Write Your Own Obituary", has been viewed over 50,000 times, and prompted TED to ask him to do another TED Talk: "Write Your Story, Change History", which has been viewed over 80,000 times.[16][17]
Meltzer helped preserve the house where Superman was created in Cleveland, Ohio, helping to create the Siegel & Shuster Society, then telling the story of the house and running an auction that raised over $100,000.[18]
Meltzer has worked with numerous organizations throughout Florida to promote literacy within the State. Meltzer has worked in the past with Florida Family Literacy Initiative, and is due to participate in the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County's 23rd Annual Love of Literacy Luncheon in March 2014.[19][20]
Meltzer was one of four authors selected to entertain at Barbara Bush's 90th birthday party in 2015.[21]
Meltzer aided in helping save the life of his 11th grade history teacher. When his teacher told Meltzer she was sick and needed a new kidney, Meltzer asked his 100,000 Facebook fans to find her a new kidney and in the process, helped find a donor.[22][23]
During Star Wars Night at the 2015 Marlins/Mets baseball game, Meltzer threw out the first pitch of the game, then proceeded to fight mascot Billy the Marlin in a lightsaber battle.[24]
In May 2024, Meltzer delivered the commencement address at the University of Michigan, in front of 70,000 people, including his graduating son.[25] Entitled Make Magic and called "one of the best commencement addresses of all time,"[citation needed] it’s been shared millions of times across social media.[26][27][28][29]
Novels
His first novel, Fraternity, garnered 24 rejection letters, but he then sold his second novel, The Tenth Justice, while in law school.[14] In 1994, he co-wrote the original swearing-in oath that is taken by AmeriCorps members, and has been delivered by Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. In 1996, Meltzer created one of the earliest author websites for his first published novel, The Tenth Justice.[30] Over the years, every one of Meltzer's thrillers has made The New York Times bestseller list and The Hollywood Reporter has listed him as one of "Hollywood's Most Powerful Authors".[31]
While Meltzer was conducting research for his 2011 novel The Inner Circle, former U.S. PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush gave him a copy of the secret letter that he had left in the Oval Office desk for Bill Clinton.[32]
His popular “Culper Ring” novels, of which The President's Shadow is the third, imagine that a secret spy ring, founded in real life by George Washington, continues to exist today. His 2013 novel, The Fifth Assassin, follows a killer bent on re-creating the crimes of presidential assassinations from John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald.[33]
Meltzer's 2018 novel The Escape Artist debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Bestseller list.[34]
Non-fiction
In May 2010, Meltzer released his first nonfiction book, Heroes For My Son, a book he had worked on for almost a decade, beginning on the night his first son was born.[35] The book is part of a two-book deal with Meltzer's publisher. He stated in a May 2010 interview that he was working on Heroes for My Daughter.[36] The book is a collection of stories from the lives of 52 people such as Jim Henson, Rosa Parks and Mr. Rogers, and was written with the intention of being presented one day to his then-eight-year-old son. It debuted at #2 on The New York Times Best Seller list.[37]Heroes for My Daughter also made The New York Times bestseller list.[9]
In January 2014, Meltzer and artist Chris Eliopoulos launched a line of biographies for kids, starting with I Am Amelia Earhart and I Am Abraham Lincoln, which debuted on The New York Times bestseller list.[8][33] The books are part of a series, Ordinary People Change the World, whose books tell the stories of America's icons in an entertaining way to engage young readers.[38] He followed the initial books with I Am Albert Einstein, I Am Rosa Parks, I Am Lucille Ball, I Am Jackie Robinson, I Am Helen Keller,[33]I Am Martin Luther King, Jr., I Am Jane Goodall, I Am George Washington and I Am Jim Henson. Then in October 2017, I Am Gandhi and I Am Sacagawea were released.[39] In October 2018, PBS announced an animated adaptation of the series called Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum, which debuted in November 2019.[40]
In January 2019, Meltzer released The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington, cowritten with Josh Mensch.
In May 2020, Meltzer and his co-author Josh Mensch released The Lincoln Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill America's 16th President—and Why It Failed, which covers the foiled plot to kill Lincoln in 1861.[41]
Comics
Meltzer speaks in 2019
Meltzer followed director Kevin Smith's run on DC Comics' Green Arrow and created a six-issue story arc for DC Comics' Green Arrow #16–21 (October 2002 – April 2003).
In 2004 he wrote the miniseriesIdentity Crisis,[42] which became one of the most controversial storylines of the decade,[43] one of the top selling books of that decade, and also one of the most popular.[44] It regularly makes the list of DC Comics' "best comics", "best moments", and even "best fights", praised by The New York Times and director Joss Whedon.[45][46][47][48][49][50] While the miniseries holds an average score of 7.3 out of 10 at the review aggregator website Comic Book Roundup, (the lowest issue score going to issue #7, with 5.3, and the highest going to issue #1, with 8.7),[51][52] it was criticized for its use of sexual violence as a plot device, for retconning events in DC continuity that critics and readers felt harmed the characterization of long-standing DC heroes,[53][54] and for influencing similar subsequent comics.[55]
Meltzer was one of many writers and artists who contributed to Superman/Batman #26 (June 2006), a tribute book dedicated to Sam Loeb, the son of writer Jeph Loeb, who died of cancer in 2005 at the age of 17. Meltzer scripted pages 11–12 and 19 of the comic book.[56]
Meltzer took over the writing duties for a 13-issue stint on the new monthly Justice League of America series, which started with issue #0 on July 19, 2006, and issue #1 following a month later.[57] Meltzer and artist Gene Ha received the 2008 Eisner Award for Best Single Issue (or One-Shot) for their work on issue #11 of the series. The award was presented by Samuel L. Jackson and Gabriel Macht.[1]
In 2008, it was announced that Meltzer would write an arc of Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight comic book for Dark Horse Comics. Whedon would later appear as himself, alongside Brian K. Vaughan and Damon Lindelof in the trailer for Meltzer's 2008 release of The Book of Lies. Whedon, Vaughan and Lindelof portray themselves as conspiracy theorists who believe in a so-called "Book of Lies" which, in Meltzer's novel, connects the original murder story (Cain and Abel) to the murder of Jerry Siegel's father, shortly before the conception of the iconic Superman character. In 2010, Meltzer wrote #32–35 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight.[56]
On October 31, 2014, Brad Meltzer's Lost History premiered on History's H2 network, with Meltzer hosting. Each episode of Lost History presents both solved and unsolved cases and success stories where Americans have helped find missing historic objects such as the Ground Zero flag from 9/11 and the original Wright Brothers flying machine patent. Viewers are encouraged to submit tips to an online site, in an effort to provide key information leading to the return of these treasures. In September 2016, Meltzer hosted America's 9/11 Flag: Rose from the Ashes, which recounts how Lost History located and authenticated the missing 9/11 flag.[11]
Personal life
Meltzer lives in Florida with his wife, an attorney.[14] He has two sons and a daughter.[36] He is Jewish.[64]
^"Mrs. Bush's 90th Birthday Celebration". Barbarabush.org. June 8, 2015. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Featuring guest authors: Sandra Brown, Jill Conner Browne (Sweet Potato Queen), James McBride, Brad Meltzer
^Cowsill, Alan (2010). "2000s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 312. ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9. Identity Crisis gave DC's heroes and villains a darker tone and was not afraid to deal with contentious and startling topics.
^Cowsill "2000s" in Dolan, p. 326: "After the success of Identity Crisis, best-selling novelist Brad Meltzer was given the job of relaunching the Justice League of America in the title's second series. With Ed Benes providing the pencils, Meltzer stripped the Justice League back to basics."
^Rogers, Vaneta (January 6, 2014). "Brad Meltzer Honors, Modernizes Batman's First Appearance in Detective Comics #27". Newsarama. Archived from the original on May 21, 2014. Perhaps the most daunting task was given to Brad Meltzer and Bryan Hitch, who have created what DC is calling a 'modern-day retelling' of the first Batman story – the one in the original Detective Comics #27.
^Johnson, Jim (April 18, 2018). "Action Comics #1000 Shows Superman Still Looks Good at 80 Years Old". Newsarama. Archived from the original on April 26, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018. Brad Meltzer's technical "Faster Than a Speeding Bullet," though, is a labored look at the Man of Steel's knack for saving the day, and is stiffly executed by the usually excellent John Cassaday.
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