The author of American History, Alan Brinkley (1945-2019), was a professor of history at Colombia University for more than 20 years and served as University Provost from 2003 to 2009. His scholarly work focused primarily on US political history, particularly topics surrounding World War II and the Great Depression. His work received many accolades, and he was awarded the National Book Award for his 1983 work Voices of Protest: Huey Long, Father Coughlin, and the Great Depression. In 2010, he became a Pulitzer Prize finalist for The Publisher: Henry Luce and His American Century.

Brinkley began writing textbooks in the late 1970s, when he collaborated with historians Richard N. Current, T. Harry Williams, and Frank Freidel to update American History: A Survey, originally published in 1961. Brinkley became the sole author of later editions of the book, which reached its 15th edition in 2015 under the shortened name American History. Brinkley’s textbook writing is notable for its clarity, depth of research, and ability to synthesize complex topics into both highly readable and accurate text. For these reasons, American History has become the primary textbook used in Advanced Placement American History classes.