Based on his book The Captain Who Burned His Ships, Brown traced the Yard's history during the quarter century of Tingey's command - a period when the area around the Navy Yard was known to many as Navy Yard Hill. Brown noted that at the time, the Yard was a larger employer than the U.S. Congress and a dominant factor in Capitol Hill's social and economic life.
A retired diplomat, Gordon Brown has authored several other books, including Incidental Architect, on William Thornton and his influence on early Washington cultural history. He had a 35-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service, where his many postings included service as director of Arab Gulf Affairs in the State Department, political advisor to General Norman Schwarzkopf during the 1991 Gulf War, and ambassador to Mauritania.
