Thomas B. Allen, author, historian, lecturer, 26-year National Press Club member dies

Thomas B. Allen, a prolific author, historian and lecturer, died Dec. 11 of heart failure at the age of 89. He was a 26-year member of the National Press Club and lived in Bethesda, Maryland.

While most of his more than 25 books dealt with U.S. history, perhaps his most famous was Possessed, the story of a Maryland boy whose real exorcism inspired the 2000 Showtime movie by the same name. Allen also co-wrote the script for a documentary based on the book, "In the Grip of Evil." He published his first book, Shadows in the Sea, in 1963, and his last, 1789, is scheduled to be published next year.

Many of his books and articles focused on military and intelligence subjects, and in 2004 he was named author of the year by the U.S. Naval Institute “for the sustained high quality of his literary contributions to Naval History magazine.” His writings for National Geographic Magazine included articles on Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Midway, the Eighth Air Force, and the sinking of the USS Maine.

Allen made frequent appearances on the History Channel for his expertise on war and espionage. He was a National Geographic lecturer on trips to historic sites and events, including Pearl Harbor and the D-Day beaches of Normandy, plus Geographic Travel’s expeditions in Europe and Cuba.

A graduate of Bridgeport University, Allen reported for the Bridgeport Herald as a teenager and served as journalist in the Navy before working for the New York Daily News. He was an editor at Chilton Books in Philadelphia before joining the National Geographic Society in 1965 and becoming an associate chief editor. He was associate chief of the National Geographic Society’s book service from 1974 until leaving to freelance in 1981. He then edited and wrote several Society books, including Field Guide to North American Birds, Inventors and Discoverers, Journey Into China, Into the Unknown, Exploring England and Ireland, Liberty: the Statue and the American Dream; America’s Outdoor Wonders; and Photography Then and Now.

We Americans, which Allen edited, had been continually reprinted from 1975 to 1995, selling more than 1.25 million copies. Allen produced a millennium edition of We Americans in 1999; it was a Book-of-the-Month selection.

In addition to writing books Allen, edited more than 30 books for the National Geographic including We Americans, which sold more than 1.25 million copies. He co-authored with his son Roger Mr. Lincoln's High-Tech War, a book for young readers. He contributed to "The Price of Freedom: Americans at War,” an exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, and to The World War II Memorial: A Grateful Nation Remembers, published in conjunction with the dedication of the World War II Memorial on the National Mall.

He was co-author with Norman Polmar of World War II, 1941-1945: An Encyclopedia of the War; Spy Book: The Encyclopedia of Espionage; Code-name Downfall: The plan to invade Japan; Rickover: Controversy and Genius; and Merchants of Treason, a study of spies of the 1980s.

He wrote the Geographic’s Civil War book, The Blue and Gray, and co-authored with Paul Dickson The Bonus Army: An American Epic. He and Dickson co-authored of a script for a Bonus Army documentary on PBS.

Other publications include National Geographic children’s books Harriet Tubman, Secret Agent; George Washington, Spymaster; Remember Valley Forge, and Remember Pearl Harbor, which was selected as one of the Notable Books of 2001 by the American Library Association.

Besides writing for the National Geographic’s Traveler, he edited and wrote a portion of America’s Hidden Wilderness, was an editor and writer on the National Geographic Society’s Guide to U.S. National Parks; editor of National Geographic: The Photographs, a Book-of-the-Month selection; and editor of Orbit, a book on space photography published by the Society and Random House. He was also editor of America from Space and Looking at Earth, published in cooperation with the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum.

A long-time resident of Bethesda, Allen loved spending time with his family on Ragged Island, Maine.

Survivors include his wife Scottie, three children, Christopher, Constance, and Roger, and eight grandchildren.

A memorial service is planned for Wednesday, Dec. 19, at 3 p.m. at River Road Unitarian Congregation, 6301 River Road, Bethesda.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Institute, c/o CCADW Memorial Gifts, 924 G Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20001.