L. Douglas Keeney, Author. Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Lyons Press
"His video clip is no exaggeration. He is history's new voice!" Cruise Director

Keeney is the bestselling author of 22 books on American and world history. He is published by Simon & Schuster, St. Martin’s, Wm. Morrow, HarperCollins, and Lyons Press. Keeney has been well reviewed by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, The Christian Science Monitor, salon, Newsweek, Gannet newspapers, and others.

Keeney has appeared on Fox TV, PBS, Discovery, and other cable networks. He has interviewed astronauts, celebrities, soldiers, politicians, entrepreneurs, sports stars, and many others.

Keeney is a frequent speaker at universities, corporate events, and on numerous cruise ships including Silversea, Oceania, Viking, Celebrity, RCCL and Fred.Olsen. His is known as a storyteller who interacts comfortably with his audiences who brings history to life through audio, video, and animations created by his staff.

His books include D-Day: Day of Destiny and This is Guadalcanal from Wm. Morrow, John F. Kennedy: Commander-in-Chief from Viking Penguin; 15 Minutes (The Cold War), The Eleventh Hour: Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin, Lights of Mankind: Earth at Night As Seen From Space (with NASA), The Lives They Saved: 9.11 and The Quest For Mach One with Chuck Yeager.

Keeney holds a Masters degree from the University of Southern California and is the founder of The Military Channel/American Heroes, now part of Discovery Communications.

Keeney is a pilot, ham radio operator, and scuba diver. He lives in Kentucky with his wife, the journalist Jill Johnson Keeney, with whom they have two sons, Alex and Doug, Jr. They are supporters of numerous causes including the visually impaired and the learning disabled.
"He packed the theater every day!” Suez Canal Transit, CD

“It was great to see such a massive following and continued interest in all your talks.” Istanbul to Dubai, Suez Canal, 2023
“The best speaker we’ve had. Totally enjoyable!” Keynote, National Museum of Naval Aviation, Daedalian Society, 2023
“History does have a new voice. You owned the theater!” Tokyo to Seward, 2024

1. Lights of Mankind: Earth at Night as Seen from Space
Earth: The only planet in the universe that lights up at night.
From Buenos Aires to Barcelona; Mumbai to the Middle East. From Nagasaki to New York City. What do we see when we see these cities at night from space? As only the author of the definitive book could show it, this is Earth at night as seen from space. This captivating talk is based on Keeney’s bestselling book by the same title, written with five NASA astronauts. Audiences see Earth’s glittering cities at night including cities based on specific destinations as well as the most famous cities in the world. Contrasts day and night. What we learn by the lights, and more. “5 Stars.” 2022 World Cruise director. One of his most popular talks. Video. Photos.

2. Assassins In Every Port. U-Boats Below the Seas: Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt and the Meeting That Decided D-Day.
A fascinating portrait of three world leaders, this talk is from Keeney’s bestseller, The Eleventh Hour. In 1943 President Roosevelt secretly sailed crossed the Atlantic Ocean on the battleship USS Iowa . He then flew to Cairo and on to Tehran where he met with Churchill and Stalin. But why take such a risk? U-boats prowled the oceans. Nazi planes flew the skies. It was the height of WWII. What ensued were the three days of heated debates over when – and where – to launch D-Day. Greece? France? Italy? From his bestselling book by the same title, a captivating and dramatic talk based on formerly secret diaries and documents.

3. Vanished! Pan Am, Malaysia Flight 370 and The Unfinished Story of Transoceanic Flight
From the author of Lost in The Pacific -- and a pilot himself -- Keeney traces the history of aviation from barnstormers to international airlines and how pilots conquered transoceanic flight. Includes a history of Pan Am and concludes with the lost flight of Malaysia 370 and the latest updates. Video, animations and photos. For certain voyages, he includes the Tenerife disaster and how it changed flight operations worldwide.

4. Shifting Sands: Fortunes, Empires and the Suez Canal
He had no money, no company and had never built so much as a tool shed and yet he would be asked to build a canal. Keeney has taken numerous passengers through the magnificent Suez Canal. His first talk tells the impossible story of its construction. The second talk (see the following) is usually presented the night before a passage and goes over the highlights and vistas passengers will see during the transit. Beginning with Ferdinand De Lesseps, Keeney traces the history of the Suez Canal including the controversies, the wars fought over it, the nationalization and the modernization that passengers will see today. This seminal talk Includes animations provided by the Suez Canal Authority. Highly visual. “One of our best lectures ever.” Oceania, Istanbul to Dubai.

5. Suez Canal (Part II): A destination talk.
Best presented the night before the transit. A mile-by-mile narrative of what you’ll see and its historical importance. With extensive graphics, photos, and a custom-made map that may be distributed to the ship.

6. Orbit! The Daring New Era in Human Space Travel. Musk, Bezos, and Branson want to take us beyond our dreams. Will they?
People make for fascinating stories, most of all, those who want to take us into space. From Keeney’s three books on human space flight comes the sequel to Lights of Mankind. What does it take to go into space in 2024 and why is Mars a reality? Keeney begins this talk with little-known aspects of space flight and how missions are conducted today. Includes images of the new commercial space stations, the most recent footage from the Mars rover and helicopter, footage from SpaceX missions, and numerous animations. Concludes with profiles of Musk, Bezos and Branson. “He packed the theater.” Celebrity.

7. Seven Wonders of The (Ancient/Modern/Engineering) World – And More.
“It was the ultimate bucket list talk!” From The Colossus in Rhodes to the Burj Khalifa to the newest modern wonders like the Sphere in Las Vegas and the library in Alexandria, and more. Keeney starts this talk with the original Seven Wonders of the World then takes audiences on a docu-drama that explores the all-new man-made wonders of engineering, architecture, the New 7 Wonders of the World (and how they were selected). Borrowing from his years of research, Keeney brings out the unexpected and unusual features to make each destination come to life in a new way. Like all his talks, the final section has wonders specific to each itinerary.

8. Our Shared Century. Remembering the 21st Century Through Iconic Photos and Memorable Moments.
As only a historian can, Keeney makes connections and linkages that bring together often-forgotten but important moments from the 20th and 21st centuries. In addition to those events that punctuated our shared experiences, Keeney shows how books like Harry Potter and hotels like Holiday Inn are connected to World War II; how innovations have transformed our world in unexpected ways. Categories include I Remember Where I Was When, Great Love Affairs, The Digital Age, Entrepreneurs, The 70s, cultural forces, and more.

9. Pearl Harbor. The Day Of. The Day After.
“Simply stunning. An epoch presentation.” Audience review, 2024
No matter the cruise, this talk is always loved by audiences. We all know what happened on December 7th -- but what did happen -- and why was America so unprepared? From his numerous books on World War II, author Keeney presents the attack on Pearl Harbor using custom-built animations for his talk, period photography and first-person accounts. A moving lecture and one of his hallmark talks, Keeney has escorted hundreds to Pearl Harbor.
“He should give this to every high school, every ROTC, every class in civics!” Food For Thought lecture series.

Additional Talks Based on Destinations
• The Panama Canal.
• D-Day. Day of Destiny. Based on Keeney’s bestseller by the same title.

Author with Simon & Schuster, etc. in NYC. Reviewed by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, etc. Appear on Fox TV, Discovery Channel. Have interviewed celebrities, astronauts, athletes, etc. As such I am a frequent speaker at universities, corporate events, non-profits, and Viking, Oceania, Celebrity. Welcomes transatlantic, transpacific and cruises with multiple sea days.

A short demo of Keeney's talks with reviews from Cruise Directors, samples, and, in addition, some clips from Fox:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loz38Rmie6k

The following recent Cruise History has been recorded for this candidate.