February 17

This Day in History

Also on This Day

Lead Story
Madame Butterfly premieres, 1904
American Revolution
French and British battle in the Indian Ocean, 1782
Automotive
Beetle overtakes Model T as world's best-selling car, 1972
Civil War
Union troops sack Columbia, South Carolina, 1865
Cold War
Voice of America begins broadcasts to Russia, 1947
Crime
The first "Trial of the Century", 1906
Disaster
Ferry sinks near Haiti, 1993
General Interest
Deadlock over presidential election ends, 1801
Gromyko becomes foreign minister, 1957
China invades Vietnam, 1979
Hollywood
Lee Strasberg dies, 1982
Literary
Dave Eggers’ Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius debuts, 2000
Music
Brian Wilson rolls tape on "Good Vibrations," take one, 1966
Old West
Senate passes Missouri Compromise, 1820
Presidential
Thomas Jefferson is elected, 1801
Sports
Kasparov defeats chess-playing computer, 1996
Vietnam War
Taylor testifies on Operation Rolling Thunder, 1966
U.S. casualty rate reaches record high, 1968
World War I
Zeppelin L-4 crashes into North Sea, 1915
World War II
U.S. troops land on Eniwetok atoll, 1944

Literary

Feb 17, 2000:

Dave Eggers’ Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius debuts

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On this day in 2000, "A Heartbreaking World of Staggering Genius," 29-year-old Dave Eggers’ best-selling memoir about his experiences raising his younger brother following the cancer-related deaths of their parents, makes its debut. The critically acclaimed book became a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and turned Eggers into a literary star.

Eggers, who was born in Boston in 1970 and raised in Lake Forest, Illinois, studied journalism at the University of Illinois. However, at age 21 he dropped out of school in order to care for his 8-year-old brother Toph, after their parents died of cancer within five weeks of each other. The brothers moved to Berkeley, California, where Dave took care of Toph and worked as a graphic designer and writer and co-founded the satirical magazine Might. Egger’s chronicle of this time, "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius," was labeled a hip, original and funny tearjerker, filled with clever anecdotes, charts and footnotes. In 2001, the book was the finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in general nonfiction (Ted Conover’s "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" won the award).

Following the success of "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius," Eggers wrote the 2002 novel "You Shall Know Our Velocity," about two friends who travel around the world trying to give away a large sum of money, and the 2004 story collection "How We Are Hungry." Eggers’ 2006 book "What Is the What" blended fact and fiction to tell the story of Sudanese "Lost Boy" refugee Valentino Achak Deng. In 2009, Eggers published the well-received "Zeitoun," about real-life Syrian immigrant Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a New Orleans resident who remained there during Hurricane Katrina then paddled around the flooded city in a canoe rescuing people.

Eggers is also the founder of McSweeney’s, a publishing company that produces books, a literary journal and a magazine called The Believer. Additionally, he has penned screenplays, including 2009’s "Away We Go," co-written with his novelist wife, Vendela Vida, and "Where the Wild Things Are," a 2009 big-screen adaptation of the classic children’s story of the same name. Eggers is known for his philanthropy and has helped establish a number of nonprofits, including 826 Valencia, a San Francisco-based writing and tutoring program for young people, which has opened chapters around the United States.

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This Week in History, Feb 17 - Feb 23

Feb 17, 2000
Dave Eggers’ Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius debuts
Feb 18, 1931
Toni Morrison's birthday
Feb 19, 1952
Amy Tan's birthday
Feb 20, 1950
Dylan Thomas arrives in New York
Feb 21, 1927
Erma Bombeck is born
Feb 22, 1892
Edna St. Vincent Millay is born
Feb 23, 1868
W.E.B. DuBois is born

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