Laurence Bergreen is an award-winning biographer whose previous titles include Columbus: The Four Voyages, Voyage to Mars: NASA's Search for Life Beyond Earth, Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life, Capone: The Man and the Era, As Thousands Cheer: The Life of Irving Berlin, and James Agee: A Life, each considered the definitive work on its subject. His work has been translated into twenty-five languages worldwide. He has written for many national publications, including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, and has taught at the New School for Social Research. A graduate of Harvard University, he lives in New York City.