Sandra Aamodt, Ph.D., is the coauthor of Welcome to Your Brain and the former editor in chief of Nature Neuroscience, the leading scientific journal in the field of brain research.

David Aaronovitch is an internationally bestselling author and award-winning journalist whose first book, Paddling to Jerusalem, won the Madoc Award for Travel Literature in 2001.

Edward Abbey (1927–1989) authored many books during his lifetime, including The Monkey Wrench Gang and The Fool's Progress.

Edwin A. Abbott (1838–1926) has been ranked as one of the leading scholars and theologians of the Victorian era and is perhaps best known as the author of the mathematical satire and religious allegory Flatland.

Karen Abbott is a journalist who has been a staff member of Philadelphia magazine and Philadelphia Weekly.

Megan Abbott has taught literature, writing, and film at New York University and at the State University of New York at Oswego.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is recognized by Sports Illustrated and Time magazine as history’s greatest basketball player.

Joe Abercrombie is a British fantasy writer best known for his acclaimed First Law Trilogy: The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, and Last Argument of Kings.

Laurie Abraham is a freelance writer, senior editor of Elle magazine, and the author of Mama Might Be Better Off Dead: The Failure of Health Care in Urban America.

Izzeldin Abuelaish, M.D., M.P.H., is a Palestinian physician and infertility expert who was born and raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip and who now serves as an associate professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.

Grant Achatz is an award-winning chef and the owner of the restaurant Alinea in Chicago. He was named Best Chef in the United States in 2008 by the James Beard Foundation, and he is a columnist for the Atlantic's Food Channel.

Chinua Achebe is a prominent Nigerian writer whose satire and keen ear for spoken language have made him one of the most highly esteemed African writers in English. He is the author of Things Fall Apart and a recipient of the Man Booker International Prize.

André Aciman is the author of the critically acclaimed novel Call Me by Your Name, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year; the memoir Out of Egypt; and False Papers: Essays on Exile and Memory.

Diane Ackerman is a bestselling author and poet whose many books include A Natural History of the Senses, A Natural History of Love, and The Zookeeper's Wife, winner of the 2008 Orion Book Award.

Jennifer Ackerman is the author of Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream: A Day in the Life of Your Body; Chance in the House of Fate: A Natural History of Heredity; and Notes from the Shore.

Peter Ackroyd is the author of Thames; London: The Biography; Albion: The Origins of the English Imagination several successful novels; and the Ackroyd's Brief Lives series.

Amir D. Aczel is the author of fourteen books, including the international bestseller Fermat's Last Theorem and The Mystery of the Aleph.

Scott Adams launched Dilbert in 1989, and it now appears daily in more than 2,000 newspapers in sixty-five countries, making it one of the most successful comic strips in history.

Will Adams, a full-time writer, is the author of The Lost Labyrinth.

Aravind Adiga is a former correspondent for Time magazine and has also been published in the Financial Times.

Lesley Adkins, a historian and an archaeologist, is the author of Empires of the Plain.

Roy Adkins, a historian and an archaeologist, is the author of the bestselling Nelson’s Trafalgar: The Battle That Changed the World.

Trace Adkins learned to play guitar at an early age and, after signing with Capitol Records, released seven solo albums.

Lara Adrian is the author of the New York Times bestselling Midnight Breed series of vampire romance novels.

Aesop (620–560 BC) was a slave in ancient Greece who is known only for the genre of fables that are ascribed to him.

Arthur Agatston, M.D., is a preventive cardiologist, associate professor of medicine, and the author of the bestselling The South Beach Diet and its many companion books.

Liaquat Ahamed has been a professional investment manager for twenty-five years and is currently an adviser to several hedge fund groups, including the Rock Creek Group and the Rohatyn Group.

New York Times bestselling author G. A. Aiken lives on the West Coast and is the creator of the Dragon Kin series.

Thomas à Kempis (1380–1471) was a late medieval Catholic monk who is known for his devotional book The Imitation of Christ, the most widely translated Christian text after the Bible.

Laila Al-Arian is a freelance journalist who has written for the Dupont Current newspaper and the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888) published over thirty books and collections of stories, most notably the groundbreaking coming-of-age novel Little Women.

Larry Alexander is a journalist and columnist for the Intelligencer Journal in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and the author of the national bestseller Biggest Brother: The Life of Major Dick Winters, the Man Who Led the Band of Brothers.

Robert Alexander is the author of the bestselling novel The Kitchen Boy.

Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) was an Italian poet whose masterpiece The Divine Comedy has exerted a profound influence on Western thought.

James Allen (1864–1912) was a British writer and pioneer of the self-help movement whose many books include As a Man Thinketh, From Poverty to Power, Eight Pillars of Prosperity, and Above Life's Turmoil.

Peter Allison's safaris have been featured in National Geographic and Conde Nast Traveler, and on television programs including Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures.

Daniel Altman has written for The Economist and the New York Times and is now a columnist for the International Herald Tribune.

Daniel G. Amen, M.D., is a clinical neuroscientist, psychiatrist, and brain-imaging expert who heads the world-renowned Amen Clinics.

Christopher Andersen is the critically acclaimed author of twenty-five books, which have been translated into twenty-six languages worldwide.

Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875) was a Danish writer who gained fame with his fairy tales, such as "The Ugly Duckling" and "The Little Mermaid," which were cleverly written to disguise the tales' sophisticated moral teachings.

New England native Jessica Andersen is the author of the Novels of the Final Prophecy, including Night Keepers and Demon Keepers.

Benedict Anderson is a professor emeritus at Cornell University and the author of Language and Power.

Carl Anderson is a New York Times bestselling author and the chief executive officer and chairman of the board of the Knights of Columbus.

Douglas A. Anderson, a leading American Tolkien scholar, is acknowledged as the worldwide expert on the textual history of The Hobbit.

Fred Anderson is a professor of history at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the author of Crucible of War.

Hephzibah Anderson works freelance as a critic, feature writer, and broadcaster for various British and international outlets, including Vogue, Bloomberg Muse, and BBC Radio Five Live.

Joan Anderson is the New York Times bestselling author of A Year by the Sea, A Walk on the Beach, and The Second Journey.

John Anderson is the author of Burning Down the House and Art Held Hostage.

Kevin J. Anderson, one of the most popular writers currently working in the science fiction genre, is the author of more than ninety novels, forty-one of which have appeared on national or international bestseller lists.

Sherwood Anderson (1876–1941) had a simple and direct writing style that influenced both Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner. His most notable works include Winesburg, Ohio, Triumph of the Egg, Horses and Men, and A Story Teller's Story.

Taylor Anderson teaches at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, and is the author of The Life and Tools of the Rocky Mountain Free Trapper.

Edmund L. Andrews has been a reporter for the New York Times for sixteen years.

Ilona Andrews is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing team who live in Georgia, where they are currently working on Kate Daniels's next adventure.

One of the most popular authors of all time, V. C. Andrews (d. 1986) is the author of the bestselling Dollanganger family saga, which began with Flowers in the Attic and includes Petals on the Wind, If There Be Thorns, Seeds of Yesterday, and Garden of Shadows.

As the webmistress of the Leaky Cauldron (leakynews.com), former New York City features writer Melissa Anelli has been reporting on the Harry Potter phenomenon since 2001.

Carol Anshaw is the author of Aquamarine, Seven Moves, and Lucky in the Corner.

Frank Antenori, a member of the Special Forces since 1988, has participated in numerous peacetime and wartime operations in support of American interests throughout the world.

Michelle Anthony, M.A., Ph.D., is an expert in developmental psychology and a columnist for Scholastic's Parent and Child magazine.

The late Roy E. Appleman wrote several military history studies, among them South to Naktong, North to the Yalu; Okinawa: The Last Battle; andRidgway Duels for Korea, which won the Truman Library Book Award.

Rose Arce is a television producer at CNN and coauthor, with Soledad O'Brien, of Latino in America.

Journalist Gustavo Arellano is the creator and writer of the popular Ask a Mexican! column for the OC Weekly in Orange County, California.

Hannah Arendt (1906–1975) was an influential German political theorist and philosopher whose works include The Origins of Totalitarianism, The Human Condition, and Eichmann in Jerusalem.

Aristotle (384–322 B.C.) was a Greek philosopher whose best-known works include Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics, and Politics.

Vernice "FlyGirl" Armour is a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps, where she served as the first African American female combat pilot, and a successful motivational speaker whose media appearances include The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Kelley Armstrong is the bestselling author of a growing series of novels and novellas in the Women of the Otherworld series, the first two of which are Bitten and Stolen.

Karen Armstrong is the author of numerous books on religious affairs, including Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions and The Battle for God: A History of Fundamentalism.

Lou Aronica is the author of several works of fiction and nonfiction, and he has collaborated on a number of books, including the national bestseller The Culture Code.

Raymond Arroyo is the news director and lead anchor at the Eternal Word Television Network and the author of the New York Times bestselling biography Mother Angelica.

Keri Arthur is the prizewinning author of over twenty novels, including the Ripple Creek Werewolf series, the Spook Squad series, the Damask Circle series, and the Riley Jenson Guardian series.

Erin Arvedlund is an investigative journalist who has written for Barron's, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, TheStreet.com, and Portfolio.com.

Robert Asahina, a former editor at George, Harper's, the New York Times Book Review, and the Public Interest, is currently a visiting scholar at the Asian/Pacific/American Studies Program at New York University.

Isaac Asimov, who was named "Grand Master of Science Fiction" by the Science Fiction Writers of America, entertained and educated readers of all ages for close to five decades.

Ace Atkins is the author of four Nick Travers novels: Crossroad Blues, Leavin' Trunk Blues, Dark End of the Street, and Dirty South.

Saint Augustine of Hippo (354–430) was a Romanized Berber philosopher and theologian and one of the most important figures in the development of Western Christianity.

Oliver August was the youngest-ever New York correspondent for the Times of London.

Sandi Ault, a former musician, composer, journalist, and newspaper editor, is the author of the Wild mystery series, including Wild Inferno, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2008.

Marcus Aurelius (April 121–March 180), Roman emperor from 161 until his death, was the last of the "Five Good Emperors," and his Meditations, written in Greek while on campaign between 170 and 180, is still revered as a literary monument to a government of service and duty.

Jane Austen's delightful, carefully wrought novels of manners---Pride and Prejudice and Emma among them---are those rare books that offer us a glimpse at the mores of a specific period while addressing the complexities of love, honor, and responsibility that still intrigue us today.

Paul Auster is the author of numerous novels, screenplays, and works of nonfiction, as well as a poet, translator, and film director. His many critically acclaimed novels include The Book of Illusions and Oracle Night.

Denis Avey is a British Army World War II veteran living in Derbyshire, England.

Judith Schiess Avila is a code talker scholar with the New Mexico Endowment for the Humanities Chautauqua Program.

Ian Ayres is the William K. Townsend Professor at Yale Law School and the Yale School of Management and the author of the bestselling SuperCrunchers.

Paul Babiak, Ph.D., is an industrial and organizational psychologist whose work has been featured in publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Harvard Business Review.

Richard Baer is the medical director of Medicare in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio.

Maziar Bahari is an award-winning journalist, documentary filmmaker, and human-rights activist who was named a finalist in 2009 for Spain's Prince of Asturias Award for Concord, often described as Spain's Nobel Peace Prize.

Elisabeth Tova Bailey is the author of numerous essays and short stories and has received Pushcart Prize nominations.

Nicholson Baker has published seven novels and three works of nonfiction, including Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper.

Rosecrans Baldwin is a founding editor of the popular Web site The Morning News, host of the annual "Tournament of Books," and his work has appeared in New York magazine and the Nation.

Scott Baldyga has written screenplays for hire and has worked as a writer, script supervisor, editor, and composer for film and television.

Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) was a French journalist and writer and is considered one of the creators of realism in literature. Balzac's huge production of novels and short stories are collected under the name La Comédie Humaine.

Lundy Bancroft is one of the world's foremost experts on domestic abuse and a former codirector at Emerge, the nation's first program for abusive men.

Maya Banks is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty novels, including Hidden Away, No Place to Run, The Darkest Hour, and Sweet Seduction.

Susan Shapiro Barash is the author of nine books, including A Passion for More: Wives Reveal the Affairs That Make or Break Their Marriages and Mothers-in-Law and Daughters-in-Law: Love, Hate, Rivalry and Reconciliation.

Steven Barnes has been a novelist and television writer for the last twenty-five years.

Kim Barnouin is a former model.

Simon Baron-Cohen is a professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge and the author of books including Mindblindness and The Essential Difference.

Michael Barone is a senior writer at U.S. News and World Report.

Allen Barra is the bestselling author of The Last Coach: A Life of Paul "Bear" Bryant.

Professional golf writer David Barrett is the author of Miracle at Merion, Golf Courses of the U.S. Open, and Golf's Dream 18s.

Jennifer Barrett has written about financial issues for the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and Newsweek.

J. M. Barrie (1860–1928) was a playwright and novelist who is best known for his Peter Pan stories.

Max Barry is the author of Syrup and the bestselling novel Jennifer Government, which was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book.

Roland Barthes (1915–1980) was a French literary theorist, philosopher, and critic whose best-known works include Writing Degree Zero and The Pleasure of the Text.

Allison Hoover Bartlett works as a freelance writer for newspapers and magazines. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Salon, the San Francisco Magazine, and other publications.

Mira Bartók is a Chicago-born artist and writer and the author of twenty-eight books for children. Her writing has appeared in several literary journals and anthologies and has been noted in the Best American Essays series.

Mary Catherine Bateson, the Clarence J. Robinson Professor in Anthropology and English at George Mason University from 1987 to 2002,is the author of Composing a Life; Full Circles, Overlapping Lives; and Willing to Learn.

Mark Bauerlein is a professor of English at Emory University and has worked as a director of research and analysis at the National Endowment for the Arts.

Susan Wise Bauer is the bestselling author of the Story of the World series for elementary students, The Well-Educated Mind, and The History of the Ancient World.

L. Frank Baum (1856–1919) was an American journalist and writer whose best-known book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, is one of fourteen books in the author's acclaimed Oz series.

Richard Bausch is the award-winning author of eleven novels and seven volumes of short stories. His work has appeared in the New Yorker, the Atlantic Monthly, Playboy, and other publications.

Pierre Bayard is a professor of French literature at the University of Paris VIII and the author of many books, including How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read.

Max H. Bazerman is the Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School.

Melba Patillo Beals has worked as a reporter for NBC and a communications consultant in San Francisco.

Melody Beattie, one of the seminal figures in the recovery movement, is the author of the international bestseller Codependent No More.

Mario Beauregard is an associate professor in the Departments of Radiology and Psychology at the Université de Montréal (Canada).

Laurie Becklund is a writer and editor whose books include Swoosh: The Story of Nike and the Men Who Played There, coauthored with J. B. Strasser.

Martha Beck is a writer, life coach, and columnist whose other books include the New York Times bestseller Finding Your Own North Star and The Joy Diet.

Professor of history Richard Beeman, a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania for thirty-six years, is the author of six books and several dozen articles on aspects of America's political and constitutional history, including The Varieties of Political Experience in Eighteenth Century America.

Wendy T. Behary, LCSW, is founder and clinical director of the Cognitive Therapy Center of New Jersey.

Joy Behar, currently a cohost of ABC's The View, is among today's leading comic talents.

Michael J. Behe is a professor of biological sciences at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and the author of Darwin's Black Box, which was named by the National Review and World magazine as one of the 100 most important books of the twentieth century.

Larry Beinhart is the award-winning author of Wag the Dog, on which the film starring Robert DeNiro was based, as well as several other novels, including Salvation Boulevard and No One Rides for Free.

Malcolm Beith, a writer based in Mexico City, has covered the drug war for Newsweek and has contributed to Foreign Policy, World Politics Review, and Jane's Intelligence Weekly.

Jennifer Belle is the author of two critically acclaimed, widely translated novels: Going Down and High Maintenance.

Aimee Bender is the author of The Girl in the Flammable Skirt, which was a New York Times Notable Book, and Willful Creatures, which was nominated by the Believer as one of the best books of the year.

Vanora Bennett is an award-winning journalist who writes a weekly column for The Times (London) Web site, TimesOnline.

Herbert Benson, M.D., is the founding president of the Mind/Body Medical Institute and the author of the bestselling The Relaxation Response.

E. C. Bentley was a popular English novelist and humorist of the early twentieth century whose books include Trent's Own Case and Biography for Beginners.

Ronen Bergman is one of Israel's leading investigative reporters, and he writes a regular column in Israel's largest daily newspaper, Yedioth Arhonoth.

George Berkeley (1685–1753) was one of the three great British empiricist philosophers; his best known works include An Essay towards a New Theory of Vision and A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge.

Mischa Berlinski studied classics at the University of California at Berkeley and at Columbia University and has worked as a journalist in Thailand.

The Reverend A. R. Bernard is the founder and CEO of the Christian Cultural Center and founder of the Brooklyn Preparatory School in New York City.

Eric Berne (1910–1970) was a Canadian-born psychiatrist best known as the creator of transactional analysis and the author of the bestselling book Games People Play.

David Bernstein is executive creative director at The Gate Worldwide, the second-oldest ad agency in the United States.

Josh Bernstein is president and CEO of the Boulder Outdoor Survival School (BOSS), an active member of the Explorers Club, a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and a patron of the American Museum of Natural History.

Margaret Bernstein is an award-winning journalist at the Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio.

Sara Tuvel Bernstein was born in Romania and became an expert seamstress.

William J. Bernstein, an American financial theorist, is the author of The Intelligent Asset Allocator and The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio.

Stephen Berry is an assistant professor of history at the University of Georgia and the author of All That Makes a Man: Love and Ambition in the Civil War South.

Stephen J. Betchen maintains a full-time private practice in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, specializing in couples therapy and teaches couples therapy in the clinical doctoral program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice.

Damon Beyer is a partner at Katzenbach Partners LLC, consulting with senior managers on issues of business strategy, operations effectiveness, leadership, and organizational performance.

David Bianculli has been a television critic for more than thirty years and is the author of Teleliteracy: Taking Television Seriously and Dictionary of Teleliteracy: Television's 500 Biggest Hits, Misses, and Events.

Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914?) was one of nineteenth-century America's most renowned satirists, a journalist for forty years, and the author of the Devil's Dictionary and Tales of Soldiers and Civilians.

Mark Billingham is the author of the bestsellers The Burning Girl, Sleepyhead, and Scaredy Cat.

Stanley Bing is a columnist for Fortune magazine and the bestselling author of Sun Tzu Was a Sissy.

Christina Binkley is a senior special writer with the Wall Street Journal in Los Angeles.

Martin Binks, Ph.D., is the director of behavioral health and the research director at the Duke Diet & Fitness Center.

Najwa bin Laden, who married her cousin Osama bin Laden at the age of fifteen, is his first wife and the mother to seven of his sons and four of his daughters.

Omar bin Laden, the fourth son of Osama bin Laden, has publicly called for his father to "change his ways" and has not been in contact with Osama bin Laden since before 9/11.

Comedian Mike Birbiglia has released two critically acclaimed CDs and starred in three Comedy Central specials.

Matt Birkbeck is an award-winning journalist and the author of A Beautiful Child and A Deadly Secret: The Strange Disappearance of Kathie Durst.

John Birmingham is the author of Without Warning, Final Impact, Designated Targets, Weapons of Choice, How to Be a Man, and Leviathan, which won the National Award for Nonfiction at Australia's Adelaide Festival of the Arts.

Catherine Birndorf, M.D., is founding director of the Payne Whitney Women's Program at the New York–Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City, where she continues to work as a senior consultant.

George Bishop holds an M.F.A. from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, where he won the department’s Award of Excellence for a collection of stories.

Peter Biskind, a journalist and a former executive editor of Premiere magazine, is the author of Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood and Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film.

Simon Blackburn is a professor of philosophy at the University of Cambridge and the author of Think: A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy.

Pete Blackshaw is executive vice president of strategic services at Nielsen Online and the author of ConsumerGeneratedMedia.com, which has been named one of the top 100 marketing blogs by Advertising Age magazine.

Juliet Blackwell is the pseudonym for a mystery author who, together with her sister, wrote the Art Lover's Mystery series as Hailey Lind.

Ken Blackwell, one of America's leading conservative voices, is the author of Rebuilding America and is currently a senior fellow with the Family Research Council and the American Civil Rights Union.

Edwin Black is the award-winning New York Times bestselling author of IBM and the Holocaust, The Transfer Agreement, and War Against the Weak.

Jenna Black is the author of the Morgan Kingsley, Exorcist series; the Guardians of the Night series; and the Faeriewalker Trilogy.

As a special agent of the Secret Service on the White House Detail, Gerald Blaine had the privilege of serving three U.S. presidents during one of the most tumultuous times in American history.

Ryan Blair is a self-made multimillionaire and serial entrepreneur who has created and actively invested in multiple start-up companies.

Matthew Blakeslee is a freelance science writer based in Los Angeles.

Sandra Blakeslee is a science correspondent at the New York Times who specializes in the brain sciences.

Michael Blanding, an award-winning magazine writer, has written for the Nation, the New Republic, the Boston Globe, and Boston magazine, where he is a contributing editor.

Chris Blatchford is an investigative reporter and the author of the Los Angeles Times bestseller Three Dog Nightmare.

William Peter Blatty is best known for his mega-bestselling novel The Exorcist.

William Bligh (1754–1817) was a British naval officer and colonial governor who is best remembered for the mutiny on the H.M.S. Bounty.

R. Howard Bloch is the Sterling Professor of French and director of the Division of the Humanities at Yale University and the author of God's Plagiarist: Being an Account of the Fabulous Industry and Irregular Commerce of the Abbé Jacques-Paul Migne.

Stefan Merrill Block graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2004. The Story of Forgetting is his first novel.

Lary Bloom’s writing spans an array of genres---nonfiction and fiction, plays, magazine pieces, and columns for the New York Times.

Lisa Bloom is an award-winning journalist, legal analyst, and trial attorney who formerly hosted a daily, live, national television show on Court TV and appears frequently on such programs as The Early Show and The Dr. Phil Show.

Deborah Blum worked as a newspaper science writer for twenty years, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1992 for her writing about primate research, and is the author of Ghost Hunters.

Antonia Blyth is a health and beauty writer who works with such publications as US Weekly and Marie Claire UK.

Nellie Bly (1864–1922) was the pen name of pioneering American investigative journalist Elizabeth Jane Cochran, whose best-known works include Ten Days in a Mad-House and Around the World in Seventy-Two Days.

Benson Bobrick is the author of several critically acclaimed works, including Wide as the Waters: The Story of the English Bible and the Revolution It Inspired and Testament: A Soldier's Story of the Civil War.

Peter Bognanni, a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, is a 2008 Pushcart Prize nominee, and his short story "The Body Eternal" was chosen by Stephen King as one of the 100 Most Distinguished Stories of 2006.

Dave Boling is a veteran columnist for the Tacoma News Tribune and the author of Tales from the Gonzaga Hardwood.

Stephanie Bond is the author of over fifty novels, including the Body Movers series and the Southern Roads trilogy.

William Bonner is the founder, president, and CEO of AGORA Inc. and coauthor of the New York Times bestsellers Financial Reckoning Day and Empire of Debt.

Mark Booth has worked in publishing for over twenty years and is currently in charge of Century, an imprint of Random House UK.

Journalist Fergus M. Bordewich has written on American history as well as human rights and other issues, and he is the author of Bound for Canaan: The Epic Story of the Underground Railroad, America’s First Civil Rights Movement.

Marcus J. Borg is the Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture, Emeritus, at Oregon State University and the author of the bestselling Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time and The Heart of Christianity.

Gabor Boritt is director of the Civil War Institute and the Fluhrer Professor of Civil War Studies at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Walter R. Borneman is the author of several books, including Polk; 1812: The War That Forged a Nation; and Alaska: Saga of a Bold Land.

Rachel Botsman has consulted to businesses around the world on brand and innovation strategy and, as a former director at the William J. Clinton Foundation, she spearheaded major public-private partnerships with Nickelodeon, Rachael Ray, and the NBA.

Oliver Bowden is a pseudonym for Anton Gill, renaissance historian and author of thirty-five books, including Il Gigante, Art Lover, and The Great Escape.

Jennifer Finney Boylan is a professor of English at Colby College and the author of the bestseller She’s Not There.

Tara Brach, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist as well as a Buddhist lay priest and popular teacher of mindfulness meditation.

Travis Bradberry, Ph.D., is president and cofounder of TalentSmart, a think tank and consultancy, and coauthor of The Emotional Intelligence Quick Book.

Ray Bradbury is an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, playwright, screenwriter, and poet. Among his best-known works are The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, and Fahrenheit 451.

Bill Bradley served three terms as the U.S. senator from New Jersey, and he is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Time Present, Time Past and Values of the Game.

Bestselling author Marion Zimmer Bradley (1930–1999) wrote The Mists of Avalon, Lady of Avalon, and The Firebrand, as well as the immensely popular Darkover series.

John Bradshaw is the Walham Director of the Anthrozoology Institute at the University of Bristol and the author of Dog Sense, as well as numerous academic papers on human-animal interactions.

John Bradshaw has been at the forefront of the self-help and recovery field for more than twenty years and is the New York Times bestselling author of books including Reclaiming Virtue and Bradshaw On: Homecoming.

James Brady (1928–2009), creator of the "Page Six" gossip column in the New York Post and long-time writer of the "In Step With" column in Parade magazine, is the author of the New York Times bestseller Warning of War and the highly praised memoir The Coldest War, which was a Pulitzer Prize finalist.

Sally Ryder Brady, a writer, an agent, a teacher, and an editor, is the author of the highly successful novel Instar.

Kate Braestrup is a Unitarian-Universalist chaplain to the Forest Service in Maine and the author of the novel Onion and the memoir Here If You Need Me, a New York Times bestseller and winner of the Barnes and Noble Discover Award for nonfiction.

Rodric Braithwaite, a former diplomat and writer, is the author of a number of books on Russia, including Across the Moscow River, Russia in Europe, and Engaging Russia: A Report to the Trilateral Commission.

Marlon Brando, widely considered the greatest movie actor of all time, appeared in more than forty films and won Academy Awards for his performances in On the Waterfront and The Godfather.

H. W. Brands is the Dickson Allen Anderson Centennial Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of the Pulitzer Prize nominees Traitor to His Class and The First American.

Buck Brannaman is the inspiration for the novel and feature film The Horse Whisperer. The author of Ranch Roping and coauthor of Believe: A Horseman’s Journey, he has started more than 10,000 young horses in his clinics.

Michael Braungart is a chemist and the founder of the Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency (EPEA) in Hamburg, Germany.

T. H. Breen is the William Smith Mason Professor of American History at Northwestern University and the author of several works of history, including The Marketplace of Revolution.

Tom Breitling, cofounder of Travelscape.com, runs an independent film production company in Las Vegas.

Pulitzer Prize winner Jimmy Breslin is the the author of multiple bestselling and critically acclaimed books, including The Good Rat, The Short Sweet Dream of Eduardo Gutierrez, and Can't Anybody Here Play This Game?

Kieran Scott writes under the pen name Kate Brian, whose best-known books are The Princess and the Pauper, Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys, Fake Boyfriend, and the bestselling Private series.

Andrew Bridge is a dedicated and vocal advocate for children in foster care.

Master historian Terry Brighton is curator of the Queen's Royal Lancers Museum and the author of Hell Riders: The True Story of the Charge of the Light Brigade.

Nancy G. Brinker is the founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure and serves as the Goodwill Ambassador for Cancer Control for the United Nations World Health Organization.

Alan Brinkley is the Allan Nevins Professor of American History at Columbia University and the author of Voices of Protest, which won the National Book Award for History, and The Unfinished Nation.

Erin Brockovich is the real-life inspiration behind the Oscar-winning movie that bears her name. Today she continues to do legal work as a director of environmental research and is involved in consulting on numerous toxic waste investigations.

Pope Brock is the author of Indiana Gothic and a former staff writer at GQ.

Anne Brontë (1820–1849), a British novelist and poet, was the youngest member of the famous Brontë literary family and the author of the novels Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

Charlotte Brontë (1816–1855) was an acclaimed English novelist and poet. She is best know for her masterpiece Jane Eyre, but she is also the author of Shirley and The Professor.

Emily Brontë (1818–1848) authored the eighteenth-century romance Wuthering Heights, her only novel, as well as a volume of poetry together with her sisters Charlotte and Anne.

Richard Brookhiser is the author of What Would the Founders Do? and the writer and host of the critically acclaimed PBS documentary Rediscovering George Washington.

Albert Brooks has written and directed several classic American comedies, including Lost in America, and, as an actor, received an Academy Award nomination for his role in Broadcast News.

Rob Broomby is a BBC journalist who first chronicled Denis Avey's story of breaking into the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II.

Marcus Brotherton, a former newspaper reporter and a professional writer, is the author or coauthor of seventeen books.

Philip Delves Broughton served as the New York and Paris bureau chief for the Daily Telegraph of London from 1998 to 2004, and his work has also appeared in the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal.

David Browne is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone and the author of Dream Brother, Amped, and Goodbye 20th Century.

Janet Browne is the author of Charles Darwin: Voyaging and Charles Darwin: The Power of Place, a landmark two-volume biography of Charles Darwin.

Guy Browning, a humorist and after-dinner speaker, is the author of the bestselling Never Push When It Says Pull and Maps of My Life.

Nina W. Brown, Ed.D., LPD, is a professor in the Educational Leadership and Counseling Department at Old Dominion University and the author of seventeen books, including Working with the Self-Absorbed.

Rita Mae Brown is the bestselling author of numerous books, including Rubyfruit Jungle, The Hounds and the Fury, and the Sneaky Pie Brown mystery series.

Victoria Brown was born in Trinidad and at just sixteen years old came alone to New York, where she worked as a full-time nanny for several years. She majored in English at Vassar College before attending the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom.

Zbigniew Brzezinski served as national security adviser to President Carter from 1977 to 1981.

Cathy Marie Buchanan's fiction has appeared in some of Canada's premier journals, including the Antigonish Review, the Dalhousie Review, Descant, and the New Quarterly.

John Buchan (1875–1940) was a Scottish diplomat, barrister, journalist, historian, poet, and novelist who is best known for his thriller The Thirty-Nine Steps and Greenmantle.

Rebecca Buckwalter-Poza has interned in the office of former Clinton adviser James Carville, worked as a polling and targeting analyst for the 2008 presidential election at Campaign to Defend America, and served as deputy press secretary for the Democratic National Committee.

Craig Buck is a film and television writer and producer and coauthor, with Susan Forward, of Betrayal of Innocence and Money Demons.

Bruce Bueno de Mesquita is the author of several books, including The Predictioneer’s Game; Principles of International Politics; Predicting Politics; Strategy, Risk and Personality in Coalition Politics; and the coauthor of many others.

Mary Buffett's own business acumen can be measured by her success as CEO of Superior Assembly, a very successful commercial and motion picture editing company, with clients including Madonna and Coca-Cola. She lives in Southern California.

Thomas Bulfinch (1796&8211;1867) was an American author who is best known for his mythological collection Bulfinch's Mythology, originally published in three volumes as The Age of Fable, The Age of Chivalry, and Legends of Charlemagne.

John Bunyan (1628–1688) was a Puritan preacher and writer born in Elstow, England. He wrote about sixty books and tracts during his lifetime, including his classic The Pilgrim's Progress.

Wendy Burden, the great-great-great-granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt, is a former illustrator, zookeeper, taxidermist, and owner and chef of the bistro Chez Wendy.

R. V. Burgin served as a sergeant in the First Marine Division in World War II and was awarded a Bronze Star for his actions in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945.

English-born novelist Frances Hodgson Burnett was best known for her children's stories, particularly Little Lord Fauntleroy, The Secret Garden, and A Little Princess.

David D. Burns, M.D., is an adjunct clinical professor of psychiatry at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the author of the bestselling Feeling Good.

James MacGregor Burns is the Woodrow Wilson Professor of Government Emeritus at Williams College and the author or coauthor of more than two dozen books, including Roosevelt: Soldier of Freedom, which won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, and Leadership, which is considered the seminal work in the field of leadership studies.

Jay Burreson, Ph.D., has worked as an industrial chemist and held a National Institutes of Health special fellowship at the University of Hawaii.

American novelist Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875–1950) is best-known for creating the world-famous characters Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle, and the invincible John Carter of the Mars series.

Edwin G. Burrows is a distinguished professor of history at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York and coauthor, with Mike Wallace, of Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898, which won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for History.

Chandler Burr is the New York Times perfume critic and the author of The Emperor of Scent: A Story of Perfume, Obsession, and the Last Mystery of the Senses.

Richard F. Burton (1821–1890) was a British explorer, writer, soldier, linguist, poet, and diplomat. He was a prolific and erudite author and wrote numerous books and scholarly articles about such subjects as human behavior, travel, fencing, sexual practices, and ethnography.

David M. Buss, one of the founders of the field of evolutionary psychology, is a professor at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of several books, including The Evolution of Desire and The Dangerous Passion.

Shannon K. Butcher is the author of several paranormal romance novels, including Love You to Death and No Control.

Samuel Butler (1835–1902) was an iconoclastic Victorian author whose most famous pieces are the Utopian satire Erewhon and the posthumous novel The Way of All Flesh.

John Butman is the author, editor, or collaborating writer of more than a dozen books on business management and social change, including Grapevine, with Dave Balter.

Journalist Paula Butturini has worked in overseas bureaus in London, Madrid, Rome, and Warsaw for United Press International and the Chicago Tribune.

Michael Byers is the author of the story collection The Coast of Good Intentions, a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award, and the acclaimed novel Long for This World, winner of the First Novel Award from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Trevor Byrne attended Trinity College and the University of Glamorgan, where he is currently a tutor of creative writing.

John T. Cacioppo is the Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago.

Jack Cafferty is a CNN host and commentator who appears regularly on the network's popular news program The Situation Room, as well as the author of the New York Times bestseller It's Getting Ugly Out There.

Andrea Cagan is a freelance writer who has worked with many bestselling authors.

Rachel Caine is the author of the popular Weather Warden series, the Morganville Vampires series, and the Outcast Season series, as well as many other books.

Frank Calabrese, Jr., lived in his native Chicago for thirty-nine years. Mentored by his father and brought into the Chicago outfit at age eighteen, he coauthored Operation Family Secrets.

Gail Caldwell is the chief book critic for the Boston Globe, where she has been a staff writer and critic since 1985, and the author of A Strong West Wind.

John C. Calhoun (1782–1850) was a leading politician and political theorist during the first half of the nineteenth century.

Colin G. Calloway is Professor of History and Samson Occom Professor of Native American Studies at Dartmouth College. His most recent work, One Vast Winter Count: The Native American West Before Lewis and Clark, received the Ray Allen Billington Prize, the Merle Curti Award, and many other prizes, and was named one of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year.

W. Bruce Cameron is the New York Times bestselling author of 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, which became a hit television series, and his nationally syndicated column is read by over three million readers every week.

Donald Cammell (1934–1996) was best known for his films Performance, Demon Seed, and Wild Side.

U.S. Marine captain Donovan Campbell finished first in his class at the Marines' Basic Officer Course, served two combat deployments in Iraq, and is now on his third combat deployment to Afghanistan.

David E. Campbell is the John Cardinal O'Hara, C.S.C., Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame and the author, coauthor, or editor of several books, including Why We Vote and A Matter of Faith

James Campbell is the author of The Final Frontiersman and has written for Outside magazine, as well as many other publications.

Christian Cantrell is a science fiction writer and software developer living in Northern Virginia whose short stories include "The Epoch Index" and "Human Legacy Project."

Pulitzer Prize winner Philip Caputo is the author of eight works of fiction---including Exiles, The Voyage, and Acts of Faith---two memoirs, and four works of nonfiction.

Grant Cardone is an international sales expert, sales trainer, motivational speaker, and the author of Closer's Survival Guide and Sell to Survive.

David Carey is a senior writer for the Deal, a news service and magazine covering private equity and mergers and acquisitions. He has followed the buyout industry for more than fifteen years and is a frequent guest on CNBC.

Jacqueline Carey is the author of Godslayer, Banewreaker, and the nationally bestselling Kushiel's Legacy series.

Mike Carey is the acclaimed writer of Lucifer and Hellblazer (now filmed as Constantine).

Peter Carey is the author of nine novels, including the Booker Prize-winning Oscar and Lucinda and True History of the Kelly Gang.

Peter Ames Carlin has been a columnist for the Oregonian newspaper since 2000, and he is the author of Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson.

Philip Carlo grew up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, amidst the world's highest concentration of Mafia members. His intimate knowledge of their walk and their talk helped him become a successful crime writer. His breakthrough, the critically acclaimed The Night Stalker, chronicles the brutal career of serial killer Richard Ramirez. Carlo lives in New York.

Kristine Carlson is coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Don't Sweat the Small Stuff in Love and Don't Sweat the Small Stuff for Women.

Novella Carpenter attended Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, where she studied under Michael Pollan for two years, and her writing has appeared in Salon.com, Saveur.com, and Mother Jones.

Emmanuel Carrère, one of France’s most critically acclaimed writers, is the author of several screenplays and novels, including The Adversary, a New York Times Notable Book.

Andrew Carroll is the founder of the Legacy Project (www.WarLetters.com) and the editor of several bestselling books, including Letters of a Nation.

Jim Carroll (1949–2009) was an author, poet, and punk musician best known for his 1978 autobiographical work The Basketball Diaries, which was adapted into a film in 1995.

James Carroll is a columnist for the Boston Globe and a regular contributor to the Daily Beast. A bestselling author, his many publications include Crusade, House of War, Secret Father, and An American Requiem, which won the National Book Award.

English writer and mathematician Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832–1898), who wrote under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll, was especially known for his children’s books Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.

Linda Carroll is a nationally respected health writer who has covered a broad range of health topics for MSNBC.com, the New York Times, and other publications.

Sean B. Carroll is an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a professor of genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Sean Carroll, Ph.D., is a theoretical physicist at the California Institute of Technology and the author of the graduate-level textbook Spacetime and Geometry.

Howie Carr is a popular radio talk show host who is syndicated across New England. Known for his scathing exposes of local politicians, he has raised lots of eyebrows and voices over the years. He's famous for pushing the envelope and not regretting that he went too far. He has also been featured regularly on NBC, MSNBC, C-SPAN, Court TV, CNN, and the Fox News Network.

Christine Carter, Ph.D., is the executive director of the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California–Berkeley.

Zoe FitzGerald Carter is a graduate of Columbia Journalism School and has written for numerous publications, including New York magazine, the New York Observer, Premiere, and various national magazines.

Evan Carton is professor of English at the University of Texas at Austin.

James Carville is one of the best-known and most-loved political consultants in American history and the author of six New York Times bestsellers, including We’re Right, They’re Wrong: A Handbook for Spirited Progressives.

June Casagrande writes a popular and very humorous "A Word, Please" grammar column for five Los Angeles Times Community News papers.

Richard Castle, played by actor Nathan Fillion, is the author of numerous bestsellers, including the critically acclaimed Derrick Storm series. His first novel, In a Hail of Bullets received the Nom DePlume Society's prestigious Tom Straw Award for Mystery Literature.

Fidel Castro is the current president of Cuba, though his duties have been transferred to the first vice president due to his failing health.

One of the great American writers of the twentieth century, Willa Cather is the author of such classics as O Pioneers! My Ántonia, and the Pulitzer Prize–winning One of Ours.

Gina Cavallaro, one of America's most experienced war correspondents, is a writer for the Army Times and the Marine Corps Times.

Douglas Century is the author of Barney Ross and Street Kingdom, and coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Takedown.

Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) was a Spanish novelist, playwright, and poet, best known as the creator of Don Quixote, the most famous figure in Spanish literature.

Jonathan Chait is the senior editor at the New Republic and writes the magazine’s signature TRB column.

Karen Chance is the bestselling author of the Cassandra Palmer series and the Dorina Basarab series, and she has contributed stories to the anthologies On the Prowl and The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance.

Leslie T. Chang, a graduate of Harvard University, lived in Beijing for a decade, where she worked as a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal.

Ji Chaozhu has held posts in China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, from 1991 to 1996, served as the under-secretary-general of the United Nations.

Duane "Dog" Chapman is the famed bounty hunter featured on A&E's Dog the Bounty Hunter and the author of You Can Run, but You Can't Hide.

Ram Charan is the go-to adviser for corporate directors and CEOs and coauthor of the bestsellers Execution and Confronting Reality

Noah Charney is the author of the internationally bestselling novel The Art Thief and the founding director of the Association for Research into Crimes against Art, an international nonprofit think tank.

Henri Charrière (1906–1973) is the author of Papillon, an autobiographical account of his extraordinary escape from the notorious Devil's Island prison.

Father Eduardo Chávez is one of the most renowned experts on the Guadalupe apparitions and the first dean of the Catholic University Lumen Gentium of the Archdiocese of Mexico.

From 1997 to 2002, Sarah Chayes served as an overseas correspondent for NPR, reporting from Paris and the Balkans, as well as covering conflicts in Algeria.

Susan Cheever is the author of both nonfiction and fiction works, including My Name is Bill, Note Found in a Bottle, As Good As I Could Be, Home Before Dark, and Treetops. .

Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) was a Russian short story writer, playwright, and physician, considered to be one of the greatest short story writers in the history of world literature. He published over a hundred short stories, including "The Duel," "In Exile," "On Official Business," "The Bishop," and "The Cobbler and the Devil."

G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) was one of the most influential English writers of the twentieth century. His prolific and diverse output included journalism, philosophy, poetry, biography,Christian apologetics, fantasy, and detective fiction. Chesterton is well known for his reasoned apologetics, including Orthodoxy and The Everlasting Man.

Renee Chiang is a publisher and the English editor of New Century Press in Hong Kong.

Dante Chinni, correspondent for the Patchwork Nation project, has been a journalist for over two decades, serving stints at Newsweek, and the Christian Science Monitor.

C. J. Chivers is a senior writer for the New York Times and its former Moscow bureau chief. He received a shared Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 2009 for coverage in Afghanistan.

American author Kate Chopin (1850–1904) wrote two novels, including the widely condemned The Awakening, and about a hundred short stories in the 1890s. Most of her fiction is set in Louisiana and most of her best-known work focuses on the lives of sensitive, intelligent women.

Loren W. Christensen is a martial arts expert who served in Vietnam and spent nearly three decades in law enforcement. He the author or coauthor of over 40 books and dozens of magazine articles.

Randy Christensen, M.D., is a staff physician at Phoenix Children's Hospital and the medical director of Crews'n Healthmobile, a mobile medical clinic that provides care to homeless children. He is also the author of Ask Me Why I Hurt.

Sam Christer has worked for several major television studios, and his award-winning documentaries have covered topics including scientific discoveries and murder prosecutions.

Agatha Christie (1890–1976), one of the most popular authors of all time and known the Queen of Crime, is the author of eighty novels and short-story collections, including The Mysterious Affair at Styles, And Then There Were None, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, and The Mirror Crack'd.

Paul Christopher is a pen name of author Christopher Hyde. His many novels include Michelangelo's Notebook, The Lucifer Gospel, The Aztec Heresy, and the Templar series.

Pushcart Prize nominee Sonya Chung's short fiction and essays have appeared in the Threepenny Review, BOMB Magazine, Crab Orchard Review, and Sonora Review, among others.

Marcus Tullis Cicero (106–43 BC) was a Roman statesman and philosopher whose lifetime coincided with the decline and fall of the Roman republic. His best-known works include On the Republic, On Duties, and Treatises on Friendship and Old Age.

Breena Clarke's novel River, Cross My Heart was an Oprah's Book Club selection and an international bestseller.

A renowned floral designer, Nancy Clarke has created thousands of beautiful decorations and floral designs. For thirty years, her exquisite floral designs brought beauty, grace, and elegance to White House historical events.

David Clark is a portfolio manager and a leading authority on Warren Buffett's investment methods.

Francesco Clark is the founder of Clark's Botanicals, which has been featured in the New York Times, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, and many other publications.

Tom Clavin, a contributing writer for the New York Times for fifteen years, is the author of seven books, including Dark Noon: The Final Voyage of the Fishing Boat Pelican and Raising the Rainbow Generation.

Chris Cleave is a columnist for the Guardian newspaper in London and the author of the prize-winning novel Incendiary.

John Cleland (1709–1789) was an English novelist who is most famous and infamous as the author of Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, which he wrote while serving time in prison for debt.

Rory Clements, a former features editor and associate editor of Today, now writes full-time in an idyllic corner of Norfolk, England.

George Cloutier is cochairman of Partner America, a partnership between Cloutier's company and the nation's mayors, andthe CEO of American Management Services, a consulting firm that specializes in small and midsize businesses.

Babara Hand Clow is an internationally acclaimed Mayan Calendar researcher and the author of several books, including The Mayan Code and Catastrophobia.

Gerry Clow is a polarity and craniosacral therapist and coauthor of The Mayan Code, Stained Glass, and other books.

John R. Coats, a former parish priest, was a principal speaker and seminar leader for the More to Life training program and an independent management consultant.

Harlan Coben, winner of the Edgar Award, the Shamus Award, and the Anthony Award, is the international bestselling author of Just One Look, No Second Chance, Tell No One, and many more.

Patrick Cockburn is the Middle East correspondent for the Independent and the author of The Broken Boy.

William D. Cohan, an investment banker on Wall Street for seventeen years, is the bestselling author of The Last Tycoons, winner of the 2007 FT/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award.

Aaron Cohen is a passionate founder of the modern-day Jubilee peace movement.

Adam Cohen is assistant editorial page editor of the New York Times and the author of The Perfect Store: Inside eBay.

Kerry Cohen is a practicing psychotherapist and the author of the young-adult novel Easy.

Leah Hager Cohen is the author of four nonfiction books, including Train Go Sorry, and three novels, including Glass, Paper, Beans.

Patricia Cohen is a New York Times reporter covering culture and ideas. She has also worked at Rolling Stone, the Washington Post, and New York Newsday.

Richard M. Cohen is a former senior producer for CBS News and CNN, a three-time Emmy Award winner, and the recipient of numerous honors in journalism.

Suzy Cohen, R.Ph., is licensed pharmacist who has been featured on The View and The Dr. Oz Show.

Graham Coleman is president of the Orient Foundation (UK), a major Tibetan cultural conservancy organization, and editor of the foundation's A Handbook of Tibetan Culture.

Victoria Colligan is cofounder of Ladies Who Launch, a company created as a blend of online social networking and offline support system.

Wilkie Collins (1824–1889) was an English novelist who critics often credit with the invention of the English detective novel. He is best known as the author of Moonstone, The Woman in White, No Name, and Armadale.

Carlo Collodi (1826–1890), the author of Pinocchio, was a journalist who also wrote comedies and edited newspapers and reviews.

Marie-Françoise Colombani is a French journalist and columnist for Elle magazine and the coauthor, with Eva Gabrielsson, of There Are Things I Want You to Know About Stieg Larsson and Me.

Larry Colton, a former pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, is the author of Goat Brothers and Counting Coup, which won the Frankfurt eBook Award for Nonfiction.

Geoff Colvin, Fortune's senior editor at large, is one of America's most respected business journalists.

Lt. Lynn "Buck" Compton has been a collegiate sports star, esteemed war veteran, detective, attorney, and judge. As a second lieutenant during World War II, Compton commanded the second platoon of Easy Company in the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Division.

Ryan A. Conklin is an Iraq War veteran and one of the costars of the twenty-first season of MTV's The Real World.

A former Los Angeles Times crime reporter, Michael Connelly is the author of over twenty novels and nonfiction books, including the bestselling series of mysteries featuring dark detective Hieronymous "Harry" Bosch.

Roger Connors is a principal and cofounder, with Tom Smith, of Partners in Leadership, Inc., and coauthor of the bestsellers The Oz Principle and Journey to the Emerald City.

Peter Conradi is a veteran journalist, an editor for the Sunday Times, and the author of several popular biographies, including the critically acclaimed Hitler's Piano Player.

Novelist Joseph Conrad, one of the first English "modernists," was considered by critics to be the single most important innovator of twentieth-century literature. Among his most famous works are Heart of Darkness and Lord Jim.

The Smart Cookies are five women who created a money club to manage their finances and, through it, became close, committed friends and business partners, as well as the hosts of the W Network's Smart Cookies.

Claire Cook is the bestselling author of several novels, including The Wildwater Walking Club, Life's a Beach, Summer Blowout, and Must Love Dogs.

Thomas H. Cook is the author of nineteen novels and two works of nonfiction.

Courtney Riley Cooper (1886–1940) worked as a press agent for Wild West showman Buffalo Bill Cody and wrote The Cross-Cut, The Pioneers, and The Golden Bubble.

James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851) was America's first successful popular novelist, his most lasting contributions to American literature being his five books about Natty Bumppo, including The Pioneers and The Last of the Mohicans.

Gregory R. Copley is an award-winning historian and global strategist...

Philip Coppens is one of the leading contributors to the History Channel's popular series Ancient Aliens and the author of books including The New Pyramid Age.

Robert Coram was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for his work as a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He is the author of several novels and nonfiction books, including Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War.

David Cordingly was Keeper of Pictures and Head of Exhibitions at the National Maritime Museum for twelve years.

Ronald Cotton has spoken on the topic of criminal justice and its flaws at various schools and conferences, including Washington and Lee University and Georgetown Law School.

Dick Couch is a former Navy SEAL and the author of several books, including The Finishing School, Chosen Soldier, Seal Team One, and Rising Wind.

Jacques Cousteau (1910–1997) was world renowned as an ocean explorer, filmmaker, educator, and environmental activist.

Tyler Cowen is a professor of economics at George Mason University.

Michael Cox is the author of The Meaning of Night, which was shortlisted for the 2007 Costa First Novel Award.

Patsi Bale Cox is a music journalist who has collaborated on such bestselling memoirs as Loretta Lynn's Still Woman Enough and Ralph Emery's The View from Nashville.

Harold Coyle is the New York Times bestselling author of The Ten Thousand and More Than Courage. He lives in Fairfax, Virginia.

American author Stephen Crane (1871–1900) won international fame with The Red Badge of Courage, which was acclaimed as the first modern war novel.

Alan Pell Crawford is the author of Unwise Passions: A True Story of a Remarkable Woman---and the First Great Scandal of Eighteenth-Century America and a regular book reviewer for the Wall Street Journal.

Russell Sydnor Crenshaw, Jr., commanded numerous weapons ships during his naval career. He is the author of Naval Shiphandling and The Battle of Tassafaronga.

Catherine Crier is an Emmy Award–winning television journalist and the New York Times bestselling author of A Deadly Game and The Case Against Lawyers.

Greg Critser is an award-winning writer about medicine, science, food, and health. He is the author of the national bestseller Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World and the award-winning Generation Rx: How Prescription Drugs are Altering American Minds, Lives and Bodies.

David Crockett (1786–1836), a frontiersman and U.S. representative, was famously killed while defending the Alamo.

John Dominic Crossan is an emeritus professor of religious studies at DePaul University in Chicago andthe author of God and Empire and The Birth of Christianity.

Roger Crowley taught English in Istanbul, where he developed a strong interest in the history of Turkey, and is the author of 1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West.

Charles Cumming, a former Secret Intelligence Service agent, is a contributing editor of the Week magazine.

Scott Cunningham (1956–1993) practiced magic actively for over twenty years and authored more than fifty books covering both fiction and nonfiction subject matter.

James Oliver Curwood (1878–1927) was a prolific early-twentieth-century American author whose works include The Grizzly King, The Wolf Hunters, and Son of the Forests.

Jackie Gingrich Cushman writes a weekly human-interest column for Townhall.com and is president of the Learning Makes a Difference Foundation, which she founded in 2006.

Kimberly Cutter received her MFA from the University of Virginia and has written for many publications, including Harper's Bazaar, Vanity Fair, and Marie Claire.

Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo is a naturopathic physician, educator, and researcher with a wide international following. His first book, Eat Right 4 Your Type is a New York Times bestseller that has been translated into over fifty languages.

Ryan D’Agostino is an editor at Esquire magazine.

Gordon Dahlquist is a playwright and director whose first novel is the bestselling The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters.

Janet Dailey has written more than one hundred novels, with 300 million copies of her books sold in nineteen languages in ninety-eight countries.

James Dale is former president and CEO of advertising agency W. B. Doner & Co.

David G. Dalin, Ph.D., an ordained rabbi, is a professor of history and political science at Ave Maria University.

Professional golfer John Daly has won the PGA's Driving Distance Crown a record-setting eleven times.

Brian D'Amato, an artist whose sculptures and installations have been shown in galleries and museums all over the world, is the author of the international bestseller Beauty.

Richard Henry Dana, Jr. (1815–1882) was an American lawyer and politician who gained renown as the author of the American classic Two Years Before the Mast, a memoir of his time spent at sea as a merchant seaman.

Ted Danson is an Emmy Award–winning actor known for his starring role on the television series Cheers who is also an outspoken environmental activist and a member of the board of directors of Oceana, the largest international organization focused solely on ocean conservation.

Michael D'Antonio is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.

Lucy Danziger has been editor in chief of Self magazine for more than eight years.

Charles Darwin, a British naturalist, geologist, biologist, and author, revolutionized the science of biology by developing the theory of evolution by natural selection.

Mike Dash is a historian with a PhD from the University of London and the author of seven books, including Satan's Circus, Thug, Batavia's Graveyard, and Tulipomania.

Lama Surya Das is one of the formost American Buddhist teachers and scholars and the author of several books, including Buddha Standard Time and Awakening the Buddha Within.

Stephen Dau worked for ten years in post-war reconstruction and international development prior to studying creative writing.

Jim Davidson is an accomplished climber, speaker, and science writer who has been on expeditions around the world and has spoken to over 30,000 people through his professional speaking business, Speaking of Adventure.

Sara Davidson is the author of bestsellers Loose Change, Real Property, and Cowboy.

Kevin Davies, Ph.D., is the author of Cracking the Genome and editor in chief of Bio-IT World, a monthly magazine covering enabling technology in the life sciences.

Norman Davies is a professor emeritus of the University of London.

Paul Davies is an internationally acclaimed physicist, cosmologist, and astrobiologist at Arizona State University and the author of more than twenty books, including The Mind of God, About Time, and The Goldilocks Enigma.

Devra Davis, Ph.D., M.P.H., is a scientist, professor, speaker, and acclaimed author. Her first book, When Smoke Ran Like Water, was a National Book Award finalist.