William Lanouette was a journalist on the staffs of Newsweek, The National Observer, and National Journal and was Washington Correspondent for The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. His freelance writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Civilization, The New York Herald Tribune, Scientific American, The Washington Post, and The Wilson Quarterly. He has reported on rowing for Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, The National Observer, and Smithsonian, as well as for the NAAO (now US Rowing) publications Rowing Guide and Rowing News. He first rowed at Fordham College and the New York Athletic Club, and continued the sport with the London School of Economics Boat Club (University of London), the Potomac Boat Club, and the San Diego Rowing Club. In a second career, he was a Senior Analyst for Energy and Science Issues at the US Government Accountability Office, the investigative agency for Congress. His first book, Genius in the Shadows: A Biography of Leo Szilard, the Man Behind the Bomb, was a New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year. He lives in San Diego.