Paul Dickson

Journalist and author of “Sputnik: The Shock of the Century”

Paul Dickson is the author of more than 40 books. Both his first book, Think Tanks (Scribner, 1971), and his most recent, Sputnik: The Shock of the Century (Walker, 2001), examine the forces that have shaped the way we live in the information age.

His book on Sputnik was re-issued as a Walker & Company hardback and a Berkeley paperback in 2007. The book is the basis for the new film, “Sputnik Mania.”

After graduating from Wesleyan University, in 1961, Mr. Dickson joined the U.S. Navy and later worked as a reporter for McGraw-Hill Publications. Since 1968, he has been a full-time freelance writer, contributing articles to various magazines and newspapers, including Smithsonian, Esquire, The Nation, Town & Country, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post.

A founder and former president of Washington Independent Writers, he is also a contributing editor at Washingtonian magazine and a consulting editor at Merriam-Webster, Inc.