Stephen Budiansky
Encyclopedia
Stephen Budiansky is an American
author who writes primarily about history and science. He is a former national security correspondent, foreign editor, and deputy editor of U.S. News & World Report
and former Washington editor of the scientific journal Nature
. He was also for many years a correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly. As a free-lance writer his work has appeared in the New York Times magazine and op-ed pages, the Washington Post, Men's Journal, Science, The Economist, and many other publications. He is the author of a number of scholarly publications about the history of cryptography, military history, and music.
, Masschusetts, and graduated from Lexington High School
. He studied science and applied mathematics at Yale University
and Harvard University
. From 1979 to 1982 he was a magazine editor and radio producer at the American Chemical Society in Washington, D.C., before joining the staff of Nature as Washington correspondent and later serving as the journal's Washington editor. In 1985–86 he was a Congressional Fellow at the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment
, where he co-authored a study of advanced conventional weapons technologies as a means for reducing NATO's reliance on nuclear deterrence. In 1986 he joined the staff of U.S. News & World Report where he worked for twelve years in a variety of writing and editing positions, covering science and national security issues and ultimately serving as the magazine's deputy editor, the No. 3 editorial position.
Since 1998 he has been a full-time writer of books and occasional articles and reviews. His writing has focused on two main areas: military and intelligence history, especially the interactions of science and warfare; and animal behavior and ethics, especially the nature of domesticated animals. From 2007 to 2008 he was the editor of World War II magazine, where he oversaw a complete redesign and brought in well-known writers and historians to contribute to the publication. He is also a member of the editorial board of Cryptologia
, the scholarly journal of codes and codebreaking, and of the "Usage Panel" of the American Heritage Dictionary
.
In 2005, his article in the Washington Post on the poor quality of school-music repertoire generated considerable attention and controversy among music educators and composers, and he was subsequently invited to give presentations on the subject to a number of professional wind-band organizations. He collaborated with Tim Foley, the 26th director of the United States Marine Band
, on a scholarly article further examining the problem and recommending solutions.
, Virginia
. He is married to Martha Polkey; they have a daughter and a son. He is the son of Bernard Budiansky
, who was a professor of mechanical engineering at Harvard University.
in 2011 as a writer of general non-fiction. In 2006, he was the Caroline D. Bain scholar-in-residence at Smith College
. He received the Army Historical Foundation's Distinguished Writing Award in 2004 for an article in American Heritage
on the Civil War intelligence chief George H. Sharpe
. Two of his books have been short-listed for the Rhône-Poulenc Prize for Science Books.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author who writes primarily about history and science. He is a former national security correspondent, foreign editor, and deputy editor of U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
and former Washington editor of the scientific journal Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
. He was also for many years a correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly. As a free-lance writer his work has appeared in the New York Times magazine and op-ed pages, the Washington Post, Men's Journal, Science, The Economist, and many other publications. He is the author of a number of scholarly publications about the history of cryptography, military history, and music.
Career
Stephen Budiansky grew up in LexingtonLexington, Massachusetts
Lexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,399 at the 2010 census. This town is famous for being the site of the first shot of the American Revolution, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.- History :...
, Masschusetts, and graduated from Lexington High School
Lexington High School (Massachusetts)
Lexington High School is a public high school located in Lexington, Massachusetts, United States. It teaches grades 9-12. The school's mascot is the Minuteman.In 2008 it was ranked by the Boston Globe as one of the top three high schools in the state....
. He studied science and applied mathematics at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. From 1979 to 1982 he was a magazine editor and radio producer at the American Chemical Society in Washington, D.C., before joining the staff of Nature as Washington correspondent and later serving as the journal's Washington editor. In 1985–86 he was a Congressional Fellow at the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment
Office of Technology Assessment
The Office of Technology Assessment was an office of the United States Congress from 1972 to 1995. OTA's purpose was to provide Congressional members and committees with objective and authoritative analysis of the complex scientific and technical issues of the late 20th century, i.e. technology...
, where he co-authored a study of advanced conventional weapons technologies as a means for reducing NATO's reliance on nuclear deterrence. In 1986 he joined the staff of U.S. News & World Report where he worked for twelve years in a variety of writing and editing positions, covering science and national security issues and ultimately serving as the magazine's deputy editor, the No. 3 editorial position.
Since 1998 he has been a full-time writer of books and occasional articles and reviews. His writing has focused on two main areas: military and intelligence history, especially the interactions of science and warfare; and animal behavior and ethics, especially the nature of domesticated animals. From 2007 to 2008 he was the editor of World War II magazine, where he oversaw a complete redesign and brought in well-known writers and historians to contribute to the publication. He is also a member of the editorial board of Cryptologia
Cryptologia
Cryptologia is a journal in cryptography published quarterly since January 1977. Its remit is all aspects of cryptography, but there is a special emphasis on historical aspects of the subject. The founding editors were Brian J. Winkel, David Kahn, Louis Kruh, Cipher A. Deavours and Greg Mellen...
, the scholarly journal of codes and codebreaking, and of the "Usage Panel" of the American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language is an American dictionary of the English language published by Boston publisher Houghton Mifflin, the first edition of which appeared in 1969...
.
In 2005, his article in the Washington Post on the poor quality of school-music repertoire generated considerable attention and controversy among music educators and composers, and he was subsequently invited to give presentations on the subject to a number of professional wind-band organizations. He collaborated with Tim Foley, the 26th director of the United States Marine Band
United States Marine Band
The United States Marine Band is the premier band of the United States Marine Corps. Established by act of Congress on July 11, 1798, it is the oldest of the United States military bands and the oldest professional musical organization in the United States...
, on a scholarly article further examining the problem and recommending solutions.
Personal
Stephen Budiansky lives on a small farm in Loudoun CountyLoudoun County, Virginia
Loudoun County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and is part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the county is estimated to be home to 312,311 people, an 84 percent increase over the 2000 figure of 169,599. That increase makes the county the fourth...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. He is married to Martha Polkey; they have a daughter and a son. He is the son of Bernard Budiansky
Bernard Budiansky
Bernard Budiansky was a renowned scholar in the field of applied mechanics, and made seminal contributions to the mechanics of structures and mechanics of materials. He was a recipient of the Timoshenko Medal.-Biography:...
, who was a professor of mechanical engineering at Harvard University.
Awards
Budiansky was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in 2011 as a writer of general non-fiction. In 2006, he was the Caroline D. Bain scholar-in-residence at Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
. He received the Army Historical Foundation's Distinguished Writing Award in 2004 for an article in American Heritage
American Heritage (magazine)
American Heritage is a quarterly magazine dedicated to covering the history of the United States for a mainstream readership. Until 2007, the magazine was published by Forbes. Since that time, Edwin S...
on the Civil War intelligence chief George H. Sharpe
George H. Sharpe
George Henry Sharpe was an American lawyer, soldier, secret service officer, diplomat and politician.-Early life:...
. Two of his books have been short-listed for the Rhône-Poulenc Prize for Science Books.
Books
- Perilous Fight: America's Intrepid War with Britain on the High Seas, 1812–1815 (2011). Knopf. ISBN 978-0307270696
- Murder, By the Book (2008). Black Sheep Press. ISBN 978-1434837677
- The Bloody Shirt: Terror After the Civil War (2007). Viking. ISBN 978-0452290167
- Her Majesty's Spymaster: Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Walsingham, and the Birth of Modern Espionage (2005). Viking. ISBN 978-0452287471
- Air Power: The Men, Machines, and Ideas That Revolutionized War, from Kitty Hawk to Iraq (2004). Viking. ISBN 014303474X
- The Character of Cats (2002). Viking. ISBN 0670030937
- The Truth About Dogs (2000). Viking. ISBN 0670892726
- The World According to Horses: How They Run, See, and Think (2000). Henry Holt. ISBN 0805060545
- Battle of Wits: The Complete Story of Codebreaking in World War II (2000). Free Press. ISBN 978-0743217347
- If A Lion Could Talk: Animal Intelligence and the Evolution of Consciousness (1998). Free Press. ISBN 0684837102
- The Nature of Horses (1997). Free Press. ISBN 978-0684827681
- Nature's Keepers (1995). Free Press. ISBN 0029049156
- The Covenant of the Wild (1992). Yale University Press (reprint ed, 1999). ISBN 978-0300079937