Leslie Maitland is a former New York Times reporter who specialized in legal affairs and investigative reporting. She joined the Times after graduating from the University of Chicago and the Harvard Divinity School. After breaking stories on the FBI’s undercover “Abscam” inquiry into corruption in Congress, she moved to the New York Times Washington Bureau to cover the Justice Department. After leaving the Times, she began, among other projects, extensive research for this book, including five reporting trips to Europe and one to Cuba. She has frequently participated in programs discussing literature on The Diane Rehm Show on National Public Radio. Maitland lives with her husband in Bethesda, Maryland.