Kevin Baker was born in August 1958, in Englewood, New Jersey and grew up in Rockport, Massachusetts. He graduated from Columbia University in New York City in 1980. He began his writing career directly after graduation. His first novel, Sometimes You See It Coming, based loosely on the life of Ty Cobb, was published in hardcover in 1993 and in paperback by HarperPaperbacks in the spring of 2003. Dreamland, part of Bakers New York City of Fire trilogy, was published by HarperCollins in 1999, and in paperback the following year. Paradise Alley was published by HarperCollins in 2002. Kevin was the chief historical researcher on Harold Evans' best-selling history, The American Century,… published in 1999. He currently writes the monthly "In the News" column for American Heritage magazine, and has also been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, The Frankfurter Rundschau, Harpers magazine, Talk, and The Industry Standard.