David Bodanis has had several careers. As an academic he lectured at the University of Oxford for many years, where he designed and taught the university's main survey of social studies, entitled 'An Intellectual Tool-Kit'. As an author he's written several best-sellers, on topics ranging from history to popular science; as a business consultant, he's worked with a number of leading firms in Europe and America. Born in Chicago, he has lived in France and England most of his adult life. A single parent, he has two children, and lives in London.