Karl Zinsmeister

Karl Zinsmeister is the author of 13 books ranging from embedded reporting to encyclopedic references to a storytelling cookbook to a Marvel graphic novel. In 2016 he published What Comes Next? How Private Givers Can Rescue America in an Era of Political Frustration. Earlier that same year he released the fascinating Almanac of American Philanthropy that brings to life 300 years of great donors and great achievements in charitable problem-solving in America. In 2017 he created a Compact Edition of that work, which had quickly become the authoritative source on private giving in the U.S. Other recent work includes a 2015 book on how public policy is changed by savvy givers (Agenda Setting), and a 2014 examination of the rise of charter schools (From Promising to Proven). Before that he created a storytelling cookbook (Finger Lakes Feast) chronicling one of America's new hotspots for great local food, in collaboration with his co-author daughter and photographer son. Previous books included the first book of Iraq war reporting to be published by an embedded reporter (Boots on the Ground), the first book of embedded reporting on the U.S. counterinsurgency effort (Dawn Over Baghdad), even a Marvel non-fiction comic book. He has also written for national publications like the Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic. He and his wife produced a feature documentary film entitled Warriors that aired nationally on PBS in 2007, with major funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. For nearly 13 years Zinsmeister was editor-in-chief of The American Enterprise, a national magazine of politics, business, and culture based in Washington, D.C. Author and former Cabinet Secretary William Bennett called it "one of America's finest magazines.... intellectually interesting, well-written, lively, wide-ranging, and above all useful." From 2006 to 2009 Zinsmeister served in the West Wing as President George W. Bush's chief domestic policy adviser and director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. Earlier in his career he was an assistant to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. He has testified before Congressional committees and Presidential commissions, and holds the highest U.S. security clearance. A graduate of Yale University, Zinsmeister did further studies at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. During college he won rowing championships in both the U.S. and Ireland. He has appeared often on a wide variety of national television and radio programs. He has lived, worked, or traveled in 40 countries, and nearly every U.S. state. Zinsmeister is married and has three children. An avid biker, photographer, outdoorsman, and renovator of old houses, he currently lives on a houseboat in Washington, D.C.