David Baldacci is an American lawyer, philanthropist and author. He writes for multiple newspapers, journals and magazines and is a contributing editor for Parade Magazine.http://davidbaldacci.com/about-david/biography He was the youngest of three children, and his sister describes him as a “bratty little brother.”http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/5044.html Baldacci’s father, Rudolph, lost 70% of his hearing while serving in World War II and worked as a trucking foreman in Baldacci’s youth. In order to pay for college, Baldacci worked multiple jobs, including construction, washing trucks, as a Pinkerton guard at a General Electric plant, maintenance work at a golf course, and selling Filter Queen vacuum cleaners. http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/5044.html Baldacci received a law degree from the University of Virginia and practiced law in Washington D.C. for nine years before writing his first novel.http://davidbaldacci.com/about-david/biography Baldacci’s wife, Michelle, is a paralegal. http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/5044.html They married in 1990 and have two children, daughter Spencer and son Collin. http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/5044.html Baldacci was one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in 1997.http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20122098,00.html

In 2002, the Baldaccis formed the Wish You Well Foundation, established to support family literacy in the United States.http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/authors_David-Baldacci-%281012701%29.htm The foundation partnered with Feeding America to distribute both new and used books through food banks, a program called “Feeding Body & Mind.”http://davidbaldacci.com/about-david/biography When attending book signings, Baldacci brings donation boxes, asking attendees to donate new and gently-used books. “Poverty and illiteracy go hand in hand,” says Baldacci.http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/5044.html His publisher, Hachette, pays for the collected books to be shipped to community feeding programs and distributed.http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/5044.html Baldacci is also active in the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, the American Cancer Society, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.http://davidbaldacci.com/about-david/biography He is the national ambassador for the Multiple Sclerosis Society, an organization he became involved with after his sister was diagnosed with the disease.http://davidbaldacci.com/about-david/biography

Baldacci told no one but his family about his endeavor to write his first novel, though after selling it for $2 million and selling the film and foreign rights for $2.5 million, he was able to stop practicing law in order to write full-time. http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/5044.html Baldacci attributes his ability to write his first novel while working full time as an attorney to his experiences working as a newspaper delivery boy while attending school as a boy. http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/5044.html His first novel, Absolute Power, was made into a film starring Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman. Each of his following novels has become a New York Times bestseller. His books have been translated into 45 languages, and more than 100 million copies have been sold worldwide. http://davidbaldacci.com/about-david/biography

"Why can't people just sit and read books and be nice to each other?" -The Camel Clubhttp://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/9291.David_Baldacci

"Small mistakes tend to lead to large ones. Ours is a lifetime appointment, and all you have is your reputation. Once it's gone, it doesn't come back." -The Simple Truthhttp://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/9291.David_Baldacci

"It's my experience that most folk who ride trains could care less where they're going. For them it's the journey itself and the people they meet along the way. You see, at every stop this train makes, a little bit of America, a little bit of your country, gets on and says hello." -The Christmas Trainhttp://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/9291.David_Baldacci

• 1996: Absolute Power

• 1997: Total Control

• 1998: The Winner

• 1998: Simple Truth

• 1999: Saving Faith

• 2000: Wish You Well

• 2001: Last Man Standing

• 2002: The Christmas Train

• 2003: Split Second

• 2004: Hour Game

• 2005: The Camel Club

• 2006: The Collectors

• 2007: Simple Genius

• 2007: Stone Cold

• 2008: The Whole Truth

• 2008: Divine Justice

• 2009: First Family

• 2009: True Blue

• 2010: Deliver Us From Evil

• 2010: Hell's Cornerhttp://davidbaldacci.com/writing/novels