Journalist and author Paul Martin spent three decades as a book and magazine editor with the National Geographic Society. His many articles have appeared in a variety of National Geographic print and online publications, as well as on Smithsonian.com and other popular websites. A lifelong history buff, Martin has gathered information on inspiring unsung Americans for years. He selected some of the most interesting of these characters for his book SECRET HEROES (HarperCollins, 2012), from the forgotten tailor who saved George Washington's life to the famous actress who was secretly a brainy inventor. "I only wrote about people whose heroism had enduring and widespread significance-real life superheroes." In his next book, Martin profiled a group of people who were the complete opposite of heroes-American rogues. "I wanted to find the most colorful examples of every sort of villainy and rascality." VILLAINS, SCOUNDRELS, AND ROGUES (Prometheus Books, 2014) includes startling ne'er-do-wells from throughout our country's past, from the rabid, homicidal judge who presided over the Salem witch trials to the Wild West madam known as Squirrel Tooth Alice. In his most recent volume, Martin has written about individuals who performed some original feat that's been overlooked or that gets only a bare mention in today's history books. "AMERICAN TRAILBLAZERS presents a gallery of these transformative figures," from the free-spirited publisher and stockbroker who became the first female to run for president to the little-known Idaho farm boy who created the world's first electronic television system.