Since its founding in 1952, Basic Books has shaped public debate by publishing award-winning books in history, science, sociology, psychology, politics, and current affairs. Basic's list of influential authors includes Stephon Alexander, Isaac Asimov, Edward Baptist, H.W. Brands, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Iris Chang, George Church, Niall Ferguson, Richard Feynman, Richard Florida, Martin Ford, Howard Gardner, Victor Davis Hanson, Jonathan Haidt, Judith Herman, Christopher Hitchens, Douglas Hofstadter, Leszek Kolakowski, Kevin Kruse, Lawrence Lessig, Claude Levi-Strauss, Alice Miller, Robert Nozick, Steven Pinker, Samantha Power, Diane Ravitch, Eugene Rogan, Thomas Sowell, Beverly Daniel Tatum, Eric Topol, Sherry Turkle, Timothy Snyder, Nicholas Stargardt, Michael Walzer, George Weigel, Bee Wilson, James Q. Wilson, Richard Wrangham, Irvin Yalom, and Shing-Tung Yau. Basic Books is an imprint of Perseus Books, a Hachette Book Group company.
About Us
Meet The Editors
Lara Heimert
Publisher
Phone: 212-364-0669
Email: lara.heimert@hbgusa.com
Twitter: @laraheimert
Lara Heimert joined Basic Books in 2005. Previously, she was publisher of the trade division at Yale University Press. She has published numerous prize-winning and New York Times bestselling titles. Highlights include Edward Baptist’s The Half Has Never Been Told, Eugene Rogan’s The Fall of the Ottomans, John Bradshaw’s Dog Sense and Cat Sense, Timothy Snyder’s Bloodlands, Nicholas Stargardt’s The German War, Bee Wilson’s Consider the Fork, and Victor Davis Hanson’s The Second World Wars. A graduate of Princeton University, Lara acquires primarily in the field of history, broadly conceived—from world wars to marginalia, from culinary history to political theory, from diaspora to doodles.
Thomas Kelleher
Vice President And Editorial Director, Sciences
Phone: 212-364-0657
Email: thomas.kelleher@hbgusa.com
Twitter: @tj_kelleher
Thomas Kelleher joined Basic Books in 2009, and publishes predominantly in science, mathematics, and economics. He has published Eric Topol, Sherry Turkle, Edward Frenkel, and Leonard Susskind, among many others. Recent highlights include Martin Ford’s Rise of the Robots, Dan Flores’s Coyote America, Stephon Alexander’s The Jazz of Physics, Massimo Pigliucci’s How to Be a Stoic, and Eugenia Cheng’s Beyond Infinity. He is also responsible for the publishing program surrounding The Feynman Lectures on Physics.
Dan Gerstle
Senior Editor
Phone: 212-364-0656
Email: dan.gerstle@hbgusa.com
Dan Gerstle joined Basic Books in 2013 from Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and acquires mainly in history, politics, current affairs, and the social sciences. The books he has edited and published include John Boles’ Jefferson, John Pfaff’s Locked In, Cathy Davidson’s The New Education, and Joseph Crespino’s Atticus Finch. Forthcoming titles include next works from historians H. W. Brands, Manisha Sinha, Walter Johnson, Jeremy Popkin, A. K. Sandoval-Strausz, and Jefferson Cowie; from journalists Bhaskar Sunkara and Joan Biskupic; and from social scientists Rucker Johnson, Scott Rozelle, and Thomas Abt. Dan holds a BA from Princeton University and an MA in American Studies from Yale University.
Brian J. Distelberg
Senior Editor
Phone: 212-364-0655
Email: brian.distelberg@hbgusa.com
Twitter: @briandistelberg
Brian J. Distelberg joined Basic Books in 2015 from Harvard University Press. He acquires in history and politics, as well as law, social science, and economics. The books he has edited and published include Laurence Tribe and Joshua Matz’s To End a Presidency, R. Marie Griffith’s Moral Combat, Laurent Dubois’s The Language of the Game, and Alisa Roth’s Insane. In history, he has acquired books by authors including Claire Potter, Martyn Rady, and Michael Willrich; in politics, Jonathan Metzl and Jonathan Rodden; and in law, Alexandra Natapoff. A graduate of Harvard University, Brian also holds a PhD in US history from Yale University.
Eric Henney
Editor
Phone: 212-364-0569
Email: eric.henney@hbgusa.com
Twitter: @EHerbertHenney
Eric Henney joined Basic Books in 2018 and acquires across the sciences. Previously, he was the editor for physical, earth, and computer sciences at Princeton University Press. Eric has edited and acquired books by Mark Serreze, Kevin Hand, Skylar Tibbits, Jeff & Tanya Bub, Marcia Bjornerud, Carl Landwehr, Kerry Emanuel, Phillip Rogaway, and Susan Schneider.
Leah Stecher
Editor
Phone: 212-364-0659
Email: leah.stecher@hbgusa.com
Leah Stecher joined Basic Books in 2013. A graduate of Bowdoin College, she acquires in history, women’s studies, social sciences, and biography, and has acquired books by authors including Mo Moulton, Virginia Postrel, Lisa Levenstein, Ernest Freeberg, and Maurice Samuels.
Explore Some of the Best of Basic
The Half Has Never Been Told
A groundbreaking history demonstrating that America's economic supremacy was built on the backs of slavesWinner of the 2015 Avery O. Craven Prize from the Organization…
Dog Sense
Dogs have been mankind's faithful companions for tens of thousands of years, yet today they are regularly treated as either pack-following wolves or furry humans.…
The Jazz of Physics
"Music lovers are at high risk of being inspired by this exploration of the connections between music and physics." --Wall Street Journal More than fifty…
Bloodlands
From the bestselling author of On Tyranny, the definitive history of Hitler's and Stalin's wars against the civilians of Europe in World War TwoAmericans call…
Consider the Fork
"Leisurely but lively.... A pure joy to read."--Los Angeles TimesSince prehistory, humans have braved sharp knives, fire, and grindstones to transform raw ingredients into something…
The German War
As early as 1941, Allied victory in World War II seemed all but assured. How and why, then, did the Germans prolong the barbaric conflict…
Insane
An urgent exposé of the mental health crisis in our courts, jails, and prisonsAmerica has made mental illness a crime. Jails in New York, Los…
The Fall of the Ottomans
"To have written a page-turner as well as an accurate and comprehensive history of the Ottoman struggle for survival is a remarkable achievement." --Wall Street…
Rise of the Robots
The New York Times-bestselling guide to how automation is changing the economy, undermining work, and reshaping our lives"Lucid, comprehensive, and unafraid...;an indispensable contribution to a…
Coyote America
"A masterly synthesis of scientific research and personal observation." --Wall Street JournalLegends don't come close to capturing the incredible story of the coyote In the…
Alone Together
"Savvy and insightful." --New York Times Technology has become the architect of our intimacies. Online, we fall prey to the illusion of companionship, gathering thousands…
How to Be a Stoic
In the tradition of How to Live and How Proust Can Change Your Life, a philosopher asks how ancient Stoicism can help us flourish todayWhenever…
Love and Math
An awesome, globe-spanning, and New York Times best-selling journey through the beauty and power of mathemaicsWhat if you had to take an art class in…
Quantum Mechanics
From the bestselling author of The Theoretical Minimum, a DIY introduction to the math and science of quantum mechanics.First he taught you classical mechanics. Now,…
Beyond Infinity
"[Cheng] does a great service by showing us non-mathematician schlubs how real mathematical creativity works." --Wall Street JournalHow big is the universe? How many numbers…
Jefferson
"Magisterial . . . perhaps the finest one-volume biography of an American president." --Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post "[A] splendid biography." --Wall Street Journal "The fullest…
Locked In
"Pfaff, let there be no doubt, is a reformer...Nonetheless, he believes that the standard story--popularized in particular by Michelle Alexander, in her influential book, The…
The New Education
"The most important book I have read in many years."-Tony Wagner, Harvard University i-lab Expert in Residence, author of Creating Innovators A leading educational thinker…
Atticus Finch
Who was the real Atticus Finch? A prize-winning historian reveals the man behind the legendThe publication of Go Set a Watchman in 2015 forever changed…
To End a Presidency
The history and future of our democracy's ultimate sanction, presidential impeachment, and a guide to how it should be used now To End a Presidency…
Moral Combat
From an esteemed scholar of American religion and sexuality, a sweeping account of the century of religious conflict that produced our culture wars Gay marriage,…
The Language of the Game
Just in time for the 2018 World Cup, a lively and lyrical guide to appreciating the drama of soccer Soccer is not only the world's…
The Second World Wars
A definitive account of World War II by America's preeminent military historianWorld War II was the most lethal conflict in human history. Never before had…
Godel, Escher, Bach
Winner of the Pulitzer PrizeA metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis CarrollDouglas Hofstadter's book is concerned directly with the nature…