Lisa Rogak


Lisa Angowski Rogak is an American author, primarily of biographies and other non-fiction books. She is also a freelance magazine writer.
Barack Obama: In His Own Words, which Rogak edited, hit the New York Times bestseller list. Her biography of Stephen King, Haunted Heart, was nominated for a 2010 Edgar Award for Best Critical / Biographical Work.
Raised in Glen Rock, New Jersey, Rogak graduated from Saddle River Day School and briefly attended New York University before moving to New Hampshire.

Partial bibliography

Pretzel Logic: A Novel, Williams Hill Publishing, 1999Howard Dean: In His Own Words, St. Martin's Griffin/Thomas Dunne Books, 2003Death Warmed Over: Funeral Food, Rituals, and Customs from Around the World, Ten Speed Press, 2004Stones and Bones of New England: A Guide to Unusual, Historic, and Otherwise Notable Cemeteries, Globe Pequot, 2004The Man Behind the Da Vinci Code: An Unauthorized Biography of Dan Brown, Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2005Barack Obama: In His Own Words, PublicAffairs, 2008A Boy Named Shel: The Life and Times of Shel Silverstein, St. Martin's Griffin/Thomas Dunne Books, 2009Michelle Obama: In Her Own Words, PublicAffairs, 2009Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King, St. Martin's Griffin/Thomas Dunne Books, 2010And Nothing But the Truthiness: The Rise of Stephen Colbert, St. Martin's Griffin/Thomas Dunne Books, 2011Dogs of War: The Courage, Love, and Loyalty of Military Working Dogs, St. Martin's Griffin/Thomas Dunne Books, 2011Dogs of Courage: The Heroism and Heart of Working Dogs Around the World, St. Martin's Press, 2012Dan Brown: The Unauthorized Biography, St. Martin's Press, 2013One Big Happy Family: Heartwarming Stories of Animals Caring for One Another, St. Martin's Press, 2013Angry Optimist: The Life and Times of Jon Stewart, Thomas Dunne Books, 2014Cats on the Job: 50 Fabulous Felines Who Purr, Mouse, and Even Sing for Their Supper, St. Martin's Press, 2015The True Tails of Baker and Taylor: The Library Cats Who Left Their Pawprints on a Small Town... and the World, St. Martin's Press, 2016
  • Rachel Maddow: A Biography, St. Martin's Press/Thomas Dunne Books, 2020
  • Who is Alex Trebek?: A Biography, St. Martin's Press/Thomas Dunne Books, 2020Propaganda Girls: The Secret War of the Women in the OSS, St. Martin's Press, 2025