Michael Hill

As a historical researcher for over forty years, Michael Hill has assisted such authors as: David McCullough, Jon Meacham, Sebastian Junger, Nathaniel Philbrick, Evan Thomas, Michael Korda, Senator John McCain, James Bradley (author of "Flags of Our Fathers"), Susan Eisenhower, and Caroline Kennedy. He won an Emmy in 1991 for his work as a co-producer on the Ken Burns PBS "Civil War" series narrated by David McCullough. He also served as a historical consultant on the HBO mini-series, "John Adams" produced by Tom Hanks, and the ABC-TV mini-series, "Challenger" about the space shuttle disaster. Hill is the author of "Elihu Washburne: The Diary and Letters of America's Minister to France During the Siege and Commune of Paris" (with a foreword by historian David McCullough), and "War Poet: The Life of Alan Seeger and His Rendezvous With Death," which was described by the Wall Street Journal as a “ … worthy addition to the canon of that war, one that emphasizes less its futility than its heartbreak in a worthy cause ..." In 2022 Hill wrote "Funny Business: The Legendary Life and Political Satire of Art Buchwald" published by Random House. Christopher Buckley (who wrote the foreword) called it a "totally marvelous book" and the Washington Post called it a "brisk and engaging biography." Most recently, (under the pen name of "Jack Fitzgerald"), Hill wrote a collection of fictional short stories called "Hackett at Large: Tales From a Reporter's Life in Paris, 1961-1968." In a review the Independent Book Review called his writing style "reminiscent of P.G. Wodehouse." Prior to embarking on his career as a writer and historical researcher, Hill served as a press assistant to Vice President Walter F. Mondale. He is a graduate of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.