A fourth-generation Coloradan, Neil King Jr. is a longtime former Wall Street Journal editor and reporter who covered beats ranging from national politics, foreign policy and terrorism. He spent much of his career abroad and was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of 9/11. He has since written for The New York Times, The Atlantic and other publications.

American Ramble: A Walk of Memory and Renewal is his first book. King studied philosophy at Columbia University and earned a masters in journalism from Northwestern University. He splits his time now between Washington, D.C. and New York City, the beginning and endpoints of the walk that later became American Ramble.