J. D. Dickey is an author of narrative nonfiction about American history, society, and culture. His book Empire of Mud, covering the troubled landscape of 19th century Washington, DC, was a New York Times bestseller, and his Civil War book Rising in Flames was praised by the Wall Street Journal as “absolutely spellbinding.” Dickey has written articles on a broad range of historical, political, and travel-related topics for TIME, the Wall Street Journal, LitHub, and more, and he has appeared in media from C-SPAN’s Book TV to Public Radio International’s The Takeaway. He has lectured for the New-York Historical Society, the Pritzker Military Museum and Library, the Atlanta History Center, and the US Army War College.