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Toby Lester

Goodreads author profile

born

in The United States

gender

male

website

http://www.tobylester.com

genre

History, Nonfiction

member since

March 2010

About this author

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I'm a journalist, an editor, and an independent scholar. Most recently, I'm the author of Da Vinci's Ghost (2012), about Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, and The Fourth Part of the World (2009), about the map that gave America its name. I'm also a longtime contributor to The Atlantic, for whom I've written extensively, on such topics as the reconstruction of ancient Greek music, the revisionist study of the Qur'an, and the attempt to change alphabets in Azerbaijan.

Between 1995 and 2005 I worked for The Atlantic in a number of different editorial capacities—as a staff editor, as the executive editor of the Web site, as a senior editor, and as a managing editor. During those years I also served briefly as the editor of Country Journal and...more I'm a journalist, an editor, and an independent scholar. Most recently, I'm the author of Da Vinci's Ghost (2012), about Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, and The Fourth Part of the World (2009), about the map that gave America its name. I'm also a longtime contributor to The Atlantic, for whom I've written extensively, on such topics as the reconstruction of ancient Greek music, the revisionist study of the Qur'an, and the attempt to change alphabets in Azerbaijan.

Between 1995 and 2005 I worked for The Atlantic in a number of different editorial capacities—as a staff editor, as the executive editor of the Web site, as a senior editor, and as a managing editor. During those years I also served briefly as the editor of Country Journal and the executive editor of DoubleTake. My writing has appeared in not only The Atlantic but also Smithsonian, The Boston Globe, The American Scholar, The Wilson Quarterly, BBC News Magazine, and the London Times, as well as a number of anthologies, including the lead chapter of the recent New Literary History of America.

Prior to 1995, I worked in international relief and development: monitoring intifada-related activity in the West Bank, as a refugee-affairs officer for the United Nations; helping establish programs in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, as a Peace Corps country desk officer; and teaching English in a mountain school, as a Peace Corps volunteer in Yemen. I graduated from the University of Virginia in 1987 with degrees in English and French, and now live in the Boston area with my wife and three daughters.

I come from a family of writers. My father, James Lester, was a member of the first successful American Everest expedition, and is the author of Too Marvelous for Words (1994), the only biography of the jazz pianist Art Tatum. My mother, Valerie Lester, is the author of, among other works, Fasten Your Seat Belts: History and Heroism in the Pan Am Cabin (1995), and Phiz: The Man Who Drew Dickens (2004)—a biography of her great-great grandfather, Hablot Knight Browne, who was Charles Dickens’s principal illustrator. And my sister, Alison Lester, is the author of Locked Out (2007), a collection of short stories about expatriate life. (less)

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Toby Lester's Blog

NY Times

Nice review of my book in this weekend's NY Times Book Review, available online now:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/boo...

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Published on February 03, 2012 08:41 • 148 views • Tags: da-vinci-s-ghost, leonardo, lester, vitruvian-man

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Toby Lester's Books

Average rating: 3.79 · 865 ratings · 199 reviews · 5 distinct works · Similar authors

	The Fourth Part of the World: The Race to the Ends of the Earth, and the Epic Story of the Map That Gave America Its Name 3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 451 ratings — published 2009 — 13 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Da Vinci's Ghost: The Untold Story of the World's Most Famous Drawing 3.56 of 5 stars 3.56 avg rating — 369 ratings — published 2011 — 8 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Da Vinci's Ghost: Genius, Obsession, and How Leonardo Created the World in His Own Image 3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 42 ratings — published 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Het Vierde Werelddeel - Het verhaal over de ontdekking van de wereld, de kaart die Amerika zijn naam gaf en het begin van de Nieuwe Tijd 4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2009	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Het vierde werelddeel by Toby Lester (Goodreads Author), Han Visserman (Translation) 0.0 of 5 stars 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Toby Lester is now friends with Mary Lanaghan
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Toby Lester wants to read The Fourth Part of the World: The Race to the Ends of the Earth, and the Epic Story of the Map That Gave America Its Name by Toby Lester (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 04, 2013 03:35am
Toby Lester entered a giveaway Pyrotechnicon by Adam Browne (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Toby Lester added Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 06, 2011 02:17am

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topics	posts	views	last activity
The History Book ...: AUSSIE RICK'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2011	16	97	Nov 29, 2011 11:50am
The History Book ...: EXPLORERS AND EXPLORATION	80	156	May 01, 2013 01:20pm

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4 posts
Toby Lester's Blog

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