About the Author

John Michael Newman, Jr., was born on December 20, 1950, in Dayton Ohio.  He earned a BA in Chinese Studies (George Washington University, 1973), MA in East Asian Studies (George Washington University, 1976), and PhD in Modern Far Eastern History (George Washington University, 1992).  He served in US Army Intelligence, 1974-1994, became the Assistant to the Director, National Security Agency (1988-1990), and was a US Army Attaché in China (1989-1991).  He began teaching history at the University of Maryland in 1981, and has been teaching for the University of Maryland Honors Program since 1992.  Currently, he teaches courses on Counterterrorism, America in the 60s, and The Historical Jesus. He has been teaching Yoga since 2004.  He is the author of JFK and Vietnam (Warner 1992), and Oswald and the CIA (Carroll and Graff 1995, Skyhorse 2009).

In his 21 years of service for the US Army and the National Security Agency, John Newman worked principally as an intelligence analyst.  He received many awards and commendations for solving difficult intelligence problems with only minimal evidence to work with.  Today, he is known around the world for his expertise in textual records interpretation and in documents forensics.  His skills have been widely sought by foreign and US media organizations.  On several occasions the Public Broadcasting System (WGBH Boston) called upon his textual records skills in their production of award-winning documentaries.  His work and his views have been highlighted in several documentaries aired on the History Channel, and he has often been featured on CSPAN, NBC, and other news organizations.  His expertise with documents and experience in intelligence analysis led to his testimony before the US House of Representatives, Government Operations Committee, on CIA compliance with documents release legislation, and to his presentation before the US House of Representatives, 911 Hearings, on the 911 Commission’s final report.