John M. Barry, born in Providence, Ohio, in 1947, is a popular American author whose writings have received numerous awards. The National Academies of Sciences named his essay *The Great Flu* "the most outstanding book of the year on science or medicine." His earlier work, *Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America*, won the Society of American Historians' Francis Parkman Award for the best book on American history of the year, and the New York Public Library named it one of the 50 best books of the past 50 years. In 2006, he became the first non-scientist author to deliver the National Academies' Abel Wolman Distinguished Lecture. He has served on numerous boards, including those of the MIT Center for Systems Engineering Foundations, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the Society of American Historians. His latest book, *Roger Williams and The Creation of the American Soul: Church, State and the Birth of Liberty*, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and won the New England Society Book Award. In 2004, Barry began working with the National Academies and various federal government entities on influenza preparedness and response. Barry has collaborated with federal officials, as well as representatives from the United Nations and the WHO, on influenza, water disasters, and risk communication.