Edward Renehan

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Edward Renehan (aka, Edward J. Renehan Jr., born 1956 in New York City) is the author of books that include Dark Genius of Wall Street: The Misunderstood Life of Jay Gould, King of the Robber Barons (Basic Books/Perseus, 2005; paperback Basic/Perseus, 2006), The Kennedys at War (Doubleday, 2002), The Lion's Pride: Theodore Roosevelt and His Family in Peace and War (Oxford University Press, 1998; paperback, OUP, 1999), The Secret Six (Crown, 1995; paperback, University of South Carolina Press, 1997) and John Burroughs: An American Naturalist (Chelsea Green, 1992; paperback, Black Dome Press, 1998).

Renehan has written for The Wall Street Journal, American Heritage, Veranda and numerous other national publications. Several chapters of his 2002 book The Kennedys at War have been purchased for film by producers Robert Greenwald and Liz Lang.

An occasional lecturer, Renehan has spoken to the members of the Boston Athenaeum, the Philadelphia Athenaeum, the Union League Club of New York, the Union Club of Boston, the Harvard Club of NYC, the Harvard Club of Boston, the Prologue Society of Miami, Scenic Hudson and the Thoreau Society. Additionally, he's delivered talks at such establishments as Sagamore Hill, the Concord (MA) Museum, Theodore Roosevelt's "Pine Knot" near Charlottesville, VA, and the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History. He's also appeared on C-SPAN, The History Channel, NBC and PBS.

Renehan is a grandson of the prominent New York banker Edward Jefferson Renehan (1889-1953) and a grand-nephew of Tammany Hall power-broker and congressman James H. Torrens (1874-1952), who represented New York's 21st District (today's 15th District, incorporating Washington Heights and parts of Harlem and the Bronx) 1944-47. He is also a distant relative (first cousin, six times removed) of antiquarian, historian, cleric and college president Laurence F. Renehan (1797-1857).

During the period when he wrote his first three books, Renehan was represented by the venerable New York literary agent Julian Bach. Since Bach's retirement in 1999, Renehan has been represented by Chris Calhoun, VP of the firm Sterling Lord Literistic.

Between 1980 and 1994, Renehan worked as a publishing executive in Manhattan. There he helped pioneer early Electronic Publishing/New Media for Macmillan and other concerns. From '89 onward, Renehan served as a founding executive with Newbridge, at that time a division of the newly-formed K-III, now PriMedia. Subsequent to his retirement from NY in '94, Renehan has pursued his interest in writing histories and biographies while also remaining active as a consultant and packager of both traditional and e-content for a host of organizations including Haights Cross Communications, iBooks, Osborne/McGraw-Hill, Springer-Verlag, Facts-On-File, and the publishing division of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Renehan resides in the coastal village of Wickford, Rhode Island, with his wife and two children.

During 2005 and 2006 Renehan served for 16 months as acting chief executive officer overseeing the affairs of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA), Oyster Bay, NY - an organization Renehan had previously volunteered with as a trustee and member of the executive committee. Renehan's tenure immediately followed the sudden death of the author's close friend John Allen Gable, who had headed the TRA for thirty years. Subsequent to his departure from that interim position, during January of 2007, Renehan joined his fellow TR-biographer Edmund Morris in calling for the closing of the doors of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, describing it as an organization that had outlasted its original mission of advancing the reputation of the 26th president.

As a young man, Renehan briefly flirted with a musical career, performing and recording with Pete Seeger for Folkways Records, now Smithsonian Folkways. In his youth he studied blues guitar with the Rev. Gary Davis.

Renehan is listed in Who's Who in America, Contemporary Authors, and other such references. He is a member of PEN American Center and the National Arts Club. He also serves on the National Advisory Board of The Roosevelt Institution.

[edit] External links

• Edward J. Renehan Jr.'s blog
• Edward J. Renehan Jr.'s MySpace page
• PriMedia
• History News Network Article (1/11/07) Concerning the Call of Edmund Morris and Edward Renehan for the Closing of the Theodore Roosevelt Association