Paul Dickson is the author of more than 60 nonfiction books. His previous works of discursive lexicography include The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, which the Wall Street Journal termed one of the "top five" top baseball books of all time, A Dictionary of the Space Age, which was written under a grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Authorisms, words coined by writers; Words from the White House, and Family Words. The inspiration for G.I. Jive came from his recent World War II narrative The Rise of the G.I. Army 1940-1941, which the New York Times called "A profoundly heartening experience." Dickson's writing has concentrated on 20th-century American history, baseball, biography, and popular culture. He lives in Kensington, Maryland.