Paul Hoffman (science writer)

This article is about the American writer and television presenter. For other uses of the name, see Paul Hoffman (disambiguation).

Paul Hoffman presenting at Cusp Conference 2009

Paul Hoffman (born 1956) is a prominent author and host of the PBS television series Great Minds of Science. He was editor in chief of Discover, in a ten-year tenure with that magazine, and served as president and publisher of Encyclopædia Britannica before returning full-time to writing and consulting work. He lives in Woodstock, New York. Author of at least ten books, he has appeared on CBS This Morning and The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer as a correspondent. Hoffman is also a puzzlemaster using the pseudonym Dr. Crypton. He designed the puzzle in the 1984 book Treasure: In Search of the Golden Horse. He also designed the treasure map in the 1984 film, Romancing the Stone, starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, and Danny DeVito. Paul is a chess player rated around 1900 (or expert level). Hoffman holds a B.A. degree summa cum laude from Harvard. He is the winner of the first National Magazine Award for Feature Writing and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

In October 2011, Hoffman was named president and CEO of the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Partial bibliography

• Hoffman, Paul (2007). King's Gambit: A Son, a Father, and the World's Most Dangerous Game. New York: Hyperion Books. ISBN 1-401-30097-9. 
• Hoffman, Paul (2003). Wings of Madness: Alberto Santos-Dumont and the Invention of Flight. Hyperion Books. ISBN 0-786-88571-8. 
• Hoffman, Paul (1998). The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdős and the Search for Mathematical Truth. New York: Hyperion Books. ISBN 0-786-88406-1. 
• Hoffman, Paul (1988). Archimedes' Revenge: The Joys and Perils of Mathematics. New York: Fawcett Colombine. ISBN 0-449-00089-3. 
• Crypton, Dr. (1985). Timid Virgins Make Dull Company and Other Puzzles, Pitfalls, and Paradoxes. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-140-08043-0. 

External links

• Paul Hoffman's bio
• Paul Hoffman's blog
• Presenting at Cusp Conference 2009 (video)