Johnson, Stephen P. 1952–

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Johnson, Stephen P. 1952–

PERSONAL: Born 1952. Education: University of Houston, B.A., 1976.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Wiley Books, 111 River St., Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774.

CAREER: Journalist. Houston Chronicle, Houston, TX, staff member, 1979–.

WRITINGS:

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Sunken Ships and Treasures, Alpha Books (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Roberto T. Leon) Encyclopedia of Bridges and Tunnels, Checkmark Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Silent Steel: The Mysterious Death of the Nuclear Attack Sub USS Scorpion, Wiley Books (Hoboken, NJ), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS: Stephen P. Johnson is a longtime journalist with the Houston Chronicle who has written several books about highly technical subjects.

Johnson's 2002 publication, Encyclopedia of Bridges and Tunnels, was written with Dr. Roberto T. Leon. This work covers the vast array of technologies, circumstances, and people involved in the creation and design of bridges and tunnels around the world. A Booklist contributor praised the accessibility of the work as the "reading level is not too technical and is appropriate for general readers." Dorothy F. Byers, writing in the Reference and User Services Quarterly, found that "it occupies the niche between elementary and highly technical readers" with its "jargon-free entries."

A series of articles Johnson wrote about the disappearance of the American nuclear submarine, the USS Scorpion, resulted in his 2006 publication, Silent Steel: The Mysterious Death of the Nuclear Attack Sub USS Scorpion. The USS Scorpion was lost mysteriously in the Atlantic in 1968. In his book, Johnson analyzes many possibilities in trying to uncover the ship's fate, including poor maintenance, torpedo malfunction, and a potential Soviet attack. Frieda Murray, writing in Booklist, called this account "very readable." A reviewer on the Science a GoGo Web site dubbed Johnson as the "expert on the disappearance of the Scorpion" and went on to call the book an "utterly riveting mystery choc-a-block full of well-researched technical specs and details." A critic for Kirkus Reviews called it an "engrossing documentation of haunting, grisly what-ifs."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, December 1, 2002, review of Encyclopedia of Bridges and Tunnels, p. 698; January 1, 2006, Frieda Murray, review of Silent Steel: The Mysterious Death of the Nuclear Attack Sub USS Scorpion, p. 34.

Kirkus Reviews, November 1, 2005, review of Silent Steel, p. 1172.

Publishers Weekly, October 31, 2005, review of Silent Steel, p. 45.

Reference and User Services Quarterly, spring, 2003, Dorothy F. Byers, review of Encyclopedia of Bridges and Tunnels, p. 264.