Rogak, Lisa 1962–

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Rogak, Lisa 1962–

(Lisa Angowski Rogak, Lisa Shaw)

PERSONAL: Born November 11, 1962, in Ridgewood, NJ; daughter of Louis Anthony (a dentist) and Jean (a homemaker) Angowski; children: Christopher Brendan Rogak. Education: Received degree from Norwich University, 1992. Hobbies and other interests: Playing classical piano.

ADDRESSES: Home and office—Grafton, NH.

CAREER: Writer. Freelance writer, c. 1981–.

MEMBER: American Society of Journalists and Authors.

WRITINGS:

The Quotable Cat, Contemporary Books (Chicago, IL), 1992.

Vermont: Off the Beaten Path, Globe Pequot Press (Chester, CT), 1992.

Steroids: Dangerous Game, Lerner (Minneapolis, MN), 1992.

The Cat on My Shoulder, Longmeadow Press (Stamford, CT), 1993.

Latin for Pigs: An Illustrated History from Oedipork Rex to Hog & Das, illustrated by Harry Trumbore, Dutton (New York, NY), 1994.

New England Farm Vacations, Country Road (Santa Ana, CA), 1994.

One Hundred Best Retirement Businesses, Upstart Publishing (Washington, DC), 1994.

The Upstart Guide to Owning and Managing a Bed & Breakfast, Upstart Publishing (Washington, DC), 1994.

The Upstart Guide to Owning and Managing an Antiques Business, Upstart Publishing (Washington, DC), 1994.

Time Off from Work, Wiley (New York, NY), 1995.

The Upstart Guide to Owning and Managing a Newsletter Business, Upstart Publishing (Washington, DC), 1995.

(As Lisa Shaw) In His Own Words: Colin Powell, Berkley Publishing (New York, NY), 1995.

Moving to the Country Once and for All, Country Roads Press (Castine, ME), 1995.

(As Lisa Shaw) Telecommute! Go to Work without Leaving Home, Wiley (New York, NY), 1996.

(As Lis Shaw) The Under-35 Guide to Starting and Running Your Business, Upstart Publishing (Washington, DC), 1996.

(As Lisa Shaw) 1,001 Ways to Market Yourself and Your Small Business, Berkley Publishing (New York, NY), 1997.

(As Lisa Shaw) The Everything Baby Names Book: Everything You Need to Know to Pick the Perfect Name for Your Baby, Adams Media (Cincinnati, OH), 1997.

(As Lisa Shaw) The Everything Dessert Cookbook: 300 Fantastic Desserts for Every Occasion and Taste-Extravagant Trifles, Truffles, Tarts, and More!, Adams Media (Cincinnati, OH), 1998.

(As Lisa Shaw) The Everything Low-Fat, High-Fiber Cookbook: From Appetizers to Desserts, 300 Deliciously Easy Recipes That You Won't Believe Are Low-Fat, Adams Media (Cincinnati, OH), 1998.

Pretzel Logic: A Novel, W. Hill (Grafton, NH), 1999.

Smart Guide to Managing Your Time, Cader Books, 1999.

Smart Guide to Starting a Small Business, Cader Books, 1999.

The Everything One-Pot Cookbook, Adams Media (Cincinnati, OH), 1999.

Get Started in Your Own Antiques and Collectibles Business, W. Hill (Grafton, NH), 1999.

Escape to a Small Town!: Create a New Life and Fulfill Your Dreams in a Place Where You Can Breathe, W. Hill (Grafton, NH), 1999.

The Complete Country Business Guide, W. Hill (Grafton, NH), 1999.

(As Lisa Shaw) How to Make Money Publishing from Home: Everything You Need to Know to Successfully Publish Books, Newsletters, Web Sites, Greeting Cards, and Software, Prima Publishing (Rock-lin, CA), 2000.

(With Gregg A. Ramsay) The Complete Guide to Networking Your Home Computers, W. Hill (Grafton, NH), 2000.

(With Gregg A. Ramsay) The 100 Best Businesses for the 21st Century, W. Hill (Grafton, NH), 2000.

(Editor) Howard Dean, Howard Dean in His Own Words, Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Griffin (New York, NY), 2003.

Death Warmed Over: Funeral Food, Rituals, and Customs from Around the World, Ten Speed Press (Berkeley, CA), 2004.

Stones and Bones of New England: A Guide to Unusual, Historic, and Otherwise Notable Cemeteries, Globe Pequot Press (Guilford, CT), 2004.

The 100 Best Businesses to Start When You Don't Want to Work Hard Anymore, Career Press (Franklin Lakes, NJ), 2004.

The Man behind the Da Vinci Code: An Unauthorized Biography of Dan Brown, Andrews McMeel (Kansas City, MO), 2005.

Dr. Robert Atkins: The True Story of the Man behind the War on Carbohydrates, Chamberlain Bros. (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Lisa Rogak is an author and biographer who has written, cowritten, or edited more than thirty books. Among her biographies are The Man behind the Da Vinci Code: An Unauthorized Biography of Dan Brown and Dr. Robert Atkins: The True Story of the Man behind the War on Carbohydrates. In her biography of Brown, Rogak writes about his early struggles as a writer and his subsequent success culminating with his worldwide bestseller The Da Vinci Code. "The biography, rather the story, portrays Brown as a multi-faceted personality," noted Narayan Radhakrishnan in an interview with Rogak on the Rebecca Reads.com Web site. Rogak's biography of the man who created the Atkins Diet "emphasizes Dr. Atkins' character flaws," according to a SciTech Book News contributor. Karen McNally, writing in Library Journal, noted: "An interesting overview of popular American weight-loss schemes sets this book apart."

Rogak has also worked on a number of nonfiction books other than biographies. In Death Warmed Over: Funeral Food, Rituals, and Customs from Around the World, Rogak discusses funeral customs associated with various religions and cultures. The book includes seventy-five recipes alongside a brief discussion of an associated custom. Library Journal contributor Andrea Dietze called the book "an accessible, entertaining introduction" to burial customs and foods. The author is also a fiction writer whose novel Pretzel Logic: A Novel is about a woman going to a support group as she tries to come to grips with her husband's announcement that he might be a homosexual. In a review in Booklist, Whitney Scott wrote: "The support group provides a marvelous cast of supporting characters."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, July, 1999, Whitney Scott, review of Pretzel Logic: A Novel, p. 1924.

Library Journal, June 15, 2004, Andrea Dietze, review of Death Warmed Over: Funeral Food, Rituals, and Customs from Around the World, p. 92; February 15, 2005, Karen McNally, review of Dr. Robert Atkins: The True Story of the Man behind the War on Carbohydrates, p. 151.

Publishers Weekly, January 26, 2004, review of Death Warmed Over, p. 199.

Reference & Research Book News, May, 2006, review of The Man behind the Da Vinci Code: An Unauthorized Biography of Dan Brown.

SciTech Book News, December, 2005, review of Dr. Robert Atkins.