David Mamet first won recognition with his 1976 plays Sexual Perversity in Chicago and American Buffalo. In 1984, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Glengarry Glen Ross. Among his many other acclaimed and prize-winning plays are Speed the Plow; The Cryptogram; and The Old Neighborhood. His feature film debut as a writer-director was the classic House of Games. Other films as writer-director include Things Change; Homicide; The Spanish Prisoner; State and Main; and Spartan.

He has also won acclaim for numerous screenplays, including The Verdict, Wag the Dog, The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Untouchables, Hoffa, and The Edge. He was the co-creator and executive producer of the CBS TV series The Unit, for which he also wrote and directed numerous episodes, and wrote and directed Phil Spector for HBO.

He is the author of three novels and fourteen books of nonfiction, including Bambi Vs. Godzilla, on the Nature and Purpose of the Movie Business and The Secret Knowledge, on the Dismantling of American Culture, both of which were New York Times bestsellers, several children's plays and books, numerous magazine articles, and has collaborated on many songs with his wife, songwriter and actress Rebecca Pidgeon. A Chicago native, this is his first novel in two decades.