Rich Layne

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Rich-Layne

Rich fell in love with history as a child. The more he learned, the more questions he peppered his teachers and parents with. If the Dutch bought Manhattan, why did they sell it to the English? Why did Hawaii, which is so far away, become a state? If the Revolutionary War started in Boston, why was the last battle in the south? As you might imagine, the adults in his life soon gave up on supplying the answers and steered him to the local library.

Rich’s love of learning led him to become a journalist for Popular Science, Forbes, and The American Banker, among others. He wrote about a wide variety of subjects: technology, the stock market, science, and financial services companies, and even, once, submarine warfare.

He took his curiosity and interest in writing to his next career, teaching. While he has taught students of all ages, Rich teaches his favorite grade, fourth, at the Speyer School in New York. There, he has found that his students ask even better questions about history than he did. They inspired him to begin writing books for children, who always want to understand the “why” and “how” of the world around them.

Rich’s new book, Two Hands Divided Heart will be published in 2023.

Rich lives in Manhattan with his wife and daughters.

HDG