Mike Magner, author of Poisoned Legacy, has been a journalist for more than 35 years, including 10 years as a reporter at the Kalamazoo (Michigan) Gazette, 15 years in the Washington Bureau for Newhouse Newspapers, and four years as an editor and writer at the National Journal. He was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana, graduated from Georgetown University, and lives outside Washington, D.C., with his wife, son and daughter. He began reporting on BP’s refinery pollution in Neodesha, Kansas, in 2002 and continues to follow the community’s efforts to require a cleanup of the contaminated site.