Jane S. Smith

Jane S. Smith writes about the intersection of personal history and social change, and also about nature, science, and the business of taste. Her latest book is A BLACKLIST EDUCATION: AMERICAN HISTORY, A FAMILY MYSTERY, AND A TEACHER UNDER FIRE, published July 15, 2025 and available for order now. THE GARDEN OF INVENTION:LUTHER BURBANK AND THE BUSINESS OF BREEDING PLANTS received the Caroline Bancroft Prize in Western American History. Her chronicle of the first polio vaccine, PATENTING THE SUN: POLIO AND THE SALK VACCINE, was awarded the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Science and Technology. Her novel FOOL'S GOLD won the Adult Fiction Award from the Society of Midland Authors. Educated at Simmons College and Yale University, she lives in Chicago, where she works in a very small room with a very large window.