Doug Wead is the author of "The Raising of a President: The Mothers and Fathers of Our Nation's Leaders", released by Simon & Schuster's Atria Books on January 4, 2005.  This important and much anticipated work is the first book written on the subject and represents the second volume in Wead's massive ongoing trilogy on the first families.  This project, now seventeen years in the making, includes books on the children, parents and siblings of the Americn presidents.

"All the Presidents' Children", the first book in the series was an account of the triumph and tragedy in the lives of the first families. It was an instant  New York Times bestseller.  Released by Simon & Schuster's Atria Books in February, 2003, it went through three printings in its first month and reached number one at Amazon.com.

An author, humanitarian and philanthropist, Mr. Wead has written 27 books that have sold 5 million copies in 30 languages. As a corporate speaker he has spoken to audiences in coliseums and soccer stadiums on four continents.

In conjunction with the release of All the President's Children , Mr. Wead was interviewed by Matt Lauer on The Today Show , Bill O'Reilly of The O'Reilly Factor , Connie Chung on CNN , Debra Norville on MSNBC.  He was intervied by Dan Rather on the first night of the Gulf War. 

National Charity Awards

In 1979, Wead, Dan O'Neill and Pat Boone organized the first Washington Charity Awards.  First Lady Rosalynn Carter hosted the guests in an East Room reception.  The following year Mercy Corps was organized. Five First Ladies from Lady Bird Johnson to Nancy Reagan to Laura Bush have served as honorary chairpersons for the event. Mercy Corps has distributed more than $500 million in food and medicine around the world.

During the early 1988 George Bush presidential campaign, Wead reported to son, George W. Bush and served as a liaison to constituent groups.  He was Deputy Director of voter coalitions and later served as Special Assistant to the President in the Bush Senior, White House.  Time magazine referred to him as "the man who coined the phrase the compassionate conservative in 1982."