Paul D. Martin, MA ’73, is the author of “Secret Heroes: Everyday Americans Who Shape Our World” (William Morrows Paperback, 2012). The book spotlights 30 overlooked Americans, including the tailor and spy who saved George Washington – twice, the gold-seeking bush pilot who, in 1933, discovered the world’s highest waterfall in Venezuela, and a pioneering taxidermist who killed a leopard with his bare hands and inspired Africa’s first national park.

Updated: June 8, 2012