The founder and editor of Lapham's Quarterly (2007— ), Lewis Lapham was for thirty years (1976—2006), editor of Harper's Magazine. The author of thirteen books, among them Money and Class in America, Theater of War, The Wish for Kings, Lapham's writing over the years has prompted the New York Times to liken him to H. L. Mencken, Vanity Fair to suggest a resemblance to Mark Twain, Tom Wolfe to compare him to Montaigne. He was inducted into the American Society of Magazine Editor's Hall of Fame in 2007.

In 2005 Lapham wrote and presented a documentary film, "The American Ruling Class," that continues to make a frequent appearance on college campuses. Between 2010—2014 Lapham produced for Bloomberg News a weekly podcast, "The World in Time," that discussed with their authors new books of history. The podcast attracted a substantial audience.

Lapham has lectured at many of the nation's leading universities and colleges, among them Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Stanford, Columbia and St. John's as well as the universities of Michigan, Virginia and Oregon.

Among the topics about which Lapham is most often asked to talk—The Changing Character of American Journalism, The American Class System, What Constitutes a Decent Education, Who and What is An American?, The Uses and Value of History, The American Rome, The Courtier Spirit.

A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Lapham lives in New York City.