Lily Koppel

As America's Mercury Seven astronauts were launched on death-defying missions, television cameras focused on the brave smiles of their young wives. Overnight, these women were transformed from military spouses into American royalty. They had tea with Jackie Kennedy, appeared on the cover of Life magazine, and quickly …

The Red Leather Diary: Reclaiming a Life Through the Pages of a Lost Journal is a non-fiction book by Lily Koppel about a discarded 75-year-old diary, rescued from a dumpster, based on Koppel's 2006 New York Times City section cover story. The diary was kept from 1929 to 1934 by a young Manhattanite with literary and …