Robert Townsend comes from a long line--father, grandfather, great-grandfathers into the mists of time--of soldiers. Slavic on his mother's side, deep-south redneck on the father's, his parents managed money poorly and told sto-ries well. Spare, pithy, lasting the duration of a Pall Mall cigarette, the tales first entertained, then taught. No one is completely useless. He could always serve as a bad example.

Fluent in Russian, German and French, Townsend is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin (BA) and Georgetown University (MA).
Since leaving the intelligence business, he has turned his attention to writing stories and essays, an early passion waylaid by life and work. His stories and novels arise from family history, fables, stories told around the kitchen table and his own experiences in America's late 20th century ambiguous wars, deceptions and counter-deceptions.

Townsend and his wife, Patrice Naparstek, live comfort-ably most anywhere--Moscow, Russian Federation; Rovinj, Croatia; Dresden, Germany; Dubai, UAE; Boul-der, Colorado; Madison, Wisconsin, Semur-en-Auxios, France.