Amy D. Bernstein | Founder

Amy Bernstein

Amy D. Bernstein is a principal and co-owner of the Bernstein Literary Agency. She works with non-fiction authors, and specializes in narrative non-fiction.

Before becoming a literary agent she worked as senior editor and a contributing writer on special issues at U.S. News & World Report developing and editing three to four issues a year on topics related to history, religion and science. Some of the best-selling issues she edited or contributed to include Secrets of the DaVinci Code, Secrets of the Civil War, and Secrets of Christianity.

She is the co-editor (with Peter W. Bernstein) of The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything (St. Martin’s Press, 2006 and 2009). She also co-edited, with her husband, Quotations from Speaker Newt: The Little Red, White and Blue Book of the Republican Revolution (Workman Publishing, 1996) and was a contributing editor to Torture: Does It Make Us Safer? Is it Ever OK? A Human Rights Perspective (New Press, 2005).

A graduate of the Convent of the Sacred Heart and Wellesley College (B.A., 1974) where she was a Wellesley Scholar, she began graduate work in Renaissance literature at the Centre d’Etudes Superieures de la Renaissance in Tours, France. She earned her Doctorate of Philosophy in French literature from the University of Oxford in 2005.

She is fluent in French and has a reading knowledge of German, Italian and Spanish.

Author or Editor

Torture Does It Make Us Safer? Is It Ever OK?: A Human Rights Perspective

Torture Does It Make Us Safer

Torture: Does It Make Us Safer? Is It Ever OK?: A Human Rights Perspective was edited by Kenneth Roth and Minky Worden, with Amy D. Bernstein as contributing editor. Today’s leading thinkers explore torture, the most incendiary human rights issue of our time.

“No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” —Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 5 (1948)

Of all the issues on the human rights agenda, torture offered Americans the moral high ground until this year. With the abuses at Abu Ghraib that led to accusations of torture within the domestic criminal justice system, the question of cruel and unusual treatment has taken on new urgency in the United States and elsewhere.In Torture, twelve newly written essays by leading thinkers and experts range over history and continents, offering a nuanced, up-to-the-minute exploration of this wrenching but timely topic, including, among others, Reed Brody on the road to Abu Ghraib and “ghost detainees”; Eitan Felner on the Israeli experience; Tom Malinowski on violations of State Department “forbidden practices” at Abu Ghraib and in Afghanistan; Kenneth Roth on the U.S. government’s shift from cover-up to justification; and Minky Worden on a global survey of torturing countries.

Intended for a general audience, some of the key questions addressed include how to define torture, whether torture is ever effective, and whether it is ever acceptable.

The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything, Second Edition: The Essential Companion for Everyday Life

The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything, Second Edition - The Essential Companion for Everyday Life by Peter Bernstein and Amy Bernstein

The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything by Peter Bernstein and Amy Bernstein is the comprehensive resource for hands-on pursuits of everyday life, from personal finance to home maintenance and gardening. All the wisdom of The New York Times’ experts in every field is packed into one volume that is filled with new articles and up-to-date advice and has been completely revised and updated. The Practical Guide makes it easy to find information on any topic, while inviting the reader to browse its pages. The text covers twelve major topics, including Money; Spending and Saving; Health and Fitness; Food and Drink; Education; Careers; House and Garden; Travel; Sports and Games; Arts and Entertainment; Science and Symbols; and Mores and Manners. The book provides detailed information, tips, and step-by-step instructions on such relevant and timely topics as:

  • How to sell your home in a down market
  • Investing lessons from the crash of 2008
  • Buying “green” products
  • Cosmetic surgery
  • New treatments for cancer and heart disease
  • Budget travel tips
  • Going organic
  • What to do if you’re laid off
  • Job-hunting in the new economy
  • Making the four-hour workweek work for you
  • Gay and lesbian etiquette guide

By addressing common everyday projects, problems and dilemmas with authoritative answers from experts in the field, The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything makes it easier to live a better, more productive life.

  • Print length: 896 pages
  • Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
  • Publication date: November 24, 2009
  • Dimensions: 7.72 x 1.89 x 9.49 inches
  • ISBN-10: 9780312551698

Quotations from Speaker Newt: The Little Red, White and Blue Book of the Republican Revolution

Quotations from Speaker Newt by Newt Gingrich, Amy Bernstein, Peter Bernstein

Quotations from Speaker Newt: The Little Red, White and Blue Book of the Republican Revolution by Newt Gingrich (Author), Amy D. Bernstein (Author), Peter W. Bernstein (Author, Editor). Introduction by Michael Barone. A collection of quotations from the leader of the Republican revolution in Congress. Includes a short biography of Mr. Gingrich.

  • Publisher : ‎ Workman Pub Co; 1st Edition
  • Published: January 1, 1995)
  • Paperback‏ : ‎ 183 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 076110092X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0761100928