Michael Punke was born on December 7, 1964 in Torrington, Wyoming. He attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, then transferred to George Washington University where he earned a degree in International Affairs. He later received his doctorate from Cornell Law School and served as Editor-in-Chief of the Cornell International Law Journal..
Punke serves as the U.S. Ambassador to the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. He has also served on the White House National Security Council staff. He was formerly the history correspondent for Montana Quarterly. At the University of Montana, he was an adjunct professor.
Punke has written several books. His work includes Fire and Brimstone: The North Butte Mine Disaster of 1917; Last Stand: George Bird Grinnell, the Battle to Save the Buffalo, and the Birth of the New West; and his most famous book, The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge (2002).
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