Tom Griffith attended the University of London before he was graduated from the University of Wisconsin. He worked as a reporter, photographer and managing editor of award-winning newspapers in Arizona, Montana and South Dakota before serving as director of communications for the Mount Rushmore Preservation Fund, a nationwide campaign that raised $25 million to preserve and improve the mountain memorial.

In addition to writing articles for dozens of newspapers and magazines, Tom is the author of five books, including America's Shrine of Democracy, with a foreword by Ronald Reagan; South Dakota, a comprehensive guide to the state published and distributed worldwide by Random House; and Greeno: A Winning Tradition, with a foreword by NBC's Tom Brokaw. Griffith's travel writing, news articles and features have appeared in The New York Times, Wisconsin State Journal, Billings Gazette, Bismarck Tribune and The New Zealand Herald, among others, as well as a host of periodicals, including AAA Living, Historic Traveler, Midwest Living, Home & Away, Country Inns, Hadassah and Western Horseman.

He has been a contributing writer to Random House for more than a decade, co-authoring three dozen volumes, including Fodor's USA, Healthy Escapes, Great American Vacations, The Old West, The Lewis & Clark Trail, and National Parks of the West. Tom and his wife, Nyla, who have visited forty countries together, make their home in the Black Hills of South Dakota where they operate an advertising, marketing and public relations firm with clients nationwide. In their spare time, they enjoy trout fishing, motorcycling and travel.