Pressman, born in Los Angeles in 1955, obtained a Bachelor's Degree in political science in 1977 from the University of California at Berkeley.He wrote the biographical account of Werner Erhard: The dark journey of Werner Erhard from est to exile, (1993), published by St. Martin's Press.

Pressman has worked as a newspaper and magazine journalist in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and San FranciscoHe worked as a writer at Congressional Quarterly in Washington, D.C., where he covered Congress and politics. He has also worked as an editor at California Lawyer Magazine and at the San Francisco Daily Journal. From 1998 he became an editor at American Lawyer Media (ALM) in its San Francisco office.Throughout his journalism career he has written freelance articles for several publications, including The Washington Post, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Magazine, George, California Journal and the Columbia Journalism Review.

In 1998, Landmark Education spent months in an unsuccessful attempt to compel Steven Pressman to respond to deposition questions aimed at obtaining the confidential sources (used during research on Outrageous Betrayal) for use in the then-active litigation involving the Cult Awareness Network.

Books

• The dark journey of Werner Erhard from est to exile, August 1993, St. Martin's Press. Online extracts:
• Chapter 4: A Door to Door Mind Salesman, from The Awareness Archives, copyrighted article provided under U.S. Copyright Act § 108.
• Chapter 7: Enlightenment in Two Weekends - The est Training, from The Awareness Archives, copyrighted article provided under U.S. Copyright Act § 108.

Articles

• "Libel Law: Finding the Right Balance", Editorial Research Reports 2, August 18, 1989
• "Taking Cults to Court for Psychological Injuries", New Jersey Law Review, p. 4, March 9, 1992.
• "Mixing Lawyers and Cults", California Lawyer , June 1, 1992, p. 22, 24.
• "Suit Against New-Age Groups Hit Snags", Legal Times, p14., November 30, 1992.