The Spiel/FAQ

You’ve landed at the e-home of Maureen Ogle –  historian, writer, ranter.

My new book, In Meat We Trust: An Unexpected History of Carnivore America, comes out in November. It looks at how Americans have raised, processed, sold, cooked, and eaten meat in the past 140 years.

My most recent book is Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer, which looks at 150 years of American beer history. I’ve also written histories of Key West, Florida, and of American household plumbing.

All my books are available from any bookseller, on or offline. You can also find me at Twitter and Facebook.

Ninety-nine percent of the action at this joint takes place at the blog (aka the “Home” page.)

Blogs are supposed to focused! and targeted! and specific! and consistent! And the entries are supposed to be brief.

Mine fails in every category. It wanders from beer to history to meat; from the pleasures of writing to the future of “print,” with regular stops to ponder life’s daily weirdness. Although (patting myself on the back here), I managed to blog regularly about the 75th anniversary of the return of legal beer, and about the Big Beer Story of ’08, the sale of Anheuser-Busch to InBev. I’ve written a number of blog series; for those, see the “Other Projects” page.

You’ll find all those entries (and more) by checking the categories (at the Home page see the dropdown menu in the right sidebar). (You won’t get a headache trying to read the entries because I keep the paragraphs short and leave plenty of white space in between each one.)

Thanks for stopping by — and for making books and reading part of your life.

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

1. Yes, I love speaking to audiences. (For money, of course.) (I do it for free if I could. Should I win The Lottery someday, I will.) Shoot me an email. Shoot me an email even if you don’t want me to speak to your group or organization. I’m easy.
2. Yes, I’m a real historian. Well, okay — I have a Ph.D. in history. In some eyes, that makes me a “real” historian.
3. My new book IN MEAT WE TRUST: An Unexpected History of Carnivore America hits bookstore this fall.
4. Yes, it takes me a long time to write a book. I’m a one-woman operation: I do my own research and writing, both of which are labor- and time-intensive. Plus, I’m a stickler for accuracy. I don’t make up the facts in my books.
5. Yes, I want you to buy my books, and jeez, it would be great if you’d buy them new. Writers make zero dollars from used books. But, hey, what really matters is that you read, so get ‘em however you can.
6. Yes, this site is minimalist, intentionally so. I know the current fashion is for lots of images and gee-gaws, and that’s great for those who want them. BUT: This site is one of my work spaces; it’s an extension of my home office. As such, I want an uncluttered “desk.” So: lots of white space, few images. I believe (and I could be wrong) that I’ve created a user-friendly site. You can find anything you want with no trouble. And lots that you didn’t know you wanted. Because you DO want to read my 13-part blog series, right?
7. Yes, I’d be glad to rant about the topic of your choice on my blog. You know where to find me.

2 Responses to “The Spiel/FAQ”

1. Kerry Dwyer December 4, 2012

   I do like reading rants. History is so important and the interesting bits like the brewing industry often get left out of taught history. Well a lot of history gets left out of taught history really. Nice to have come across you and congratulations on being freshly pressed.

   Reply
2. Maureen Ogle December 4, 2012

   Hey, thanks Kerry! Yes, I’m a grade-A ranter… But I do love doing my history. There’s a ton of stuff here at the blog if you’re interested. As for me: I’m frantically trying to finish my new book so am mostly not blogging at the moment. Planning to start up again in January. (Assuming no disasters…) Thanks again!

   Reply