The Spiel

My most recent book is Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer, which looks at the past 150 years of American beer history. I've also written histories of  Key West, Florida, and of American household plumbing. You can learn more by clicking the links above. All three are available from any bookseller, on or offline.

Ninety-nine percent of the action at this joint takes place at the blog 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. 

You'll find all those entries (and more) by checking the "tags" index on the blog page. (And at least 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.)

Other than blogging (and tweeting), I spend most of my time working on my new book, tentatively titled Meat: An American History. I'll explore how Americans have raised, processed, sold, cooked, and eaten meat in the past 140 years. The subject is fascinating and I'm having a great time.

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

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, I love speaking to audiences. (For money, of course.) (I wish I could do it for free, and if I win a lottery, I will). Shoot me an email. Shoot me an email even if you don’t want me to speak to your group or organization.

Yes, I'm a real historian. Well, okay, I have a Ph.D. in history. I guess that makes me a real historian.

Yes, I'm working on a new book: Meat: An American History. Assuming no major disasters (or, more accurately, no further disasters), it will come out in 2012.

Yes, it takes me a long time to write a book. I’m a one-woman operation: I do all 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.

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.

Yes, I'd be glad to rant about the topic of your choice on my blog. You know where to find me.