I’m a journalist, author and editor who has written books for kids and adults.

I spend a lot of time in our local indie bookstore, where the booksellers tease me mercilessly. “What’s the next book gonna be about?” they say. “Macrame? Chickens? Biblical hand-tools?”

That’s because I write about a lot of different subjects. That’s probably due to my background. As a journalist, you dance around in different fields. You dabble. Sometimes you write about things that are close to you. Or just a passing fancy. Hopefully it all adds up to something coherent.

Eventually.

I’ve written for publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Discover, Wired, Saveur, This Old House, and other publications for both for adults and children. I’ve won Educational Press Awards, and been featured twice in Best American Science Writing.

In 2003 I went on a perilous journey to research the life of the mathematician, Leonardo Fibonacci. I sold my house and moved to Italy, where, in order to survive, I was forced to drink foamy cappuccinos, and eat crispy pizza, richly sauced pasta and the occasional gelato in search of the story. At long last I escaped by building a giant raft out of empty cannoli shells, which I used to sail back to the land of E. Pluribus Unum. Fully recovered from my dangerous adventures, I live with my wife in North Carolina.

Oh—and I grew up in New Jersey.

Anthology Appearances

1. •Best American Science Writing (HarperCollins, 2002)
   

2. •Best American Science Writing (HarperCollins, 2003)
   

3. •Annual Editions, Physical Anthropology (McGraw-Hill, 2002- 2003)
   

4. •Simon & Schuster Handbook for Writers (Prentice Hall, 2003)
   

Awards

1. •Educational Press Association Award
   

• Genesis Award, Humane Society, 2003 (for article on chimpanzee sanctuaries, Discover magazine)