Bio

A Little About Me

I am the author of four books, including When the Irish Invaded Canada: The Incredible True Story of the Civil War Veterans Who Fought for Ireland’s Freedom and Strong Boy: The Life and Times of John L. Sullivan, America’s First Sports Hero. A frequent contributor to History.com, the website of the History Channel, I have also written for the Boston Globe, New York Times, Washington Post, National Geographic Traveler, Harvard Magazine, Smithsonian.com, and AmericanHeritage.com. 


A Lot More About Me

I’m a total history geek. Favorite historical figure: Teddy Roosevelt. Favorite historical event: the Defenestration of Prague. (Go ahead, Google it.) I love writing about history because it allows me to indulge my passion, travel back in time, and constantly learn more about humanity’s incredible backstory. History helps to explain our present-day world and acts as our roadmap to the future. After all, how can we know where we are going without knowing where we’ve been? (Not to mention, writing about dead people means never having to worry about your subjects returning your phone calls.)

I love to sweep away the cobwebs of history and introduce modern-day audiences to incredible figures who have begun to fade from our collective memory. My latest book is When the Irish Invaded Canada: The Incredible True Story of the Civil War Veterans Who Fought for Ireland’s Freedom, the outlandish, untold story of the Irish American revolutionaries who tried to free Ireland by invading Canada.

I am also the author of Strong Boy: The Life and Times of John L. Sullivan, America’s First Sports HeroDiscovering the Boston Harbor Islands: A Guide to the City’s Hidden Shores, and The Die-Hard Sports Fan’s Guide to Boston. I have written more than 400 stories for History.com, the web site of the History Channel, covering everything from Harvard’s secret colonial-era body-snatching club to the surprisingly real history of Chef Boy-Ar-Dee.

I often write about subjects from the past for the travel and Ideas section of the Boston Globe. I have also written for the New York Times, National Geographic Traveler, Harvard Magazine, Washington Post, Red Sox Magazine, Preservation, Mental Floss, B Magazine, The Daily, The Boston PhoenixGO, AAA HorizonsThe Patriot LedgerSt. Petersburg TimesNew England Travel, JSTOR Daily, Public Domain Review, ESPN.com, Biography.com, SI.com, Smithsonian.com, and AmericanHeritage.com.

I have lectured at dozens of libraries and historical societies and have appeared on television and radio programs from Tokyo, Japan, to Yellowknife, Canada. I have also contributed to Lonely Planet’s Boston City Guide and National Geographic Traveler: Ireland.

In addition to my historical and travel writing, I have more than 15 years of experience authoring business books, market research reports, and white papers for architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting firms. I have written articles for numerous industry newsletters and magazines, including The Zweig LetterProfessional Services Management Journal, SMPS MarketerCE NewsStructural EngineerBE Magazine, and Construction Specifier.

I graduated summa cum laude and with honors from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, in 1994. I am a member of the Authors Guild, Biographers International Organization, Boston Authors Club, and Irish American Writers & Artists.