John J. Geoghegan

Editor, Author, Journalist, Professor

Journalist and Author

I specialize in reporting on unusual inventions that fail in the marketplace despite their innovative nature. I call these inventions, “White Elephant Technology,” or WETech for short, a phrase I’ve helped popularize. I’ve written numerous newspaper and magazine articles on this and a variety of subjects as well as authored four, non-fiction books including a memoir, HEAR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW. Additionally, I helped shepherd into production, co-wrote, and served as technical consultant on a PBS documentary which was based in part on research for my first book, OPERATION STORM: JAPAN’S TOP SECRET SUBMARINES AND ITS PLAN TO CHANGE THE COURSE OF WORLD WAR II. I also served as an on camera expert for a Smithsonian Channel documentary based in part on research for my third book, WHEN GIANTS RULED THE SKY: THE BRIEF REIGN AND TRAGIC DEMISE OF THE AMERICAN RIGID AIRSHIP. My latest book, WHITE ELEPHANT TECHNOLOGY: 50 CRAZY INVENTIONS THAT SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN BUILT AND WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THEM, will be published by The History Press in April 2024. In short, I enjoy working across a variety of genres including non-fiction, fiction, reportage, humor and documentary films. To learn more about me, click here. To learn more about the books I've written, click here. To see a sampling of my magazine and newspaper articles, click here. Finally, I also enjoy teaching history at UC, Berkeley’s Osher Institute, and the Fromm Institute at the University of San Francisco.

Editorial Services

Whether you need a commercial assessment of your novel, memoir or non-fiction work; an editor to polish your manuscript; or a ghostwriter to help tell your story, I bring nearly 30 years of professional writing experience to your editorial project.  With four non-fiction books to my name and a fifth under contract, hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles in print, years working in the book publishing, newspaper, and magazine industries (not to mention my experience as a university writing instructor), my personal, hands-on approach can help you to achieve your writing goals. Click here for more information about editorial services and pricing. Finally, I also teach writing classes, and a twice annual Zoom class, HOW TO GET YOUR BOOK PUBLISHED, sponsored by Book Passage, Northern California’s leading independent bookstore