Books
From a jeep that flew to a tank that shouldn’t; from a jet-powered train that shook itself apart to a wave-powered boat that took forever to reach its destination, White Elephant Technology is an entertaining look at 50 unusual inventions that failed in the marketplace despite their innovative nature. White Elephant Technology was published in the U.K. by The History Press in August 2023, and in the United States in 2024. To learn more about the book, please click here. To read a brief, 5-minute Q&A with me conducted by the University of California, Berkeley, click here. To watch a brief two-minute promotional video, click here.
Operation Storm (Crown, 2013) tells the true but little-known story of Japan’s fleet of underwater aircraft carriers purpose-built to launch a surprise attack against New York City and Washington, DC as a follow-up to Pearl Harbor. The Wall Street Journal called Operation Storm, “a fascinating, meticulously researched and deft account.” The book has been published in hardcover and paperback (Broadway, 2014) and has been translated into Dutch, Japanese, and Mandarin. To see what the critics say, click here. To learn more or purchase a copy, click on the button below.
WHEN GIANTS RULED THE SKY, ranked #1 in Amazon’s Transportation category (admittedly, an odd place to put it).
When Giants Ruled the Sky: The Brief Reign and Tragic Demise of the Rigid American Airship, tells the true but little-known story of the US Navy’s airship program (1917-1935) which promised to transform Zeppelins into the dominant form of long-distance transportation. Not only were the Navy’s Zeppelins the largest, most expensive, most technologically sophisticated aircraft of their day, they were flying aircraft carriers that deployed and retrieved their own aircraft in mid-flight. Tom Crouch, Curator Emeritus at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, said about Giants that, “No airship fancier’s library should be without a copy!” Giants was published by The History Press in the UK in October 2021, and the U.S. in June 2022. To read further praise for Giants, click here. To watch a brief video of me talking about the book, click here.
HEAR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW ranked #1 by BookAuthority’s 38 Best Books About Hearing Loss.
Hear Today, Gone Tomorrow: A True Story of Love, Hearing Loss, Heartbreak and Redemption (New Haven Publishing Ltd., 2018) answers the question: what happens when a seemingly successful husband, father, and business exec suffers a hearing loss so severe it renders him deaf overnight? In short order, he loses his job, his house, his family, and his mind. In the tradition of such memoirs as Brain on Fire, and Girl, Interrupted, Hear Today shows how it's possible to face adversity with wit, compassion, and grace-saving humor despite a swerve in the road so severe it threatens a crack-up. In 2018, Book Authority ranked Hear Today No. 1 on its list of the 38 best books about hearing loss (see below). To learn more or purchase a copy click on the button below.
