New article in this month’s Trail Runner magazine about the chaski runners in ancient Peru.  Those were the guys who relayed fresh fish from the ocean to the Incan kings high in the mountains, along with just generally making communication awesome for the Incas.

My blog post at Fine Books on an upcoming publication of Taliban poetry was picked up by the New Yorker’s book bench.

I’ve got a new article on the books blog at the Guardian featuring the classic, eleventh edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

This article was later picked up by the New Yorker’s Book Bench.

My new article featuring an interview with Grolier Club president and prominent NYC book collector Dr. Eugene Flamm is in the new Spring issue of Fine Books & Collections.  We talk about books and book fairs, particularly in New York.

Happy to announce that this website will now be ad-free…

One of my favorite people in the world died unexpectedly today.  Dr. Neil Whitehead was a professor of anthropology at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.  He was a mentor to me while I earned my undergraduate degree in anthropology at UW.  But he was much more than an adviser — he was a singular intellect, with a beautiful vision of the world, always reminding me (and everyone else) of the strangeness and mystery that exist all around us.  I was proud to call him my friend and am so grateful for the correspondence we maintained over the years.  He was a great man and will be much missed. 

Much love, always, Neil, my old friend — safe journey to the next life.

Check out some of his fascinating books: Dark Shamans and Hans Staden’s True History.

My blog post at Fine Books about early Dickens films was picked up by the New Yorker’s book bench.  Here is the original post.  And here is the New Yorker mention.

This month, I’ve got a new column in my “Building Your Book Collection” series at Mystery Scene.  Topic: “Association Copies.”  Books which once belonged to someone connected with the author, or with the publication of the book, or owned by someone famous or significant in their own right.

I’ve got a new article co-written with Neil of Heritage Paths on historic routes in the Western Isles of Scotland.  Featuring North and South Harris, Lewis, South Uist, and Benebecula.  It’s in this month’s Scottish Islands Explorer.  The article isn’t online, but is easy to find on news stands around Scotland.

I spent last weekend in Pasadena covering the California Antiquarian Book Fair for Fine Books and Collections.  You can read my blog posts about the events at the Fine Books blog:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3