A little about myself. I was born in the United States, grew up in Australia, and educated (to the best of my abilities) in Britain. After that, I moved to Canada, became what was known in the pre-Internet era as a “newspaperman,” and eventually transferred to Washington, D.C. Now based in New York, I am what is currently known as an “historian.”
My writing has appeared in, among other places, the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, the Washington Post, National Review, the New York Observer, the CIA journal Studies in Intelligence, Invention & Technology, Intelligence & National Security, The National Interest, the Daily Telegraph, and the English Historical Review. I’m a member of the United States Commission on Military History, the Society for Military History, and the Royal Historical Society, as well as a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts. I've worked as a consultant on several television series (including America: The History of Us and Gun Stories) and magazine projects (U.S. News & World Report's special issues on the American Revolution and Espionage, for instance), and serve as a contributor to the Encyclopedia of U.S. Intelligence (forthcoming from Taylor & Francis). I also have a doctorate from Cambridge University in history (on the evolution of early radar and British defense policy in the 1930s).
At the moment, I'm a Writer-in-Residence at the Allen Room of the New York Public Library, where I am striving to write a book about soldiers' experiences of battle since the War of Independence. My publisher is hoping that I finish it by the end of 2012—as do I.
I have a particular interest in military and intelligence history, but I write also on technology and, occasionally, firearms (a mix of military and technology, I guess). If you glance over to your right, you'll find links to more information about the books I've written, as well as to a selection of articles. I review the odd book for the newspapers and write the occasional article for various magazines; I'll add links to these as, when, or if they appear. You can see the latest pieces in the News menu at the top of the page.
Over on the Excerpt page, I've included a portion of the first chapter of my latest book, American Rifle: a Biography. To save space, we had to exclude the Bibliography from printed editions of American Rifle, but you can download it as a PDF here.
I always like to hear from readers, so if you have any questions or comments or requests, please feel free to contact me. You can also find me on Facebook. (If you'd like a signed or personalized bookplate for someone's birthday or for any other occasion, I'd be only too glad to send you as many as you'd like.)
Anyway, I hope you enjoy scouting the website—and maybe I'll hear from you soon.