About

I've been engaged in the word racket for 45 years -- the first 30 largely editing (Knopf, Viking, Harcourt; New England Monthly, Life, Time), since then mostly writing. Born in Detroit, educated (sort of) in Ann Arbor, domiciled half the year on Cape Cod, the other half on the Upper West Side.

Featured Work

Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

2010

Other Works

  • Public Editor #1: The Collected Columns (with Reflections, Reconsiderations, and Even a Few Retractions) of the First Ombudsman of the New York Times

    2007

  • Great Fortune: The Epic of Rockefeller Center

    2003

  • The Way We Were: New England Then, New England Now

    1989

  • Nine Innings: The Anatomy of a Baseball Game

    1985

Awards and Recognition

  • Albert J. Beveridge Award for Year's Best Book of American History, 2011 (Last Call)
  • Finalist, Pulitzer Prize in History, 2004 (Great Fortune)
  • Honorary degree (L.H.D.), University of Michigan, 2014
  • Honorary degree (L.H.D.), Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, 1989
  • National Magazine Award for General Excellence, 1986 and 1987