I’m pleased to report that my first history book, Lincoln’s Lost Colony: The Black Emigration Scheme of Bernard Kock, has been released by McFarland. The book took me 11 years to research and write. It wouldn’t have taken so long had I not elected to thoroughly footnote and index it. I elected to do this […]
New Book, The Forever Home, Comes out Soon!
My new book comes out on March 14. Based on dozens of homeowner and architect interviews during the pandemic, the book provides a revealing look at the deep connections between owners and their homes, an important issue in these times when people are staying longer in their homes. With some foresight, homes can be designed […]
Old Trade Editor Refuses to Part with ‘Priceless’ Tchotchke
Boyce Thompson admits that his house is a mess. Closets, drawers, and bookcases are overflowing with paraphernalia left over from his days as a business press editor. But he refuses to part with any of it, even things of little to no sentimental value. “It’s all I have left from the good old days,” says […]
Springfield Residents Prepare for Ratmageddon
When can we expect the nearby Westbard development to unleash an army of rats on the neighborhood? That’s the question on the minds of many Springfield neighborhood residents these days. Polly Gist, a spokesperson for the development, says Springfield should expect only incremental increases in the rodent population. “It’s not like an army will descend […]
Grim Lessons from Tornado Alley
I detoured from a business trip this fall to travel through parts of Tornado Alley, which extends from North Texas through South Dakota. Big twisters seem to touch down there with alarming frequency, causing major building damage and heart-wrenching loss of life. I wanted to see how homeowners and builders there have responded; how they […]
How to Pick the Right Builder
The most important decision you make when building a new home is selecting your builder. Nothing can make or break the home-building experience like the builder you choose. Some people spend years in their new house cursing a builder who cut corners or cost them a fortune by failing to do things right the first […]
Add an Accessory Apartment to Your Home
There are many reasons why it makes sense to plan for an accessory apartment if you building a new home. It provides unrivaled flexibility while your family is living in the house. If you don’t use the apartment for your family — for say, an in-law or boomerang child — you can rent it to […]
Comparing the Average House Today to Those of Yore
The median size of a new home in the U.S. now stands at a record 2,435 square feet, almost 1,000 square feet bigger than in 1973. You could almost fit a second house into 1,000 square feet, though it would have to a small one. The data comes to us from the U.S. Census, which […]
Designing for Disaster Wins Major Book Award
The Independent Book Publishers Association presented Designing for Disaster with a Gold Award in this year’s IPPY competition.
Book Signing at Politics & Prose
A standing-room-only crowd showed up for my February book signing at Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington D.C.