A Conversation With the Author
Where are you from?
New York City metro area
Who are your favorite writers?
Ann Jones, Gloria Emerson, Wolfgang Schivelbusch, Anna Maria Hong, Tom Engelhardt, Seymour Hersh, David Rabe, Sven Lindqvist, Tim O'Brien, James Kunen, Rebecca Solnit
Which book/books have had the biggest influence on your writing?
Tom Engelhardt, The End of Victory Culture
What are your hobbies and outside interests?
Does investigative reporting count?
What is the single best piece of advice anyone ever gave you?
(Tie) Never trust a journalist. Follow the money.
What is your favorite quote?
"All of us who have written on the [Vietnam] War have been hammered, but it's important to speak out."-Gloria Emerson
What is the question most commonly asked by your readers? What is the answer?
Q: Why didn't you also mention X in that article.A: You can't fit everything in a 2500 word piece.
What inspired you to write your first book?
While writing article on the inextricable ties between the video game industry and the U.S. military, I began to realize that the Pentagon had thoroughly infiltrated the entire civilian sphere in complex, covert ways that were unknown to most Americans and felt the need to do something about it.
Where do you write?
Generally my office (wherever that happens to be). For this book, much of the writing was done at Harvard University's lovely Radcliffe Institute
