Many thanks to all those who sent in stories for my book about the politics and history of noise. Though I was able to use only a handful of the many stories I received, nearly all of them helped to increase my understanding of noise and my confidence that the subject was worth pursuing. 

My book was published on May 4, 2010 by PublicAffairs with the title The Unwanted Sound of Everything We Want. It can be ordered online (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powell’s, Indie Bound) or at your local bookstore.

I will continue to use this website to make announcements about The Unwanted Sound of Everything We Want.

The New York Times has a brief excerpt from The Unwanted Sound of Everything We Want, as well as two recent reviews of the book: one review by Ted Conover, another by Dwight Garner. A brief podcast interview with Garret Keizer is also available (from the 4 June 2010 episode), as are a radio interview with Diane Rehm and a television interview with Stephen Colbert.

I am a freelance writer and contributing editor to Harper’s Magazine. I am the author of six books, including Help: The Original Human Dilemma (HarperCollins, 2004). My work has also appeared in The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, Lapham’s Quarterly, Mother Jones, The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Washington Post, The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2002, and The Best American Essays in 2007 and 2009. I live and work in northeastern Vermont.

For more information about noise, contact The Noise Pollution Clearinghouse at www.nonoise.org (not a sponsor of this site but an invaluable resource for this writer).