Podcast appearances and mentions of bob dotson

This week's Eye on Travel Podcast with Peter Greenberg – from The FDR Presidential Library in Hyde Park New York. First, Peter sits down with FDR Library Director Bill Harris, for a short course on the history of the library, the presidency of FDR, and the special and often secret role First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt played in American history. Then, it's the other CIA -- also in Hyde Park -- with Dr. Tim Ryan, President The Culinary Institute of America. Finally, Peter speaks with news and broadcast legend, Bob Dotson, Creator of The American Story on the Today Show and Author of “Make it Memorable”, on storytelling and history, what is really important and, who is really important, with some surprises.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week's Eye on Travel Podcast with Peter Greenberg – from The FDR Presidential Library in Hyde Park New York. First, Peter sits down with FDR Library Director Bill Harris, for a short course on the history of the library, the presidency of FDR, and the special and often secret role First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt played in American history. Then, it's the other CIA -- also in Hyde Park -- with Dr. Tim Ryan, President The Culinary Institute of America. Finally, Peter speaks with news and broadcast legend, Bob Dotson, Creator of The American Story on the Today Show and Author of “Make it Memorable”, on storytelling and history, what is really important and, who is really important, with some surprises.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Bob Dotson spent four decades as a reporter at NBC. For most of that time, he hosted a segment on The Today Show called The American Story, which created intimate portraits of Americans who wouldn't normally make the news. In this live episode of StoryTech, Bob Dotson talks about changes in technology, from wireless microphones to home video to iPhones, changed the way he told The American Story.This episode was recorded at the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, where Bob Dotson is a visiting professor. Archival footage from The American Story courtesy of NBC News.

We often think of art collectors as people who love art but don't create it themselves, meaning that the work they purchase may seem to them to come from a somewhat mysterious creative realm. Yet artists are very often collectors themselves, and have a different kind of appreciation for the work they acquire due to their deep understanding of what is involved in creating art. Many artists focus mainly the work of friends through purchase or trade for their own collections. That is not surprising since as artists we know lots of others and have more exposure to artists as friends than the general public does. But many artists also purchase art, from people they know or from complete strangers. Their reasons are diverse, from feeling a personal connection to the person who made the work, to work that moves or inspires them aesthetically. In our homes, we observe and study the work of others on a daily basis, and the work of others can have an effect on our thoughts about our own work over time. Acquiring a work of art creates excitement and a thrill of connection that is very pleasurable and motivating for collectors. An artist who sells their work certainly knows the pleasure of selling a piece, but one who also collects artwork experiences the other side of that experience. As an artist, considering what you gain from your own collection can be interesting. What does work you own offer you as an artist? What feelings do you experience when you buy art? Does your collection feed your own work in some way? Today Show interview by Bob Dotson with Jim Mott mentioned in the podcast: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3JOZYESh2KRcG92WlF5T3NvRUk/view?resourcekey=0-5OaRvWVwS3tbLn6ZqjGz-A Thanks to everyone who has been sharing the show and donating! If you would like to donate to the Messy Studio Podcast donate here (https://www.paypal.com/donate?token=Yyrf7Ht1DYfkYzAaWNoW8zuvCpTryLYsxY2VAj4qGZ3o2o4F7xHGv4VmDDef7kFxuvbgpz_z4jUa-z7F). ​ When you buy art supplies at Blick remember to use our affiliate link to support the podcast! Bookmark this link and then you don't even have to think about it again. This is one of the best ways to support the show. It takes a few seconds and costs you nothing! The Blick website works exactly the same way, but we earn 10% every time you buy art supplies. www.messystudiopodcast.com/blick ​ What's new at Cold Wax Academy? Rebecca and Jerry sre well into their Fall quarter of live, online sessions with a special focus this time on member participation, plus informative sessions on a variety of other topics. This month also marks the beginning of Cold Wax Academy's 3rd year of teaching sessions, meaning that the member library now has over 80 recordings and other instructional documents available for members. To access this wealth of information and to take part in upcoming live sessions, please visit the membership page at ColdWaxAcademy.com and sign up for one of the two levels of membership available. Please visit http://www.coldwaxacademy.com for more information. Here is what a member named Sandy has to say about her own experience with Cold Wax Academy: "Rebecca and Jerry have presented the most professional, authentic and structured approach to a creative activity I have ever come across. Their selfless sharing of all their knowledge and encouragement is a gift in my life unsurpassed." Also-- please visit https://www.espacioart.org to learn about Rebecca and Jerry's newest project, Espacio, dedicated to providing beautiful living and working spaces for artists and writers. Espacio's first offering is Casa Clavel, a modern, fully equipped house opening this September in the beautiful cultural city of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. A few booking openings are still available in 2023, so please incquire if you are interested. Have an art related product, service, or event you would like to advertise on the Messy Studio Podcast? Email Ross at rticknor.core@gmail.com (mailto:rticknor.core@gmail.com) for current mid-roll advertising rates. ​ For more from The Messy Studio: www.messystudiopodcast.com www.facebook.com/messystudiopodcast ​ For more from Rebecca Crowell: www.rebeccacrowell.com www.coldwaxacademy.com ​ The Messy Studio Podcast is a Tick Digital Media Production.

Emmy award winning retired journalist Bob Dotson joins the podcast this month to share some advice and wisdom he's collected over his 40+ years of being a storyteller. 

Robert Charles "Bob" Dotson is a New York Times best selling American author, teacher and television journalist. His long-running series, "The American Story with Bob Dotson," was a regular feature on the NBC "Today" Show for 40 years. 

Brené Brown's life changed overnight — all because she was willing to admit she’s vulnerable. Find out why the researcher and storyteller thinks her talk on vulnerability, shame and courage struck such a nerve.

Today's Show : Emmy Award Winner, Business Mogul, TV Show Host & Best Selling Author, Bob Dotson calls in, Lobbyist, Political Commentator, Activist & Radio Show Host, Michael Hart Calls in, Desert Storm Veteran,Columnist, Activist & Radio Show Host, Eric Thompson calls in, Conservative Talk Show Host, 2024 Presidential Candidate, Activist & Best-Selling Author, Daryl Kane calls in, Doctor, Award-Winning speaker, Professor, Veteran, Technology Expert, Best Selling Author & Commissioner Of Parks & Recreation For Maricopa County,Bob Branch calls in, Founder of College Republicans United, Founder Of Republicans United & Leader of Nationalists United, Kevin Decuyper calls in, Director, Producer, Political Commentator & Activist, Gianni Rodriguez-Parris calls in, AJ From Houston calls in, President Trump Announces Migration Deal with Mexico, President Trump's Deal with Mexico Likely Ends Catch-and-Release & Defunds Cartels, President Trump: I Will Always ‘Hit Back' at Corrupt Fake News, President Trump: Mexico Doing More to Stop Migrant Crisis than Democrats, DC Considering Voting Rights for Prisoners—Could Be ‘Turning Point for Country', DHS Frees 5.5K Illegal Aliens into U.S. in a Week & 196K Released in 5 Months, Data: Average of 124K Anchor Babies Born in U.S. This Year So Far, Report Shows Joe Biden Has Big Vietnam Draft Evasion Problem, Cops Arrest 80 at Mexican-Run Cockfight in Virginia, Police: Woman ‘Tired of Trump' Stabs Herself in the Stomach, More Lies of Omission Found in Dirty Cop Robert Mueller's Report, House Democrats Hold Hearing on ‘Presidential Obstruction', Mexico Claims Some Migrant Caravan Funding Came from U.S., England, Iran threatens the USA, Hiring Hits Record High in United States & California Lawmakers Plan to Give Health Benefits to Illegal Immigrants & Dominican Republic Deaths

Most of what hear about America these days outlines our frustrations – the widening gap between the haves and the have-nots, middle class jobs fading away, hate-filled politics that prefers gridlock to compromise. What we know about America mostly comes from journalists who travel in herds, trailing politicians or camped out at big stories, pouncing on problems to repeat over and over. They offer up celebrity experts for solutions, the people who spend their busy days spouting opinions to cameras, while others in the shadows quietly make America work. America survives and thrives because of all those names we don’t know, seemingly ordinary people who do extraordinary things. They don’t run for president or go on talk shows, but without them, the best of America would not exist. Bob Dotson has traveled more than four million miles, crisscrossing America practically non-stop for half a century, searching for people who are practically invisible, the ones who change our lives, but don’t take time to tweet and tell us about it. His long-running series, “The American Story with Bob Dotson,” was a regular feature on the TODAY Show until his retirement on the 40th anniversary of the day he joined NBC. I met Bob in 1998 at the National Press Photographers Association workshop in Norman, Oklahoma. It was that day, I began a journey of telling stories. He taught me the passion and skill behind the interview, something I use everyday of my professional career. Check Out Links Below: NBC News: Bob Dotson looks back at 40 years of American Stories Book: American Story: A Lifetime Search for Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things Book: Make It Memorable: Writing and Packaging Visual News with Style Additional Music Reference: The Ants That Built A City On His Chest by Doctor Turtle is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Distinguished broadcast journalist Bob Dotson, best known for his "American Story" series on the NBC "Today" show, joins Don Sherry to discuss the often-overlooked stories of ordinary Americans, and the current state of journalism in this country.

If you’re interested in my post-college story, I want to let you know I’m sharing all of my tips on the post-college job search, nailing informational interviews, and more on the Bri Books Podcast Newsletter.   Today’s episode features Shauna Beni, Multimedia Editorial intern @ ABC News and SUNY Plattsburgh grad as we chat about our very first NABJ (National Association of Black Journalists) Career Fair and Convention experiences! Whether it’s your first time hearing that acronym or you’re a participating member, this episode will give you a tatse of the community that both Shauna and I found within the National Association of Black Journalists.   Bri Books episode feat. Benet Wilson, VP, Digital, NABJ and Aviation Expert Shauna Beni - InstagramShauna’s book recommendation, courtesy Stephon Dingle, “ Make it Memorable” 4:14 - The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is “an advocacy group established in 1975, the largest organization for journalists of color in the nation.” The annual career fair and convention is a valuable experience for recent grads to learn from industry leaders, network, and gain valuable career insights that will pay dividends later in their careers. This podcast is not in partnership with NABJ or the NABJ Career Fair and Convention in New Orleans. 6:35 - How Brionna met Shauna: NABJ 2016 in Washington, D.C. 7:00 - How Shauna helped establish a student chapter of NABJ on campus 8:00 - Shauna’s first impression of NABJ 16 9:45 - Shauna’s first impression: “When I stepped in there, it was a breath of fresh air.” 11:40 - Shauna’s first job out of college--expectations and realities! 14:30 - Stephon Dingle recommends “ Make it Memorable” by Bob Dotson 16:30 - Hard truths that surprised Shauna about the workplace post-college 19:50 - Encouragement for recent grads--”Don't be afraid! You have to take big steps in order to get where you want to get. The only two answers are yes or no, so don’t be afraid. If it’s a ‘no,’ just try elsewhere.” If you’re interested in my post-college story, I want to let you know I’m sharing all of my tips on the post-college job search, nailing informational interviews, and more on the Bri Books Podcast Newsletter.   @BriBooksPod - Instagram @BriBooksPod - Twitter What are you reading?! Show and tell using #bribooks

Robert "Bob" Dotson is a New York Times bestselling author, teacher and television journalist. Last year he retired from his long running series, "The American Story with Bob Dotson," on the NBC "Today" Show after 40 years.  He has won hundreds of awards and shown a commitment to training students with a series of video workshops that began over 30 years ago.  And he’s continued that tradition in a number of ways, including writing the book "Make It Memorable," which is one of the most widely used textbooks on broadcast writing.  Bob Dotson paid a visit to Fordham University's campus in the Bronx where he displayed his fantastic, storytelling ability and offered great advice to a classroom full of excited journalism students.  

Bob Dotson’s stories reflect his rare approach to the news. While most reporters focus on life’s flat tires, he looks for something far more difficult to find – what keeps the other tires rolling. Dotson works the neglected streets of our cities, the small towns and dirt roads, searching for people who are practically invisible, the ones who change our lives but don’t take time to tweet and tell us about it. He has crisscrossed this country, four million miles, practically non-stop, searching for names we don’t know, but should, people with thoughtful solutions to problems we all face. Wisdom doesn’t always wear a suit. Dotson’s signature series on the TODAY Show has received more than a hundred honors, including eight national Emmys and a record six Edward R. Murrow Awards for “Best Network News Writing” from the Radio Television Digital News Association. The Society of Professional Journalists cited Dotson for his work in New Media. Some of his online columns and story videos trend worldwide. His program, El Capitan's Courageous Climbers, was the winner of seven International Film and Video Festivals and was awarded documentary's highest honor, the CINE Grand Prize. His work has also won Grand Prizes from DuPont-Columbia, the National Press Photographers Association, the Robert F. Kennedy awards and this spring he joined Charles Kuralt and Walter Cronkite as the latest recipient of the William Allen White Foundation National Citation for journalistic excellence. Dotson’s stories have appeared on all of NBC News programs over the years. He also produced and wrote “Bob Dotson's America,” a series of programs on the Travel Channel. His third book, American Story, a Lifetime Search for Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things, (Penguin/Random House) became a New York Times Best Seller. His new how-to "Make it Memorable," book became the Number One Best Seller on Amazon's Hot New releases list, a week before it was published on October 15th. That same month, Dotson won the 2015 Edward R. Murrow award for this story: http://www.today.com/news/first-blind-man-kayak-grand-canyon-i-couldnt-quit-2D79657900#news/first-blind-man-kayak-grand-canyon-i-couldnt-quit-2D79657 BOB DOTSON BY THE NUMBERS: 40 years at NBC News 25 years on Today 4 million miles searching for American Stories CONTACT: Bob Dotson American Story Bob.Dotson@gmail.com NEW Book: Make it Memorable http://www.amazon.com/Make-It-Memorable-Writing-Packaging/dp/1442256117

Ep#22 - SEWOL, Cult Awareness activist, Peter Daley Show notes http://pirate-radio-podcasts.com #FREE #MP3 #archive http://space-pirate-radio.podomatic.com https://twitter.com/PRPNetwork1 SKYPE - https://join.skype.com/NxINdeHgvD06 LIVE STREAMING - http://tunein.com/user/pirate1radio/ https://www.minds.com/PirateRadioNetwork #PRPN #MINDS #GROUP - https://www.minds.com/groups/profile/529176318323990528/activity #FACEBOOK #FANN https://www.facebook.com/groups/1625940707672680/ http://www.jmscult.com/ & http://www.peterdaley.net/ http://www.asiapundits.com/understanding-cults-in-korea-an-interview-with-peter-daley/ "That is why Hitler killed 6 million Jews in the gas chamber and rung oil from them. If you don't think that was a great thing, you have nothing to do with me or with salvation." Jeong Myeong-seok. December 13, 1998. INTRODUCTION 4:30 - Peter comes on board, "#Teach #North #Korean #refugees", #DPRK's 1969 hijacking of South Korean airliner, 11 passengers & crew STILL held in captivity https://duckduckgo.com/?q=teach+north+korean+refugees 6min - Korean & Vietnam war POWs & MIAs, ALSO still held in the DPRK 7min - #PirateLarry comes on board with a few colourful comments #Scurvydog #Inn 8min 30sec - #BlackSails, The #Parsons #Farwell, #Battlestar #Galactica, The #Walking #Dead 10min - #Acoustic #Folk #Metal #PiratasdeDios https://www.reverbnation.com/piratasdedios 11min 30sec - #Korea, the world's biggest #CULT country per capita? 13min - #Heavenly #Mother, #surveillance, #passwords, #encryption, #masterkey websites 16min - #Moonies, #messiah #complex. cult #leaders, #splinter #groups 18min - #Salvation #sect, #Evangelical #Baptist group 22min - #JMS #Unification #Church #Moonies offshoot, #Daejon, #INTERPOL 23min - Leader presently jailed, #SEX #RAPE cult, original sin. #purification 25min - Front groups, modelling, dancers, attempts to sue Peter over cult's bootleg nude video, police, prosecutors, immigration 30min - JMS ( #Jesus #Morning #Star ) #Jeong #Myeong #seok https://duckduckgo.com/?q=jms+jesus+morning+star+korean+cult 31min - "#FREE" #massages for the #UK police, #acupuncture, #KI (ancestoral) #energy, endorsements 32min - #Commander #SimonFoy, head of #homocide and serious crime, #Scotland #Yard http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/libertycentral/2009/apr/15/dna-database-policing 33min - #Miracle #cures come at a cost 35min - Pirate Larry on #OSHO, #Gnostics, #Mexican #cartels, Santeria, death cult goddess. Joey Coco Diaz, faith healers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santer%C3%ADa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith_healing 37min - #MINDS.com 39min - Aaron #Snowberger, #SEWOL http://keytokorean.com/blog/in-the-news/falling-down-the-rabbit-hole-in-search-of-koreas-most-wanted-man/ http://www.newsmax.com/TheWire/raising-sewol-ferry-starts/2016/06/13/id/733598/ 43min - Mass murder suicide https://duckduckgo.com/?q=1987+33+members+cult+odaeyang+murder+suicide http://articles.latimes.com/1987-08-30/news/mn-4994_1_cult 46min - #AHAE https://duckduckgo.com/?q=ahae+korean+photographer #LOUVRE, #NewYork, #London, #LSO Michael Nyman http://www.ahaeproducts.com/shop-by-product-type/media/michael-nyman-through-the-only-window-cd.html http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/Arts/article1277681.ece 54min - Lavished #MILLIONS on cult leader while only $400 for SEWOL safety training, w/ Pirate Larry & Captain Long John Sinclair 57min - SEWOL sank because of collision with a #SUBMARINE? #Disinfo propaganda? https://duckduckgo.com/?q=sbs+sewol+murky+waters 59min - #Illuminati #blood #moon #sacrifice? http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message2531073/pg1?disclaimer=1 60min - #HEROES, #rats http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/29/world/asia/south-korea-captain-video-stevens/index.html https://duckduckgo.com/?q=sewol+captain+drunk+underpants 1hr2min - Hiding in secret room http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-28438241 1hr4min - Korea's corrupt corporate culture. How bad is it? http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/south-korea-pardons-6000-criminals-including-business-tycoons-in-move-to-help-economy-10457062.html 1hr5min - #nepotism, JYP #KPOP #kingpin https://yellowslugreviews.wordpress.com/2014/04/29/jyp-forced-to-clarify-that-he-isnt-financially-in-bed-with-sewol-ferry-company-nor-a-religious-cult/ http://www.soompi.com/2014/04/30/jyp-entertainment-under-investigation-by-financial-authorities/ http://netizenbuzz.blogspot.kr/2014/06/jyp-entertainments-stock-prices-drop.html 1hr7min - World entertainment industry #SLEAZE, Korea's high suicide or #MURDER rate? 1hr9min - Former President Ryo-Myu Hyun's "suicide", bodyguard's everchanging story http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/general/94139-was-the-former-korean-president-murdered 1hr10min - Tea-totaller YB Eun's old SOJU bottles, walking cane "magically" appears after complaints & suspicions Yoo Byung-eun's death raises suspicions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUNTSc-JllQ 1hr14min - YB Eun's children receive light sentences, wife granted amnesty 1hr15min - France & Phillipines refuse asylum 1hr17min - JYP's Golden contacts world "Ambassadors", #USA, #Israel http://keytokorean.com/blog/in-the-news/yoo-byeong-eons-golden-connections-may-include-jyp-entertainment-and-several-ambassadors/ 1hr19min - Cult leaders versions of #WORLDPEACE 1hr20min - Massive peace rallies, #BobDotson of #NBC #News duped? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dotson official #minders as with #DPRK, #LOVEBOMBING https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_bombing 1hr22min - Intl conference in #SYDNEY with Shinjonji & #Scientology http://www.mikerindersblog.org/scientology-pr-offensive/ 1hr25min - $500,000 reward for YB Eun, masters of disguise http://www.koreaobserver.com/top-6-unanswered-questions-about-yoos-death-22314/ Sewol-ho ferry owner hid inside closet during raid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pC8GzybX_iw 1hr27min - Conan O'Brien visits Korea, produces music video #FIRE with JYP https://duckduckgo.com/?q=conan+obrien+korea+jyp+fire 1hr29min - 60,000 Korean POW, US and international MIA, proposal for future show 1hr34min - Pirate Larry returns for show recap & closing comments 1hr35 - Moon Son Myung buSINess ties & dealings w/ #Bush #crime #syndicate http://educate-yourself.org/cn/sunmyongmoon6part13oct97.shtml http://foreignpolicy.com/2012/09/04/the-strange-life-of-reverend-sun-myung-moon/ https://consortiumnews.com/archive/moon1.html http://www.alternet.org/story/29054/neil_bush_meets_the_messiah/ 1hr41min - Messianic murderers, Jesus coming with a #SWORD, the Way of the #Peaceful #Warrior "If you're doing business with a religious son of a bitch, get it in writing; his word isn't worth shit, not with the good Lord telling him how to fuck you on the deal." #WS #Burroughs

Preparing the Ghost: An Essay Concerning the Giant Squid and Its First Photographer (Liveright Publishing) Moses Harvey was the eccentric Newfoundland reverend and amateur naturalist who first photographed the near-mythic giant squid in 1874, draping it over a shower curtain rod to display its magnitude. In Preparing the Ghost, what begins as Moses s story becomes much more, as fellow squid-enthusiast Matthew Gavin Frank boldly winds his narrative tentacles around history, creative nonfiction, science, memoir, and meditations about the interrelated nature of them all. In a full-hearted, lyrical style reminiscent of Geoff Dyer, Frank weaves in playful forays about his research trip to Moses' Newfoundland home, Frank's own childhood and family history, and a catalog of bizarre facts and lists that recall Melville's story of obsession with another deep-sea dwelling leviathan. Though Frank is armed with impressive research, what he can't know about Harvey he fictionalizes, quite explicitly, as a way of both illuminating the scene and exploring his central theme: the big, beautiful human impulse to obsess. For tonight's reading, Matthew Gavin Frank will be joined by Los Angeles Times book critic (and author himself) David Ulin. Praise for Preparing the Ghost: "Preparing the Ghost is a triumph of obsession, a masterful weaving of myth and science, of exploration and mystery, of love and nature. Here Matthew Gavin Frank delivers my favorite book-length essay since John D'Agata'sAbout a Mountain, and with it he stakes a claim to his own share of the new territory being forged by such innovators of the lyric essay as Eula Biss and Ander Monson." --Matt Bell, author of In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods "Matthew Gavin Frank has made a book into a curiosity cabinet, one dedicated to the storied giant squid. A mysterious but seductive mix of history, creative non-fiction, memoir, and poetry, Preparing the Ghost is written with contagious passion. In this original book, Frank weaves his imagination through history s gaps, and keeps the reader riveted with the lure of the unknown and dark, sultry prose." --Megan Mayhew Bergman, author of Birds of a Lesser Paradise "Preparing the Ghost reads like a cross between Walt Whitman and a fever dream. Who would think squid and ice cream go together? I remained riveted to the very last word." --Sy Montgomery, author of The Good Good Pig "Matthew Gavin Frank has fashioned a book-length essay marked by unforeseen oneiric asides, and of real and imaginary escapades in search of one Newfoundlander s giant squid. Preparing the Ghost is a mash-up of a meditation on the nature of myth, the magnetic distance between preservation and perseverance, and the sympathetic cravings that undergird pain. In Frank's heart-thumping taxonomy, monstrous behemoths square nicely with butterflies and ice cream. Don t ask me how: read this book!" --Mary Cappello, author of Swallow: Foreign Bodies, Their Ingestion, Inspiration, and the Curious Doctor who Extracted Them "What a marvelous essay Matthew Gavin Frank has written. Preparing the Ghost is driven by narrative, by lyric association, by memoir, by lists, by research, by imagination. Frank delivers this story of Moses Harvey, the first person to photograph the giant squid, with a passion as supercharged as Harvey s own. Above all, this is an essay about obsession, mystery, mythmaking, and the colossal size of our lives. Take it all in. Revel in its majesty." --Lee Martin, author of Such a Life "Like the giant squid at the center of this enchanting inquiry, Mathew Gavin Frank's Preparing the Ghost is a multi-tentacled and entirely captivating saga of profound mystery and relentless pursuit." --Dinty W. Moore, author of Between Panic & Desire "Part history, part lyric poem, part detective novel Matthew Gavin Frank's Preparing the Ghost is just as intriguing and hard to classify as its subject. I never thought I'd care so much about the elusive giant squid, but thanks to this book, I can t help but see its shadow everywhere." --Brenda Miller, author of Season of the Body and Listening Against the Stone "A great essay takes us into the author's polymathic mind and out to the wondrous world, teaching us something we didn t know we wanted to know. In Preparing the Ghost's deliciously delirious layering of science, biography, history, mystery, linguistics, myth, philosophy, epistemology, adventure, travel Matthew Gavin Frank has given us a truly great essay." --Patrick Madden, author of Quotidiana The shortest distance between two people is a great story. This one is incredible. You will embrace Preparing the Ghost like a friend you won't want to leave." --Bob Dotson, New York Times bestselling author of American Story: A Lifetime Search for Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things "Matthew Gavin Frank reinvents the art of research in extraordinarily imaginative ways. His meditation on the briefly known and the forever unknowable courts lore (both family and creaturely), invites the fantastical, heeds fact, and turns the human drive to notate and list into a gesture of lyrical beauty". --Lia Purpura, author of On Looking and Rough Likeness "Fans of Federico Fellini and, most especially, of Georges Perec, will adore Mr. Frank's infuriatingly baroque, charmingly eccentric and utterly unforgettable book. And with hand on heart I can truly say that I also loved every word of it." --Simon Winchester, author of The Professor and the Madman and Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded "Inventive, original, and endlessly interesting, Preparing the Ghost is a gorgeous exploration of myth, history, language, and imagination, all swirling around the mysterious and evocative figure of the giant squid. This book is a journey through passion, obsession, fear, and adventure, and the hunger to behold what lurks within the depths of the sea. "To look into a squid's eyes is like looking into infinity," one squid-obsessed character declares, as Matthew Gavin Frank leads us deeper and deeper into this dazzling account of strangeness, and danger, and the longing to see." --Catherine Chung, author of Forgotten Country "Preparing the Ghost is the most original book I have read in years. Opening with an arresting image that literally haunts him, Matthew Gavin Frank unstrings history and reweaves a narrative from its threads, from fiction and news reporting and his own life, to remind us that every experience is a story braid. To remind us that life and love and death all are beauty." --Lidia Yuknavitch, author of The Chronology of Water and Dora: A Headcase Matthew Gavin Frank has previously written about everything from wine-making in a tent in Italy to the social hierarchies of a pot farm in California. He teaches creative writing and lives in Marquette, Michigan.