Michael from Bellevue, Washington: How can I get hold of your out-of-print books?
Fortunately, many of my books are still in print, but it’s much easier to find second hand copies of older books than it used to be. Try Amazon.com or alibris.com. They are rarely defeated.
Deborah from New York: Why do you place such an emphasis on textbooks? Don’t you get tired of revising them?
When I first started teaching there were almost no good college textbooks, so a publisher encouraged me to write one (In the Beginning, which appeared in 1972). Since then, I have written several others, in the belief that good teaching materials are essential tools to educate a new generation of people interested in the past. After years at the game, I have got revisions down to a fairly streamlined process, for there are always new things to learn. The great advantage of textbooks is that they force you to keep up-to-date.
Ragnar from Olso (and many others): What’s your favorite area of archaeology?
I don’t have one, which is nice, because then I can wander freely through the world of the past. Favorite site: same applies.
Otto from Madrid: Why don’t you write about underwater archaeology?
I have at times, for example a chapter on Turkey’s Uluburun ship in Time Detectives. The field requires specialist expertise and is well published by its practitioners, anyhow.
Jacques from Quebec, Stacey from Santa Cruz, California, and others: What is your opinion on humanly caused global warming?
If you read my climatic books, especially The Long Summer and The Great Warming, you’ll learn where I stand.
Margaret from Cincinnati: Where can I find a complete listing of your books?
At the front of my latest one, where they are listed. I have actually written a great deal more than appears there, but those are the significant ones.
Phyllis from Houston: Do you recommend archaeology as a career? How does one go about becoming an archaeologist?
Only if you have an all-consuming passion to be an archaeologist. The field is overcrowded and there are few jobs, except in the rapidly expanding area of cultural resource management (CRM)—basically investigating and monitoring archaeological sites in areas that are being developed. To become a professional archaeologist, you need a minimum of a BA and MA in Archaeology and Anthropology, and a PhD is essential for most academic positions. Don’t contemplate becoming an archaeologist if you want to become rich and unless you have patience, a passion for details, and a sense of humor.
William from San Diego: I know you wrote a cruising guide on California waters, but have you written anything else on sailing?
I published a book on anchoring called Staying Put some years ago, which described anchoring as an art as much as a technology, but it’s long out of print. So is a book called Bareboating about chartering. For many years, I wrote articles about all kinds of sailing topics for Sailing Magazine, but I gave it up five years ago. It was time to move on.
Sally from Toronto: Are you a rabbit expert? You write about them in your author blurbs.
No, my wife is. I’m the bunny husband.
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