Journalist. Author. Junk Man.
The North American tour for Junkyard Planet is over, and we’re finally back in Shanghai. The six weeks since the November 12 release have been a whirlwind, and I’m only now beginning to process where we’ve been, and all that’s happened. As some of you know, my mother passed away suddenly in the midst of…
It’s been a busy two weeks on the Junkyard Planet tour. Before Thanksgiving, I had a series of appearances in the Midwest. Along the way, I stopped in to say hello to Dr Evermor, the maker of the Forevertron, the world’s largest (and best!) scrap metal sculpture (something I wrote about – at length –…
I’m blogging from Minnesota today, a week into the Junkyard Planet book tour. Below, an image from the standing-room-only reading and Q&A we had at the fantastic Common Good Books in St Paul on Friday night. Tuesday was release day for Junkyard Planet, and I had a very fortunate and bustling schedule of print and…
On Tuesday, November 12, Bloomsbury Press will publish my first book, Junkyard Planet. To the right, you’ll find links where you can purchase it (including for Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, and Indie Bound). For those who aren’t sold, you can read excerpts at Bloomberg BusinessWeek and the Atlantic; watch the book trailer; or browse…
During the run-up to the November 12 release of my first book, Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion Dollar Trash Trade, I’m posting photos taken during my decade of reporting on the global waste, recycling, refurbishment, and repair trade. Today’s Scene shows what many people in China (including a ranking government official whom I met today)…
During the run-up to the November 12 release of my first book, Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion Dollar Trash Trade, I’m posting photos taken during my decade of reporting on the global waste, recycling, refurbishment, and repair trade. Today’s Scene shows Chinese workers emptying the sacks of plastic bottles that we saw in Monday’s Scene.…
During the run-up to the November 12 release of my first book, Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion Dollar Trash Trade, I’m posting photos taken during my decade of reporting on the global waste, recycling, refurbishment, and repair trade. Today’s Scene shows a Chinese worker wandering among giant sacks containing thousands of plastic bottles. Click to enlarge:…
I’m thrilled to point readers in the direction of The Atlantic, where a new excerpt of Junkyard Planet is running. This is the third excerpt to run in advance of the November 12 release of Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion Dollar Trash Trade, and in many ways it’s the most personal one (see Bloomberg Businessweek…
My first book, Junkyard Planet, showed up in the mail today, 32 months after I signed the contract to write it, back in Feb 2011. Like any book (or so I’m told), it had its difficult moments. But holding it in my hands for the first time, I was able to forget them, if ever…
Today’s Scene from a Junkyard Planet – actually two scenes – takes its cue from a story circulating in the French press (thanks to Wee Ling Soh, who tweeted the story in my direction). There are a couple of versions floating around, but here’s a concise edit of the Local’s version of events: Two Chinese…