This weekend on Q&A, bestselling author Simon Winchester discusses the paperback release of his latest historical narrative, “Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories.”
Mr. Winchester explains his mission for writing this sweeping history of one of the world’s great oceans. In addition, he reviews details of a recent cross country trip which replicated the transcontinental motor convoy young Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower volunteered for in 1919. This journey later prompted President Eisenhower to propose the Interstate highway system in 1956.
Our guest also talks about his formative years as a reporter, and his subsequent years as a freelance writer and author. On July 4, 2011, in a ceremony conducted on the deck of the USS Constitution in Boston harbor, Simon was naturalized as an American citizen. He describes why he did this and what it means to him.
Simon Winchester spent his early career as a foreign correspondent for the Guardian and The Sunday Times of London. He graduated from Oxford in 1966 with a degree in geology. Along with his first bestselling book was in 1998 with “The Professor and The Madman,” Winchester has authored over 21 books.