Excellent Writing Advice for Humans!

The AI tsunami has hit every arena of human endeavor, so it’s no surprise that AI has also worked its way into the field of writing. Some people have apparently succumbed to its siren call and now allow AI bots to compose their emails, their work documents and even the birthday cards they send (okay, I made that last one up, but would you be surprised?).

Many creative writers are naturally concerned that AI bots will whisk them right out of a job (or at least an obsessive pastime). Now writer and writing guru Jane K. Cleland has penned a book entitled Beat the Bots – A Writer’s Guide to Surviving and Thriving in the Age of AI (Regalo Press, 2025). This book will lay to rest the worries of writers as it proves that AI is no match for the creativity contained by the human cranium.

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NY Times Reviews Rope

Times reviewer Sam Kean asks if rope has the heft to be a main character in history (of course, the answer is yes!) And he points out a key aspect of the rope story.

“Like all good books about technology, then, ‘Rope’ is ultimately about human beings at their best and worst.”

Read the full review here.

 

 

The Wall Street Journal weighs in on Rope

The WSJ reviewed Rope in its Aug. 9 – 10 weekend edition. Reviewer Bill Heavey, an editor at large at Field & Stream magazine, wrote that the time has come for rope to get its due as one of humanity’s greatest inventions.

“Tim Queeney makes the case for cordage, and as you read his book you may find yourself thinking that it’s about damn time.”

A perceptive take from Heavey that I have to agree with!

There’s An Art to Hemp Rope

At the annual August Art in the Park show in South Portland, Maine, I was enjoying a sunny Saturday and the offerings of artists working in every medium imaginable when I came across a booth with the intriguing banner: “Rope Art.”

Rope as an artist’s medium!

I had to take a closer look.

 

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How Did Britain Rule The Seas?

Why was Britain so dominant at sea for centuries? They had great rope, of course! Amazingly, traditional rope is still made at the 1,200-foot long ropewalk at Historic Chatham Dockyard in England. Read about how rope enabled the British to rule the waves in my piece from the UK Daily Express.

Khipu Rope Objects and the Undead

Jørgen Håland/Flicker

In the Andes mountains of South America folk belief includes providing deceased members of the community with a khipu, a rope object with knotted cords that conveys information. Khipu were long used during the Inkan Empire and were still made after the Spanish conquest. In the case of the deceased and their funerary khipu, the knots on the khipu represent prayers that help the dead person negotiate the afterlife. But there is a dark side to this khipu-assisted afterlife, too.

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Rope on the History Unplugged podcast

Had a great time talking with Scott Rank, the host of the “History Unplugged” podcast, about my upcoming book, Rope. Click here and have a listen as Scott and I reveal the significance of rope in human history.

Bit.ly/RopeBook      St. Martin’s Press

 

More Than Just a Sports Biography

Most sporting stories have a lifetime. A decade or maybe two after an athlete leaves the field or the court or the track, the memory of their exploits fades until only the historians of that sport are familiar with their career. Sometimes, though, an athlete is so talented and makes such a connection to the public that their reputations live on, burnished by time rather than buried by it.

In The Front Runner, author Brendan O’Meara tells us the story of the elite 1970s runner Steve Prefontaine. O’Meara’s impressive research and lively prose make it clear why Prefontaine’s, or “Pre” as he’s still known by so many in the world of running, legend still burns 50 years after his untimely death in Eugene, Oregon.

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