Journalist Michael Blanding '95 to Discuss New Book

Media contact: Noelle Lemoine, communications assistant; tele: (413) 597-4277; email: [email protected]

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., April 19, 2016—Michael Blanding ’95, author of The Map Thief: the gripping story of an esteemed rare-map dealer who made millions stealing priceless maps (Gotham Books, 2014), will discuss his book as part of the Williams College “Tuesday Teas” series. Blanding will speak on Tuesday, May 3, at 4 p.m. in the Sawyer Library Archives/Chapin instruction room 452.

Once considered a respectable antiquarian map dealer, E. Forbes Smiley spent years doubling as a map thief —until he was finally arrested slipping maps out of books in the Yale University library. Through a series of exclusive interviews with Smiley and other key individuals, Blanding’s The Map Thief delves into the untold history of this fascinating high-stakes criminal and the inside story of the industry that consumed him. Blanding shares the fascinating histories of maps that charted the New World, and how they went from being practical instruments to quirky heirlooms to highly coveted objects. Though pieces of the map theft story have been written before, Blanding is the first reporter to explore the story in full.

Blanding is a Boston-based investigative journalist whose work has appeared in WIRED, Slate, The NationConsumers DigestThe Boston Globe Magazine, and Boston Magazine. The Map Thief was named a New York Times Bestseller, an NPR Book of the Year; and a New England Indie Bestseller by the New England Independent Booksellers Association. It also received an NES Book Award by the New England Society of New York and a Mass Book Must Read by the Massachusetts Center for the Book. His first book, The Coke Machine: The Dirty Truth Behind the World’s Favorite Soft Drink, was published by Avery/Penguin in 2010.

Blanding is currently a senior fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University and a staff writer at Harvard Business School. He has also co-written several travel guides to New England destinations for Moon Handbooks, and taught journalism at Emerson College, Northeastern University, and Grub Street Writers. Other awards for his writing include a 2012 Clarion Award from the Association for Women in Communications for best feature article; a gold medal in the 2011 EXCEL Awards from Association Media & Publishing; first place for best general circulation magazine article in the 2005 National Association of Real Estate Editors awards; and a bronze medal for reader service in the 2004 City and Regional Magazine Awards. In addition, he has three times been named a finalist for the Livingston Awards for Young Journalists, in 2006, 2004, and 2003.

The Tuesday Teas program celebrates Williams authors and honors their writing and creative work. It is co-sponsored by the library and the Dean of the Faculty’s office. Blanding’s talk is further sponsored by the Ronald B. Moir Class of 1951 Chapin Library Fund.

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Published April 19, 2016