My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Michael Castleman, author of the book The Untold Story of Books. San Francisco freelance journalist Michael Castleman grew up in a suburb of New York City, graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Michigan, and earned a Masters of Journalism from UC Berkeley.

During a 50-year career, he has written 3,000 magazine and web articles and 19 books. Fourteen of his books deal with health and sexuality. Two were named Health Books of the Year by the American Library Association. One was nominated for Sex Book of the Year by the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists. Four of Castleman’s books are mystery novels set in San Francisco that draw on the city’s rich history. And one is his latest, The Untold Story of Books, which Library Journal called “concise, engrossing, and immensely readable.” After just eight weeks in print, it went into a second printing.

In my book review, I stated The Untold Story of Books is a look at publisher from the days before the Gutenberg press to present. And if you are afraid that this is going to be dry material, then you are mistaken! He does an amazing job of keeping readers glued to the pages.

He also debunks the myth that the "good ol' days" of publishing were good. In fact, he shows that publishing has always been difficult, has always dealt with piracy, and has always made it difficult for authors to make money writing.

I was most interested in publishing as it is today simply because I'm an author today. I love how he showed that having a book published is no longer the difficulty. Instead, because the gatekeepers to publishing have been removed, the struggle is now getting heard over all the noise. Anyone interested in books, publishing, writing, or history is sure to love this book.

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You can follow Author Michael Castleman

Website: www.mcastleman.com

FB: @Michael Castleman

LinkedIn: @Michael Castleman

Purchase The Untold Story of Books on Amazon:

Paperback: https://amzn.to/3QlsHqL

Ebook: https://amzn.to/42ZS0X4

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