I am an emeritus Professor of Horticulture at Michigan State University and have published over 300 research papers and reviews in scientific journals on crop genetics, evolution, and genomics. I now spend most of my time writing history, with a passion for precolonial Atlantic America.
My books include:
From John Cabot to Henry Hudson: Early European Arrivals in Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic America – McFarland (2025)
From Ponce de Leon to Sir Walter Raleigh: Early European Arrivals in Southeastern North America – MacFarland (2025)
World Agriculture Before and After 1492: Legacy of the Columbian Exchange – Springer (2022)
Spices, Scents and Silk: Catalysts of World Trade- CABI (2021)
The Strawberry – CABI (2020 – second edition)
The Blueberry with Jorge Retamales- CABI (2018 – second edition)
Plantation Crops: Plunder and Power, Evolution and Exploitation – Routledge (2017)
Plant Evolution and the Origin of Crop Species – CABI (2012 – Third edition)
Environmental Biosafety with Karim Maridia, Cholani Webadde and Rebecca Grumet – Michigan University Press 2011
Turmoil in Dawnland 