About the Author – John R. Wennersten

John R. Wennersten is an historian-journalist currently living on Capitol Hill in Washington. He is Professor Emeritus of American History at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore. A nationally recognized writer and consultant on Chesapeake Bay affairs, his scholarly and freelance work regularly appears in national and regional periodicals, such as the US News & World Report, Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, The Progessive, Nation, and Mother Earth News. He is a regular reviewer for the Maryland Historical Magazine. The Maryland Humanities Commission recently selected him as a Maryland Millennial Scholar. Wennersten received the Maryland Writer's Award from the Maryland Arts Council for his book, The Oyster Wars of Chesapeake Bay. His book, Maryland's Eastern Shore, A Journey in Time and Place, is widely used by readers and scholars with an interest in the Chesapeake Bay region.

His most recent book Global Thirst - Water and Society in the 21st Century releases on Schiffer Press in September 2012. His previous book is Anacostia: The Death and Birth of An American River, an environmental history of the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. Like the waterways covered in Global Thirst, the once-ruined Anacostia river has been at the center of three centuries of conflict, controversy and argument about architecture, planning, environmental safety, and race relations in our nationÕs capital. Wennersten's academic achievements include tenured professorships at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, and Tokiwa University, Mito, Japan. He also held a visiting scholar appointment at Cambridge University and two Fulbright professorships at the National University of Singapore and University of Hong Kong. Wennersten and his wife, Ruth Ellen, are seasoned world travelers and have lived for extended periods in Europe and Asia. Fellowships and Awards Senior Fellow, Smithsonian Institution, Museum of American History, Washington, D.C. 2003-2004. Winner of Maryland Writers Prize, for Oyster Wars of Chesapeake Bay. Md. Arts Council. Fellow in American History, Aspen Institute Fellow in Legal History, American Bar Foundation Summer Research Grant, National Endowment for the Humanities.