Bestselling author to discuss his journey into America's history

EUGENE, Ore. -- (April 22, 2009) - On a trip to Plymouth Rock, Tony Horwitz realized he had no idea what happened between the time Columbus landed in North America in 1492 and the arrival of the Pilgrims in 1620. So the best-selling and Pulitzer Prize-winning author set out to rediscover a time when Europeans roamed the New World and find out happened during the 128 years few Americans learned or remember from history class.

Horwitz's book, "A Voyage Long and Strange," not only delves into the history that starts long before Columbus, but is also a tale of his own exploration into the past. He visited an Indian sweat lodge in subarctic Canada, traveled down the Mississippi in a canoe and wore 60 pounds of armor as a conquistador reenactor in Florida.

Horwitz will discuss his book and journey during "HiSTORYtelling: Reviving the Past" at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 7, at the University of Oregon. He is the 2009 speaker for the Johnston Lecture offered by the UO School of Journalism and Communication. The lecture is in room 177 of Lawrence Hall, 1190 Franklin Blvd., and will be followed by a book signing.

In addition to "A Voyage Long and Strange," which will be released April 28 by Macmillan, Horwitz has written "Baghdad Without a Map," "Confederates in the Attic," and "Blue Latitudes." He has worked as a war correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and as a staff writer for The New Yorker. He won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting for a series about working conditions in low-wage America.

"Tony Horwitz is, in a word, brilliant," said Lauren Kessler, literary nonfiction director at UO School of Journalism and Communication. "His best-selling books are deeply, thoughtfully, insightfully researched. And, as if that's not enough, they are also wild, rollicking reads...a pleasure from cover to cover, the kind of books that both make you smarter and make you laugh. And make you marvel at the skill of the storyteller."

The Richard W. Johnston Memorial Project

The program honors Dick Johnston, a magazine editor, writer and war correspondent who dedicated his life to quality journalism. The program was started with donations from Johnston's widow, Laurie, George E. Jones of U.S. News and Word Report, and the Correspondents Fund. Johnston was a 1936 graduate of the UO School of Journalism and Communication and began his career working as a news reporter for the Register Guard and the Eugene Daily News during the Great Depression. He went to Portland with United Press and during WWII had a distinguished career as a correspondent in the Pacific theater. He is best known for founding and shaping Sports Illustrated, where he served as executive editor until his death in 1981.

The project brings professionals to the SOJC for lectures, workshops and collaborative discussions with students, faculty members and community members.

###