A dashing middle-aged writer is wearing yellow sunglasses and standing in front of a Waffle House in Mississppi.

Hello.

I’m a writer focusing on travel, food, history, cultural commentary, and personal narratives.

My most recent book is The Not-Quite States of America, a history-rich travelogue about the U.S. territories/colonies (W.W. Norton), which Smithsonian named one of the top ten travel books of 2017.

I run the newsletter Snack Stack, where I explore history, culture, politics, and science through the subject of snacks.

I live in Minneapolis and tweet @douglasmack.


Recent Work
(See more in the
Writing section)

amsam.jpg

The Not-Quite States of America

A history-rich travelogue about the U.S. territories. Published by W. W. Norton. Named one of the Ten Best Travel Books of the Year by Smithsonian. More here.

diner+entrance.jpg

Interpreting America at the Minsk Book Fair

In February 2020, just before the world changed in so many ways, I went to Minsk to represent (and attempt to explain) the USA at a book fair. Read it on LitHub.

image.jpg

A Brief History of the Trump Country Diner

A deep-dive history and analysis of political journalists’ love of diners and the way their diner stories distort reality. Read it on The Counter.