Matthew Booker

Author Spotlight

Born in Berkeley, Matthew Booker was raised in rural western Sonoma County. He is the product of educational institutions including an inner-city nursery school, grades K-8 in a tiny rural school, a suburban Catholic high school, the University of California at Berkeley, Hindu College at the University of Delhi, the University of Oregon, the University of Washington, and Stanford University. Before, during and between schools, he worked with varying success as a farm laborer, bus driver, wine server, carpenter, Forest Service grunt, landscaper, tile-setter’s apprentice, title insurance examiner, field ecologist, and newspaper editor. Matthew taught environmental history at North Carolina State University for sixteen years, before joining the National Humanities Center in July 2020 as its Vice President for Scholarly Programs.

Featured Work

Down by the Bay: San Francisco’s History Between the Tides 

This is the first environmental history of San Francisco Bay. It treats the area as both a natural and a human space; as both estuary and city.

Humanity’s fate in the Bay Area has always been intertwined with that of San Francisco Bay. Successive waves of humans have altered the Bay irreversibly over the centuries. But the Bay has altered us too. It has influenced our commerce, our culture, and our worldview. Both the human past and future in this region are linked to the rising tides of San Francisco Bay.

San Francisco Bay hosts both a natural treasure and a great city. That combination makes this place so special and so important. At the core of the book is the question, who owns the bay? Who benefits from its riches, who shall have access to its beauty, and who will decide its future?

The book ends with current threats to San Francisco Bay, but also summarizes hopeful developments, in which artists, engineers, and scientists have teamed up to map a resilient future.

Purchase your very own copy of Down by the Bay from UC Press.

Featured Fun

Saturday, September 26, 2020 at 1:00PM – (Virtual) Ask an Author with Matthew Booker

Join us for an informal, 30-minute “Ask an Author” Q&A session with Matthew Booker, author of Down by the Bay: San Francisco’s History Between the Tides. This is the first environmental history of San Francisco Bay. It treats the area as both a natural and a human space; as both estuary and city.

Born in Berkeley, Matthew Booker was raised in rural western Sonoma County. He taught environmental history at North Carolina State University for sixteen years, before joining the National Humanities Center in July 2020 as its Vice President for Scholarly Programs.

This Event is Free but Pre-registration is required.