1. Two words someone else would use to describe me are hectic and mildly amusing.
2. My greatest professional influence is William Leuchtenburg, an early model as both a scholar and a teacher.
3. My fondest memory is my wedding day.
4. The last book I read was Will Blythe's To Hate Like This is to Be Happy Forever.
5. If I could have dinner with anyone living or dead it would be Mark Twain.
6. Three things I can't live without are my iPod, UNC basketball and HBO's "The Wire."
7. The most pressing issue facing the world is poverty.
8. The most important lesson I ever learned was things could always be worse.
9. My advice for those just starting out in this profession is, for better or worse, you'll be known by your first book. Make it a good one.
10. My motto is: "Do unto others..." It seems to hold up pretty well.
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