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Clay Risen

Biography

Clay Risen

Clay Risen is the deputy op-ed editor at The New York Times and the award-nominated author of THE CROWDED HOUR; SINGLE MALT: A Guide to the Whiskies of Scotland; THE BILL OF THE CENTURY: The Epic Battle for the Civil Rights Act; the bestselling AMERICAN WHISKEY, BOURBON AND RYE: A Guide to the Nation’s Favorite Spirit; and A NATION ON FIRE: America in the Wake of the King Assassination. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children.

Clay Risen

Books by Clay Risen

The Crowded Hour: Theodore Roosevelt, the Rough Riders, and the Dawn of the American Century
by Clay Risen - History, Nonfiction

When America declared war on Spain in 1898, the US Army had just 26,000 men spread around the country --- hardly an army at all. In desperation, the Rough Riders were born. A unique group of volunteers, ranging from Ivy League athletes to Arizona cowboys and led by Theodore Roosevelt, they helped secure victory in Cuba in a series of gripping, bloody fights across the island. Roosevelt called their charge in the Battle of San Juan Hill his “crowded hour” --- a turning point in his life, one that led directly to the White House. As THE CROWDED HOUR reveals, it was a turning point for America as well, uniting the country and ushering in a new era of global power.

The Bill of the Century: The Epic Battle for the Civil Rights Act
by Clay Risen - History, Nonfiction

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the single most important piece of legislation passed by Congress in American history. The bill's passage often has been credited to the political leadership of President Lyndon Johnson, or the moral force of Martin Luther King. Yet, as Clay Risen shows, the battle for the Civil Rights Act was a story much bigger than those two men. It was a broad, epic struggle, a sweeping tale of unceasing grassroots activism, ringing speeches, backroom deal-making and hand-to-hand legislative combat.

American Whiskey, Bourbon & Rye
by Clay Risen

The number of commercially available American whiskeys has grown exponentially over the past 20 years-as has its popularity. Discerning drinkers will savor this, the only guide devoted solely to US-made whiskey, rye, and bourbon.