Book a talk

Since 1985 David has been presenting slide shows (now PowerPoint) to hundreds of historical societies, libraries, civic groups, and other organizations, including The Boston Athenaeum, Boston Public Library, Concord Historical Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, the Old South Meeting House in Boston, the Society of Colonial Wars in Boston.  

 Based on David's two books on Scollay Square (Always Something Doing and Scollay Square) this rollicking slide show takes the audience to the part of Boston where everyone went - but few admitted it! From John Winthrop, (who settled here in 1630) to Sally Keith (who entertained here in the 1940s and 1950s) to Government Center today, this show will surprise you with tales of Revolutionary War heroism, scientific breakthroughs, and Civil War courage - all in the same place where a hot dog stand and a burlesque theater made truants of all New England. 

In this slide show, David brings Law & Order to Boston by presenting three high-profile cases from three eras of the city's history: The Boston Massacre, The Parkman Murder, and the Boston Strangler.  Together, we'll look at the crime (or crimes), follow the investigation, and finish in court, where we will argue the case and hear the verdict. 

A look at the history of fires in Boston, from the many "great" fires in the city's early years to the truly Great Fire of 1872,, the Cocoanut Grove tragedy of 1942, and the Hotel Vendome fire of 1972 which resulted in the deaths of nine brave fire fighters.  How did these fires happen? What was learned to try prevent similar catastrophes?

Based on his research for his musical, David takes us to the roots of Boston baseball, when, just like today, the team captured the hearts of the people of Boston. We will look back at the real story behind Harry Frazee and his sale of slugger Babe Ruth.  Relive the (sometimes frustrating) saga of the Boston Red Sox and their ultimately successful struggle for a World Series championship. 

It's the road we love to hate. This talk, based on David's 2003 book, Building Route 128 (co-written with Yanni Tsipis) tells how one man’s vision became the catalyst for the fantastic growth around the highway - which led, inexorably,  to the hate we all have for the highway (but have no choice but to use.) Buckle up!

Long before Bernie Madoff a man named Charles Ponzi engineered the greatest pyramid scheme of them all, one so great that from his time forward it would bare his name. And he did it here in Boston, right under the noses of suspicious Yankees and normally inquisitive newspapermen. Relive the days of Boston's most outrageous rogue in this outrageous talk.

David, a former Big Dig spokesperson, will tell the WHOLE story of of country's most expensive construction job. How Boston, straining for space to grow, cut down hills and filled in swamps and widened streets until the city was stalled in perpetual gridlock, Then we will journey deep inside the project's tunnels and soar high above the towers of Boston's stunning new bridge over the Charles River, and learn about the amazing technological advances used to build this monstrous project in a working city. And yes, and how the price climbed to a reported $22 billion. Whether you're interested in Boston history, a fan of technology, or just an angry taxpayer who wants to see the actual hole into which the government dumped your money, this is a must-see show. 

The doubts have been around for over 300 years. How could William Shakespeare - a man who never sailed - have written with such accuracy about sailing in The Tempest? Or how - without studying law - could he have written with such insight about lawyers, courts and legal issues, in plays such as Henry IV? Or how - without ever serving in the military - written so splendidly of the rigors and technical aspects of war as he did in Hamlet? That he couldn't and didn't is a fascinating concept that has amused many, tantalized others, and consumed the lives of a few, including a Boston man who, in 1916, went to court to prove that someone other than Shakespeare wrote all those great works. Before you laugh… he won the case.  Hear the story of one man's search for the "real" author of the works attributed to William Shakespeare and how - in a stunning piece of historical irony - that search played a role in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor!