Thomas Standage

Tom Standage grew up in London, where his parents encouraged him to study history, science, and English literature. He then studied at Oxford University, one of the world’s most prestigious colleges. Afterward graduating from Oxford with a degree in computer science, Standage took a number of freelancing jobs for British magazines and newspapers, including The Economist and The Guardian. Standage focused on 19th century history, particularly that of America and the U.K. In 1998 he published his first successful book, The Victorian Internet. At a time when intellectuals and journalists were falling over themselves to praise the newly-popular Internet for changing the way the world works, Standage offered a droller and more cynical conclusion: while the Internet was an impressive step forward for mankind, it was a modest achievement when compared with the invention of the electric telegraph more than a century before. On the strength of The Victorian Internet, Standage was able to devote himself to writing more provocative book-length essays. In 2005, he published A History of the World in Six Glasses, in which he proposed that the history of mankind could be told by studying the most popular beverages during different historical eras. Standage has published five other works of nonfiction, and currently serves as deputy editor for The Economist, the magazine to which he’s been contributing for more than 20 years.