Bryant Simon is the Laura H. Carnell Professor of History and the academic chair of the honors program at Temple University. He is the author most recently of The Hamlet Fire: The Tragic Story of Cheap Food, Cheap Government, and Cheap Lives, as well as Everything but the Coffee: Learning about America from Starbucks. He is a regular guest on the History Channel and a contributor to outlets like the New York Daily News, Washington Post, and Philadelphia Inquirer. Simon splits his time between Philadelphia and the Jersey Shore.