Thomas J. Schlereth teaches cultural history in the departments of American Studies and History. He has authored and co-authored 12 books on aspects of America and its intellectual thought and attitudes toward nature. These include Victorian America: Transformations in Everyday Life, 1876-1915, which was a national Book-of-the-Month Club selection, and a study in landscape architecture entitled Reading The Road. His current research/writing projects include a study in art and architecture history called The Art of American Architecture and another titled Keepers of Trees: A Cultural History of Arboreta in North America. The latter embodies his interest in the cultural, landscape, and scientific history of arboretums in North America. Schlereth frequently serves as a consultant to history museums and for PBS on the American Experience series. He lives with his wife and son in northeast St. Joseph County where they raise Hereford cattle, Newfoundland dogs, Finn sheep, and conifers.