Hi, I'm Larry Olmsted

Award-winning journalist, bestselling author, storyteller, global traveler, occasional public speaker, visiting professor, TV and radio presenter, and dog lover. You can learn more about my books below or visit the About Larry page to learn more about me.

Books

New Release!

The new book Fans takes a deep and fun dive into the world of sports fans to learn how being a fan impacts us, both individually and collectively as a nation (read more...).

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New York Times Bestseller!

From Seafood to Steaks, Cheese to Olive Oil, Spices to Honey, and much more, hardly a month goes by without another food scandal. But the world is still full of healthy and delicious Real Foods you can enjoy without worries.

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Did you know that the Guinness World Records is the bestselling copyrighted book in human history?

Did you know that it started as a promotional novelty giveaway for pubs and was launched by Ireland’s Guinness brewery?

Did you know that the Guinness World Records was the original precursor to “Reality TV” and social media celebrities?

I didn’t know any of these things, but years ago I heard an interesting story about GWR while in Ireland, and I was intrigued. My subsequent research led me to write this book, the colorful story behind the records and the social impact the book has had after more than half a century. It’s funny, it’s fascinating, it illuminates the human condition, it will bring back childhood memories for anyone who has read the book, and it is full of info on how record setting actually works. I personally set or broke three records as a result of this book, in golf, poker and skiing.

Getting Into Guinness: One Man’s Longest, Fastest, Highest, Journey Inside The World’s Most Famous Record Book does not have its own webpage, but it still makes for a fun read, and you can find it here.

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About Larry

The best career advice I've ever gotten was "Do What You Love."

The Stories Less Told

I love travel, food, adventure, skiing, golf, cycling, dogs, writing, teaching, and the fine art of conversation. Did I mention travel?

I am also naturally curious and love uncovering stuff, but especially stuff that hides in plain sight.

I’ve been a journalist for more than 25 years, and I’ve been pretty successful. I’ve won awards and have great outlets and as a result, I’ve had a lot of unforgettable experiences. But my secret is simple - I trade in good ideas. People want to learn things, and they want what they haven’t seen before. So, I look beyond the obvious.

I have been to London a lot of times, and there is a lot to write about in London, but you are probably familiar with afternoon tea, the changing of the guards, and fish & chips. But it also happens to rain a fair amount, and on one trip I discovered a very traditional manufacturer of custom umbrellas. The fact that this colorful, esoteric and niche shop could remain in business for so long fascinated me. It led me to write an article about the history of umbrellas for the excellent but now defunct US Airways Magazine. Unlike most story pitches, when I suggested it to my editor it wasn’t one he had turned down a dozen times before, so he said yes – probably out of shock.

I have published thousands and thousands of articles in newspapers, magazines and online, many of which I can’t even remember writing, but that remains one of my all-time favorites.

Umbrellas. Something we all know, but something most of us know nothing about.

That has become my thing.

We Want To Know What We Don't Know

If you go back to the home page you can read about my first “big” book, Getting Into Guinness . I remain very proud of it even though it didn’t sell well, because it hit those buttons. It took something everyone knows – after three decades of traveling around the globe and explaining myself, I have never ever met a single person in any culture who does know exactly what the Guinness records are - yet few know anything about them. Bingo.

Getting Into Guinness was inspired by a trip I took to Ireland to write an article about golf. My 2016 book Real Food, Fake Food: Why You Don’t Know What You’re Eating & What You Can Do About It, arose out of two trips I took close together, to Japan and Parma, Italy. Again, it was about what hides in plain sight – the dirty little secrets of America’s food industry and how consumers are often deceived, defrauded and potentially endangered by our lax labeling, underperforming enforcing agencies and greedy companies. But I’m a glass half full guy, so I took the approach of emphasizing the delicious while warning and educating against the garbage so readers could enjoy all the fantastic real food out there. I said I loved food and I meant it. That one was a New York Times hardcover bestseller, an audio book bestseller, a bestseller in Canada and has been published in both Japanese and Chinese. It remains popular because it remains relevant – it continues to tie into constantly emerging food scandals, and if there hasn’t been one for few months expect another soon. I gave a TEDx talk about the subject of which I am proud.

I have a wealth of public speaking experience, including more than a dozen appearances on national television and hundreds on the radio. My TEDx talk was to a live audience of over 5,000 and I have also spoken as a panelist at Austin’s South By Southwest (SXSW) conference, appeared live at several major Literary Festivals, and been hired to speak to social organizations and business groups. I have also been hired to speak at industry events in the food and travel sectors, and as an educational speaker at trade shows and conferences. I always try to make it fun, humorous and educational.

APPEARANCE INQUIRY

My newest book is on a very different topic, but a very similar theme. The world is full of sports fans – nearly 200 million Americans describe themselves as fans, part of the billions worldwide. More people are sports fans here than voted in the most voted Presidential election in history. Spectator sports are not just big in society, they are the biggest thing. But the spectator sports equation is comprised of two parts, fans and athletes, and fans are overwhelmingly the majority, far more than 99% of the participants in this endeavor. Yet almost everything ever written about sports has been about the athletes, teams or coaches. Fans hide in plain sight.

That’s why I spent the last 5+ years researching and writing Fans: How Watching Sports Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Understanding. It turns out that despite the sitcom stereotype of fat guys in team logo jerseys drinking beers and ignoring their families, sports fans are physically healthier, mentally healthier, happier, and more productive. In addition, sports fandom has played a fundamental role in making the world a better place, from the Civil Rights movement to political activism to international relations and the peace process. Sports fandom has helped topple totalitarian dictators and helped heal communities torn apart by terrorism or natural disaster. Talks about hiding in plain sight – even sports fans don’t realize how much they have to be grateful for.

When I’m not writing these books, I still love the travel, physical activity and the food. There is so much to see and do in the world that I hate to narrow it, but I am especially keen on African safaris, the truest Bucket List trip, natural wonders like Iguazu Falls or the Atacama Desert, and mountains, summer or winter. And Italy. And Japan. And Las Vegas. And a lot of other places.

Anyway, that's me in a nutshell, from my personal perspective. Here's the more formal version:

Larry Olmsted is an award-winning journalist and bestselling author who has published several books and thousands of articles for major newspapers and magazines worldwide over the past 25-plus years. As an undergraduate at Georgetown University he was named a George F. Baker Scholar, and after graduate school at Dartmouth College he was honored as the annual distinguished alum speaker for the Masters in Arts and Liberal Studies program. He taught non-fiction creative writing to graduate students as a Visiting Professor at Dartmouth, earning among the highest possible ratings from students. He personally broke or set three different Guinness World Records, in skiing, golf and poker. He was named one of the “10 Most Extreme U.S. Journalists,” by the Society of Professional Journalists and Travel Writer of the Year by the State of Mississippi.

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His last book, Real Food, Fake Food: Why You Don’t Know What You’re Eating & What You Can Do About It, was a New York Times hardcover bestseller, an audiobook bestseller, and a bestseller in Canada. It was named to Best Books of the Year lists by People Magazine, Outside Magazine, Apple iBooks and has been republished in several foreign languages.

Olmsted has been a long-term print columnist for two of America’s three national newspapers, Investor’s Business Daily and USA Today, and has written for many other prominent papers including the Financial Times, Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, Boston Globe, Denver Post, South China Post, and others. He currently writes one of the most popular digital columns for Forbes, is a regular contributor to USA Today and USAToday.com, and is a longtime contributing editor for Cigar Aficionado magazine. His other magazine work has included Playboy, Popular Science, Outside, Men’s Health, Inc., Worth, American Airlines’ American Way, United Airlines’ Hemispheres, US Airways Magazine, Robb Report, Golf Magazine, Mastercard Luxury, and dozens more.

He is a frequent guest expert who gave a TEDx talk, has been a panelist at Austin’s South by Southwest festival, and appears on television and radio shows including CBS This Morning, ESPN SportsCenter, Inside Edition, Dr. Oz, The Doctors, numerous network news shows and NPR radio.