A Milwaukee-born writer and historian, John Gurda has been studying his hometown since 1972. The author of twenty-three books, including histories of Milwaukee-area neighborhoods, industries, and places of worship, Gurda’s most ambitious efforts are The Making of Milwaukee, the first full-length history of the community published since 1948 and Milwaukee: City of Neighborhoods. The Making of Milwaukee was the basis for an Emmy Award-winning documentary series that premiered on Milwaukee Public Television in 2006. Gurda is a lecturer, tour guide, and long-time local history columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. His undergraduate degree is a B.A. in English from Boston College, and he holds an M.A. in Cultural Geography and an honorary Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.