David M. Perry is an author, journalist, and historian. He is the author of The Public Scholar (John Hopkins University Press) and the co-author of Oathbreakers: The War of Brothers that Shattered an Empire and Made Medieval Europe and The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe, both from HarperCollins. The New York Times called Oathbreakers “A real-life Game of Thrones,” while The Boston Globe said The Bright Ages was “incandescent and ultimately intoxicating.”
Over the last few years, Perry’s work on history, parenting, disability, and politics has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, The Daily Beast, Smithsonian, Slate, CNN, and many others.
Perry was a professor of Medieval History at Dominican University from 2006-2017. His scholarly work focuses on Venice, the Crusades, and the Mediterranean World. He’s the author of Sacred Plunder: Venice and the Aftermath of the Fourth Crusade (Penn State University Press, 2015). Now he works for the University of Minnesota, convincing students that studying history is good for them and good for their careers (it is!).
Perry and his wife Shannon, a food scientist, live in the Twin Cities area. Together, they are raising two children, one of whom has Down syndrome. Perry also plays in a Midwestern Irish Rock band – Purgatory Creek. Lately, he’s obsessed with brisket and ribs and going fishing.
