In memoriam: Bill Freudenburg

We're deeply saddened to have to announce the death of our author William Freudenburg, who died on December 28 at his home in Santa Barbara after a long battle with cancer. He was 59.

Especially painful is the fact that only months ago we published Bill's first book with us: Blowout in the Gulf: The BP Oil Spill Disaster and the Future of Energy in America. In the aftermath of the explosion of the BP well, Freudenburg and coauthor Robert Gramling - both well-known energy experts - quickly wrote up their diagnosis of the regulatory failures that led, almost inevitably, to the disaster, and added their prescription for a better and saner U.S. energy policy. We published the book quickly - and proudly. And we're deeply sorry that we won't get the opportunity to do more with Bill.

A public memorial service will be held January 22 at the University of California Santa Barbara, where Bill had taught since 2002. A public lecture that he gave about the oil spill about a month before his death is here. Much more about Bill - including a bio, stories, and pictures - is at a website set up by his family in his memory.

He will be missed.