Peter was best known for his coverage of international feature stories on science and the environment until he began conceiving of and producing “thinking peoples’ photography books” beginning in 1994 with his wife and co-author Faith D’Aluisio. Besides being published in National Geographic, his photos have appeared in just about every other magazine you read and then throw away. He has received several World Press and Picture of the Year awards and has co-authored seven award-winning books, most recently, What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets, with Faith D’Aluisio.
Faith, a former television news producer, is the editor and lead writer, editor, photo assistant, stylist, and IT wizard for the award-winning Material World Books series, an imprint of Ten Speed Press/Crown Books/Random House. Together they received the James Beard Foundation Award in 1999 for Best Book: Reference and Writing on Food, for Man Eating Bugs: The Art and Science of Eating Insects. In 2005 the James Beard Foundation awarded their book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats Best Book of the Year and Best Book: Reference and Writing on Food.
In 2011 their most recent book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets was awarded an IACP award.
Menzel and D’Aluisio are the co-creators of several other award-winning books — including Material World: A Global Family Portrait; and Robo sapiens: Evolution of a New Species. They are currently working on a book about death and death rituals around the world, which they hope to finish before they die.
Besides photographing and writing, the couple lecture, have numerous exhibits, lead workshops, and work hard not to twitter or tattle or tear each other’s hearts out.
They have worked in more than 80 countries without getting arrested; live in Napa, California, love wine and have no DUI's; and they are the parents of four adult sons: Josh, Jack, Adam and Evan — all of whom are taller, younger, smarter, better looking, and make more money than their parents.
