Marty Essen
Marty Essen is an American naturalist, author, photographer, and professional speaker. He has written six books, "Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents," "Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico," "Time Is Irreverent," "Time Is Irreverent 2: Jesus Christ, Not Again!" "Time Is Irreverent 3: Gone for 16 Seconds," and "Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer."" Early life. Essen was born in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. He attended Duluth East High School and University of Minnesota Duluth. Career. Essen worked as a radio announcer  at WEBC-AM and KQDS-FM. In 1982, he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he ran two music talent management agencies, National Talent Associates and Twin City Talent. In 1996, Essen moved to Victor, Montana to found Essen Communications Corporation, a local telephone company, and later became an author and a college speaker. His first book, "Cool Creatures, Hot Planet", became a "Minneapolis Star-Tribune" Top-10 Green Book. He performs a live college show, "Around the World in 90 Minutes," based on "Cool Creatures, Hot Planet". One adventure, documented in both his first book and his live show, is surviving  a hippo attack in Zimbabwe. Essen's nature photography is featured prominently in his books and live show. His outdoor photographs are also in Deb Essen's book, "Easy Weaving with Supplemental Warps: Overshot, Velvet, Shibori, and More". Magazines publishing his photos include "Reptiles Magazine" and "Handwoven Magazine". Essen's third book, "Time Is Irreverent," is a science-fiction political-comedy. Personal life. Essen resides in Victor, Montana and is married to weaving designer and author Deb Essen. Live Shows. Essen has been touring the United States, performing "Around the World in 90 Minutes", at hundreds of colleges since 2007