"Tears of the Mermaid", his book about the history of pearls and the people who collect, trade, sell, and obsess over them, was published by St. Martin's Press in 2009.In December 2011, Bloom wrote an essay entitled "Observations From 20 Years of Iowa Life" for "The Atlantic", characterizing Iowans in terms of his assessment of economic and social challenges facing the state, and questioning whether Iowa's status as the first-in-the-nation caucus is justified.