The Swerve
I picked up The Swerve to get closer to the Epicurean ideas of Lucretius. I expected an intellectual history. But Stephen Greenblatt’s book is not that. Or, it is not only that. It tells a very earthy story of how … Continued
This Is Not a History Book
THIS IS NOT A HISTORY BOOK. THIS IS A BOOK ABOUT THE HERE AND NOW. A BOOK ABOUT RACE. So the publisher announces on the back of Jason Reynolds‘ and Ibram X. Kendi’s Stamped. Jacqueline Woodson blurbs: “Stamped is the … Continued
Eddie Rickenbacker Makes War and Love on the Western Front
** Article published in World War I Illustrated, Spring 2021, No. 14: 4-10.** Edward Vernon Rickenbacker ensured his place in history with actions taken during a surprisingly brief stretch, from September 25 to November 11, 1918. True, the fourteen preceding years … Continued
History’s Gravity II
I took an uncharacteristically critical stance on Jason Fagone’s biography of Elizebeth Friedman. Until that post, I had avoided making critical comments of any of the works I chose to “review.” Perhaps I thought the author of a bestseller could … Continued
History’s Gravity
Chronology is history’s gravity. That’s what Jill Lepore said on her podcast. I took note. I sensed the truth of her words, yet I wondered, How are they true? Chronology is the force that holds narrative together? The force that draws … Continued
Hero and Goat
Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Ernest King “One thing that might help win this war is to get someone to shoot King,” remarked the normally unflappable Dwight Eisenhower. “He’s the antithesis of cooperation…, he’s a mental bully.” What’s more, said … Continued
Hero or Goat?
He might have been the hero of Midway, one of many, perhaps, but potentially the first among them, the one who made all the others possible. Commander Joseph Rochefort led the Station Hypo team of cryptanalysts, linguists, communications experts, and … Continued
Aggressive Resistance
Sometime around age fifty I felt the world beginning to pass me by. Technology was the catalyst. Facebook. Twitter. I wanted no part of them. The same, later, for Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok. I would catch my daughter or her … Continued
Will and Eddie
Happy Will Rogers Day! The boy who would grow up to become the beloved Cowboy Philosopher was born on this day, November 4, 1879. That year it was Election Day. In 2020, it is merely Aftermath Day. Rogers’s death day, … Continued
Black Sheep of the Family
** The first chapter from the newly released book, The Many Lives of Eddie Rickenbacker ** When he was about twelve years old, Eddie Rickenbacker tried to “fly” a bike off a barn roof. Not so far away, the Wright Brothers … Continued