Teacher and Author
Uprooted by Albert Marrin breaks many of the “rules” that I have, correctly or not, picked up from other nonfiction writers–or perhaps mostly from my critique group. I have been discouraged from shifting out of the historical narrative to refer … Continued
I read John Rocco’s How We Got to the Moon this summer, 10-12 pages a day until I had read all 250. David McCauley calls it “Nothing short of stunning!” on the cover. He’s right. The book has a lot … Continued
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 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
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
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
Enoch Waters called his memoir American Diary. I admit to being confused by the title. I had chosen it mainly as a source of war reporting from the Pacific, especially from an African American correspondent for The Chicago Defender. I … Continued
Removing the statues of fallen heroes is one thing. Writing a thoroughly-researched, elegantly-written history that sets the record straight is another thing entirely. Brandon Miller’s 2019 biography of Robert E. Lee deserves praise for disentangling the man from the myth … Continued
“This is a big story,” says Steve Sheinkin at the start of Bomb: A Race to Build–and Steal–the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon (Roaring Brook Press, 2012). Indeed. For those, like me, who came of age in the late seventies … Continued