My New BFF: R. Owen Williams

The current issue of Reviews in American History includes a review by R. Owen Williams of my book about the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson, Impeached.  I hasten to note that I have no recollection of ever meeting Mr. Williams, a Yale history Ph.D. and the new president of Transylvania University (no, that’s not where Dracula matriculated; I imagine President Williams will tire of that line pretty fast). 

Impeached.jpgIt turns out, however, that President Williams really liked the book, and was so generous as to say so in phrases that include:

  • “David O. Stewart has elegantly and engagingly recounted the saga of Johnson’s impeachment trial.”
  • “Stewart’s version of the impeachment surpasses all the rest; intended for an intelligent lay audience, it is a superb synthesis of existing scholarship and an insightful depiction of the Reconstruction’s frailties.” 
  • “Stewart is best, not surprisingly, when parsing Reconstruction’s legal conundrums, something he does in an unintimidating yet pedagogically forceful manner.”
  • “Stewart is always crisply informative.”
  • “As with every other aspect of the impeachment, Stewart is as cogent as he is compelling.”
  • “In all respects, this is a great story and Stewart is a masterful storyteller.”

Don’t you love this guy?  I sure do. 

BFF, dude.

 

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