I seem to have stirred up a partisan hornet’s nest with a piece on Politico.com this morning, wondering whether Aaron Burr and Dick Cheney should be deemed our “most notorious VP.”  (Hint:  Cheney wins.)

American Emperor got a sweet review as a “gripping new book” from Jeff Ayers of the Associated Press.  So far, the review has been picked up by outlets in Oregon, Winnipeg (very open-minded, those Canadians), San Diego, and Staten Island (My Home Town).  Mr. Ayers continued:

“Stewart weaves a compelling tale of a man who is hard to understand . . . . [T]he years Stewart covers reveals more to the man than just the survivor of a duel.  American Emperor is fascinating, surprising and a good read.”

Other highlights of the week:

• A splendid review and consideration of Burr by Stanley Nelson in the Concordia Sentinel in Louisiana.  I’m on record as an admirer of Stanley, who is a great student of history, so I prize his generous words.
• A stimulating online interview with Bill Thompson of eyeonbooks.com.  (My interview is the one after Umberto Eco’s;  pretty fast company.)
• A book talk at Montgomery College last night, hosted by Prof. Lee Annis, who has written a biography of Sen. Howard Baker of Tennessee and is busy unearthing secrets about Sen. James O. Eastland of Mississippi for another biography.
• A non-Burr piece on Huffington Post speculating on the surprising parallels between President Obama and . . . Richard Nixon!

This evening should be fun.  I will be acting as Master of Ceremonies for a mock trial of Burr at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, which is hosted by the Appellate Judges Education Institute.  We have distinguished counsel for both prosecution and defense, a gaudy bench (Judges Andrew Effron, David Sentelle, and Royce Lamberth, and there even is a rumor that Burr might just show up. . . .