Current developments
Nazi Fatigue
I need a break from Nazis, Nazism, SS officers, concentration camps, swastikas, and the crazy guy with the toothbrush mustache. Yeah, this guy. They’re all powerful symbols, with…
Read MoreMadison on TV: August 1814
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the slick trailer just posted for a new TV documentary on Madison’s flight from Washington in August 1814, one jump ahead of British troops victorious…
Read MoreWhat's so bad about saying you were wrong?
I recently became fed up with the media reports about the presidential candidates and their “flip-flopping” on various issues. For the rest of us, changing our mind is often described…
Read MoreDanger: Constitutional Convention Ahead?
I’ve got a piece today in the Baltimore Sun, warning of the dangers of a second constitutional convention, which a shocking number of state legislatures are proposing willy-nilly. They need to stop…
Read MoreBooks and (Semi) Mass Media
Having published my book on James Madison last month (Madison’s Gift), I share one trait with most authors of a recently-released book: A wistful desire that great chunks of the…
Read MoreThe Emerging Indian Colossus
A 10-day visit to India this month kindled thoughts about a part of the world I have known only through novels and Merchant/Ivory movies. The ambitions and dreams of the…
Read MoreOne Perilous Joy of the Season
I vividly recall the Christmas morning. My father opened the book I had carefully picked out for him. I hadn’t read it, but I thought it would be perfect for…
Read MoreFive Books on Impeachment
The conservative-inspired “Impeach Obama” campaign will wax and wane over the next two political years, a weird residue of the benighted effort to impeach President Bill Clinton fifteen years ago.…
Read MoreWWI: Who was the enemy?
As the World War I centennial continues to gear up, and as I slouch to the end of my novel on the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, I have stumbled…
Read MoreFear of the Shallows
Looking back over the year just ended, I am struck by the proliferation of door-stopper books. This phenomenon — which afflicted both fiction and non-fiction — emerged in many of…
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