Current developments
The Amendment Fetish: The Problem of the States
The swelling Tea Party movement embodies a fascinating contradiction. Its leaders profess a near-religious awe for the U.S. Constitution. This has led to stunts like the reading of the Constitution on the floor of the House of Representatives. Should it also lead to greater sales for The Summer of 1787, I will be hard-pressed to complain. …
Read MoreAaron Burr Leaves the Senate
The Washington Post ran a piece on Saturday about how current senators ignore the deeply-felt farewell addresses of their departing colleagues. Having just completed my manuscript about Aaron Burr’s Western expedition, which will be published next fall — American Emperor: Aaron Burr’s Challenge to Jefferson’s America — I was reminded of Burr’s emotional departure from the Senate in…
Read MoreWashington Independent Review of Books
On Saturday morning, December 4, you can join an effort to help preserve and extend the culture of books and reading. We will hold an organizational meeting at 9:30 a.m. for the Washington Independent Review of Books, an online publication scheduled to launch in late January. We will meet at the office of American Independent…
Read More"The Summer of 1787" and the Middle Kingdom
The capitalist tilt in China continues! ANA Beijing has agreed to publish The Summer of 1787 in a Chinese language edition. Though I am optimistic that this development presages a new dawn of freedom and democracy in the Far East, candor compels me to disclose that the initial print run will only be 3,000 volumes. …
Read MoreAre You Ready for Some Sesquicentennial?
It may end up seeming as long as the Civil War itself. We are warming up for the extended observance of the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States. (“Celebration” seems the wrong word when talking of an event that killed 600,000 Americans.) Today my gastroenterologist — yes, I have one, don’t you? — engaged me in…
Read MoreHistorians at the Helm
As I read (really, listened to as a book-on-CD) a recent short biography of Winston Churchill by Paul Johnson, I found myself thinking about the two historian-leaders of the modern era in the West — Churchill and Theodore Roosevelt. Both were remarkable leaders and remarkable historians. Churchill’s lifelong output of the written word was, according…
Read MoreJudge Porteous in Trouble
I just wrote about the final witness in the Senate committee proceedings for the impeachment of Judge G. Thomas Porteous of New Orleans. Not a good way for the judge to end his presentation.
Read MoreNot for 21 years
On Monday morning, September 13, the Senate Impeachment Trial Committee is supposed to begin its evidentiary hearing about whether to remove District Judge G. Thomas Porteous from office. It is 21 years since the last impeachment trial before a Senate committee, for which I was the lead defense lawyer. It involved Judge Walter L. Nixon, Jr. of…
Read MoreFinally: "The Summer of 1787" in Arabic!
The Kalima Project, an Abu Dhabi organization which translates Western works into Arabic in order increase understanding between the Western and Muslim worlds, has just announced its publication of The Summer of 1787 in Arabic translation. Extremely cool.
Read MoreStart-up: New On-line Book Review
In September, the AIW Freedom to Write Fund will attempt to organize and launch an on-line book review. We need web designers, editors, enthusiastic readers, and — of course — reviewers. The following notice went out to late last week to invite participants. A message to all AIW Members from David Stewart, President of the…
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