Conan Doyle and the Tax Man

I’m thoroughly enjoying a biography of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, by Dan Stashower:  Teller of Tales.  Stashower reveals the source of Holmes’ uncanny ability to deduce a person’s biography in the first meeting him or her, solely by close observation of appearance:  Conan Doyle had a professor in medical school at the University of Edinburgh who had that…

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Professor Wood Challenges His Colleagues

In his rave review of the new biography of George Washington by Ron Chernow, Gordon Wood, now an emeritus professor at Brown University, gives (polite) vent to his frustration with his fellow academic historians.  The history professoriate, he explains in the upcoming issue of the New York Review of Books, increasingly writes for itself, and…

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Teddy the Historian-President

Books about Theodore Roosevelt are booming these days, including the third volume of Edmund Morris’ biography, the immense treatment of Roosevelt’s conservation record by Douglas Brinkley, and a volume (forthcoming at an undetermined date) from Doris Kearns Goodwin.  Indeed, in May Smithsonian Press issued a heavily edited version of TR’s own History of the United States.  Roosevelt, as the…

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Historians 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…

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Start-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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Say Hello to Matt Stewart's "The French Revolution"!

On Bastille Day (that’s Wednesday, July 14), the newest Stewart literary triumph takes to the bookshelves — Matt Stewart’s debut novel, The French Revolution, will officially launch.  OK, I’m only slightly biased, since he is my son, but it’s a terrific read, and I hope you will check it out.  I stress, however, that although I…

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"Impeached" in Paperback

On Tuesday, May 15, Simon & Schuster will officially release the paperback edition of Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln’s Legacy.  Although Amazon has been selling the paperback version for several days, with any luck the new release will be available in stores soonest.     At this point in the life…

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Chestertown

For the next two months, I will be in Chestertown on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, as part of the Hodson Trust-John Carter Brown Fellowship.  The deal involves living in a 1730s-era home (restored, of course), access to the resources of Washington College, a stipend, and . . . finishing my book on the Western…

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How Would You Change the Constitution?

With the anniversary of the beginning of the Constitutional Convention drawing nigh (May 25), I started thinking about ways in which we should be changing the Constitution.  I posted a first cut on that today at Huffington Post.

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Who's Checking the Facts?

My question is prompted by a recent book out about General James Wilkinson — An Artist in Treason, by Andro Linklater.  It just received a respectful review from NPR, which absolutely baffles me. Wilkinson is a worthy subject for a book.  He was the general-in-chief of the U.S. Army from 1797 (or so) to about 1808.  He…

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