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"The Promised Land"--Obama's first four years as President
Book Review: "The Promised Land" by Barak Obama Reading "The Promised Land" by Barak Obamana is tantamount to taking a semester of...
Aug 29, 202410 min read
GRANT'S MASTERPIECE
I have read several books about the Civil War, but "Vicksburg" by Donald L. Miller, is the absolute best. In fact, if you want to...
Aug 17, 202414 min read
John Adams v. Thomas Jefferson on the Fourth of July
THEY WERE THE ODD COUPLE of the American Revolution: John Adams, short, stout, emotional, impatient, vain, highly opinionated, and...
Jun 27, 202412 min read
book review--Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism Not Textualism, by Stephen Breyer
Stephen Breyer, served as a Justice on the Supreme Court for 28 years (1994-2022). He has written nine books about the law; this is his...
Jun 7, 20249 min read
GEORGE WASHINGTON, HEDGEHOG EXTRAORDINAIRE
George Washington, a hedgehog? You bet. You've heard the old adage, "The fox knows many little things, but the hedgehog knows One Big...
May 30, 20242 min read
The Search for Truth
The most quoted book at the 1789 Constitutional Convention was the King James Bible. Indeed, the very ideals that exalted the Declaration...
May 18, 20246 min read
THE SURVIVORS OF CLOTILDA SLAVE SHIP
The Clotilda was the last known U.S. slave ship to bring captives from Africa to the United States, arriving in Mobile Bay, July 9, 1860...
May 17, 20245 min read
Washington in New York -- chs 27, 28 & Epilogue
CHAPTER 27: TRANSITION TO PHILADELPIA The Masters-Penn-Morris House at 190 Market Street in Philadelphia seemed palatial to George...
Apr 26, 202421 min read
Washington in New York -- chs 24 - 26
CHAPTER 24: WASHINGTON D.C., THE ANTI-CITY Thomas Jefferson hated cities. Oh, he loved what they had to offer--fine food and drink, fine...
Apr 25, 202424 min read
Washington in New York -- chs 21, 22 & 23
CHAPTER 21: “THE MOST BITTER AND ANGRY CONTEST" Thomas Jefferson arrived quietly in New York City on Sunday, February 21, and booked...
Apr 23, 202424 min read
Washington in New York -- chs 19 & 20
CHAPTER 19: FRANKLIN'S LAST PUBLIC ACT On his 58th birthday, George Washington supervised the move across town to his new residence, at...
Apr 20, 202425 min read
Washington in New York -- chs 17 & 18
CHAPTER 17: THE PRICE OF LIBERTY The day after George Washington delivered the State of the Union Address, Alexander Hamilton informed...
Apr 16, 202425 min read
Washington in New York -- Chs 13-16
CHAPTER 13: GEORGE WASHINGTON SLEPT HERE If you’re staying at a bed-and-breakfast in New England and the sign over the door reads,...
Apr 14, 202435 min read
Washington in New York -- chs 10, 11 & 12
CHAPTER 10: THE PEOPLE'S CHAMPION “A Complete Revolution In France.” That was the headline of the New York Daily Gazette, of September...
Apr 13, 202425 min read
Washington in New York -- chs 6 & 7
CHAPTER 6: RUMORS New York City was a hotbed of rumors in the spring and summer of 1789. The most persistent rumor was that a second...
Mar 25, 202420 min read
Washington in New York -- Chs 4 & 5
CHAPTER 4: UNTRODDEN GROUND It seemed too good to be true. Alexander Hamilton’s two great passions in life--politics and economics--were...
Feb 27, 202422 min read
Ben Franklin, Wit, Sage, and the Best American never elected president
We all remember Benjamin Franklin as a printer and newspaper publisher; as a wise, bespectacled American sage, who flew a kite and...
Feb 22, 20248 min read
Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen days to Washington
What this book does masterfully well is show how the president-elect Abraham Lincoln shored up northern morale in preparation for the...
Jan 30, 20246 min read
Our 44th President: Barak Obama (2009-2016)
Elected to office in 2008, Barak Obama was our nation's first African-American president. As such, he faced continued opposition,...
Jan 30, 20244 min read
George Washington's Coronation
The day the House of Representatives achieved a quorum, on April 1, 1789, George Washington wrote to a friend: “(I feel) that my movement...
Jan 23, 202410 min read
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