American History 3/3

Two Books, Two Cities

Below are two book reviews I wrote for amazon.com. The first book is about New York City under Dutch rule, the second is about the making...

A Gateway to the West

George Washington must have had an exceptional imagination. How else to explain his decision to lead an army of green farm boys against...

The White House—A History in Five Minutes

The White House is a symbol of America, democracy and freedom. While it has changed significantly over the past 215 years, it remains...

Lincoln dignified the trade of politician like few others

Stephen Spielberg’s 2013 movie “Lincoln” is as much about the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment as it is about the man. This is a good...

The Washington Monument

It’s the most famous room in the world. It’s where Presidents address the nation, especially in times of crisis. It’s the room where...

The Spirit of '76

Why did the American Revolution succeed while so many revolutions that followed result in so much bloodletting? The answer is not that...

The Second Great Awakening

Tents going up on the edge of town. Overflowing crowds and preachers shouting fire and brimstone, and everyone half-expecting the skies...

The Great Awakening

It was after the American Revolution, after everything had been settled and the future of the new republic looked promising. Thomas...

An Evening to Remember

If you ever dreamed of spending an evening chatting with one the Founding Fathers, have I got a book for you. The title sounds academic...

How Lincoln won the War with Words

Washington D.C., March 4, 1861 -- Imagine the man being administered the Presidential oath is not Abraham Lincoln but Jefferson Davis....

How the Scots Invented the United States

The Scots invented the United States. The Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, the free-market economy:...

George Washington Spends Christmas in New York

Saturday, December 12, 1789 -- A coach departs the Executive Mansion at 1 Cherry Street in New York City and heads into the farm country...

Mr. Jefferson Builds His Dream House

It was not the Monticello we know today. The house Thomas Jefferson returned to in 1789--after four years in France--was not that much...