What if the Confederate army had moved on Washington, DC after their victory at the first battle of Bull Run? I could give many examples of how history turned on a snap decision, a quirk, a timely death, a misunderstanding, or just dumb luck. One of my favorite history books is appropriately entitled What If?
Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. The Hunger Games never sounded like my kind of literature. Yet I couldn’t help noticing the popularity of the books and movies, and the more I thought about it, the more the story’s premise became so repulsive it became intriguing. How to write something like this? Someday I would have to
If you are following the refugee crisis in Europe and are concerned, there is an easy way to help. A man named David Altmayer has designed an online map that shows where the refugee camps are and what is needed at each camp. It also describes the situation at each location and provides contact information.
“If a logger smiles in the forest with no one around to see him, was he actually happy?” — Jerry Adler One of our most effective forms of communication is non-verbal. I have a $1.50 paperback on my shelf from 1970 entitled Body Language. So it should be no surprise to hear that people
Word meanings can have fascinating histories. For example, the heavily armored vehicle was named a “tank” to disguise its true purpose. There are oil tanks, water tanks, etc, so who would expect one that moves and shoots back? Here’s a more contemporary example. Why are unmanned aircraft called drones? I found one explanation in the
The holidays are a good time to remember worthy charities. So, in addition to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we have Giving Tuesday, the “day for giving back.” (http://www.givingtuesday.org/) Yes, I do have my favorite charities. If you don’t, allow me to make some suggestions. First, do some homework. Several organizations rate charities; I subscribe
Why do almost all of the historical romance novels seem to be set in the South and West? And usually during the time of the Civil War? This weekend I met a personable young lady named Jeanette Watts who is trying to change that. She has written a historical novel about life among the privileged
Happy Thanksgiving! This is from the “I wish I’d written that” department — a Thanksgiving poem by Jack Prelutsky. The Turkey Shot Out Of The Oven The turkey shot out of the ovenand rocketed into the air,it knocked every plate off the tableand partly demolished a chair. It ricocheted into a cornerand burst with
A major nation’s use of power is always an interesting topic, and seems especially relevant in this day and age. That’s why I found the book The Savage Wars of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power fascinating. The book begins with the wars against the Barbary pirates in 1801 and continues
Yesterday I mentioned some obsolete words associated with slavery. Today I have another one. It didn’t used to be easy to travel through a segregated country when you were a minority. So in 1936 an enterprising postal worker named Victor Hugo Green began publishing a guide for black travelers. Originally called the Negro Motorist Green Book,