When you were a kid, did you ever play pirates and draw a treasure map purely from your imagination? Adults do that, too. If you are a writer, fictional map-making can be the key to your story, as in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. Or it can be an important embellishment, like Harry Potter’s Marauder’s
I hope we never find intelligent alien life in the cosmos. Granted, it would be exciting, especially to science fiction buffs to see how accurate our imaginations were. But even within our own galaxy, the distances are vast and we don’t have the technology to make travel practical. So if there was contact, they would
The subject of paying reparations for slavery has been raised periodically ever since the end of the Civil War. This was in the back of my mind when I recently read about a very unusual court case, Wood v. Ward, in which a former slave sued for reparations… and won. The details are pretty complicated.
What children’s books do you remember? These books are some of our first memories of life, and a great way to prepare for the challenges ahead. I’ve always admired Dr. Seuss. I still enjoy reading his work, and sharing them with kids. In fact, I’m writing children’s books now myself, as you can see elsewhere
For my entire life I have been a collector — of Disney, books, games and general memorabilia. In fact, hoarder might be a more accurate description. Now that I’m officially old, as into my seventh decade, I know all this stuff will have to be dealt with someday. My worst nightmare is knowing at some
One benefit of studying history is the unusual stories you run across. Especially those involving exceptional bravery. I’ve found another one. Witold Pilecki was a Polish cavalry officer turned resistance fighter in World War II. On September 19, 1940, he went out during a Warsaw street round-up with a specific purpose — to get arrested
As a history nerd, I know that immigration has frequently been a sticky issue in this country. I have occasionally written about this in the past, like discussing the book American Intolerance: Our Dark History of Demonizing Immigrants by Robert E. Bartholomew and Anja E. Reumschussel (http://www.bobwelbaum-author.com/xenophobia-continued/). So what could be worse than demonizing people
Summertime! When we’re supposed to read books, especially if we are still in school. At least that what we’re told; every newspaper and current-events publication I read has published a summer reading list. So how to choose? I think I’ve found a solution. The Washington Post has published a list entitled The Best Books to
When I was growing up, the world was obsessed with apocalyptic nuclear war. (You may remember the quote — “I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones” — usually attributed to Albert Einstein). We all survived the Cold War,
Few would consider Herbert Hoover a successful president; his name has become synonymous with the Great Depression. But knowing full well that much of history never makes it into your average history book, I decided to get a good biography and see for myself, especially since I’d recently finished reading about Woodrow Wilson and the