The phone rang. The caller ID flashed, showing one of Boston’s two major newspapers. I figured it was the sales department. I handed the phone to Marilyn. I heard Marilyn respond “yes” several times and was puzzled. We didn’t need… Read More ›
history
The Hidden Halls of the Saxon Kings
Northumberland is positively dripping with medieval history, and every period of the thousand years following the departure of the Romans around 410 AD has left its mark on the land. Some of these historical legacies, however, are far less obvious…
HOW EASY IS IT TO “FAKE” HISTORY? by SEAN MUNGER
The malleable past: How easy is it to “fake” history? – Sean Munger Denial of certain historical facts involves a misconception of what history is and how it works. On the previous incarnation of my history blog, in December 2013,… Read More ›
AFGHANISTAN: ANOTHER HISTORY LESSON FROM WHICH WE FAILED TO LEARN by SEAN MUNGER
We were doomed to fail in Afghanistan because we had no idea what we were really doing there. Yesterday, August 15, 2021, the Taliban recaptured Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, after a lightning offensive that followed the withdrawal of U.S…. Read More ›
THE FINAL DAYS OF REPUBLICAN ROME
It’s déjà vu all over again as we travel back with author Robert Harris to Republican Rome just before it became Imperial Rome. In America, we complain of corruption. Lying politicians. We fear the end of our Democracy, such as it isn’t…. Read More ›
HARD DAYS FOR A CONSCIENCE
There are a lot of things we don’t know about the people who came before us. We don’t know how or why they dressed and spoke and related to each other as people in their society. We are fuzzy about… Read More ›
ELEANOR & FRANKLIN – NO ORDINARY TIME by DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN
If I ever have to answer the question again about which person I’d like to have come visit us that answer would absolutely be Doris Kearns Goodwin. It wouldn’t even be inconvenient since she lives in or around Boston and… Read More ›
A MINI HISTORY FOR NON-AMERICANS
Like most wars, our Revolutionary War was about money and land — pretty much like every war. The money part was about taxes — especially on tea, which was very big until America discovered coffee — and who should pay… Read More ›
NO LONGER WILL THEY COME
AMERICAN SOIL IN A FOREIGN LAND – RICH PASCHALL A few years ago on V.E. Day, Armistice Day for the end of World War II in Europe, I visited the American cemetery at St. Avold. It is the final home… Read More ›
FLASHBACK FRIDAY FROM 4/2/2020 – WHY COVID 19 IS AN HISTORIC TURNING POINT
A major sea change: why COVID-19 is a turning point in history. So, it is the end of March 2020, and many of us are sequestered in our homes, trying not to get the virus that’s now sweeping the globe… Read More ›
NOT EXACTLY A NORMAN ROCKWELL THANKSGIVING
For those of you who think Norman Rockwell only painted idealized images of white people, he didn’t. His idealized images are popular, but he painted many other, harder-edged pictures. The soft and sweet ones were done for magazines who would… Read More ›
THE JONESTOWN MASSACRE REDUX IN 2020
This is the anniversary of the slaughter at Jonestown. It’s 42 years later and still, we have not learned the lesson that slavishly following lying leaders can be deadly. If nothing else, this has got to be an object lesson… Read More ›
