I’ve presented myself with quite the hefty reading list for the holiday break.
Most of these books are either ones I’ve assigned for Spring 2012 courses or ones that are helping me prepare historical background for those courses. The exception is Kentucky Rising: Democracy, Slavery, and Culture from the Early Republic to the Civil War, by James A. Ramage and Andrea S. Watkins, which I’m reviewing for the Journal of Southern History.
The rest:
Kathryn Olmsted, Real Enemies: Conspiracy Theories and American Democracy, World War I to 9/11
David Aaronovitch, Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History
Charles W. Calhoun, Minority Victory: Gilded Age Politics and the Front Porch Campaign of 1888
Frank Lambert, The Battle of Ole Miss: Civil Rights vs. States’ Rights
James Roger Sharp, Deadlocked Election of 1800: Jefferson, Burr, and the Union in the Balance
Donald T. Critchlow, John Korasick, and Matthew C. Sherman, eds., Political Conspiracies in America: A Reader
There are worse ways to spend free time, so I’ll keep my whinging to a minimum.
Jacksonian America: Society, Personality, and Politics 