This is the Gideon Stoltz mystery I've been waiting for. The first two installments in the series, A Stranger Here Below (reviewed here) and Nighthawk's Wing (reviewed here), were interesting and suspenseful in their own right, but Charles Fergus has pulled everything together in Lay This Body Down. This third book sees Stoltz wrestling with … Continue reading Review of Lay This Body Down
Books for Fall 2023
Historical Methods Michael J. Salevouris and Conal Furay, The Methods and Skills of History: A Practical Guide, 4th ed. (Wiley Blackwell, 2015) ISBN 9781118745441 Jill Lepore, The Whites of Their Eyes: The Tea Party’s Revolution and the Battle over American History (Princeton Univ. Press, 2011) ISBN 9780691153001 Kate L. Turabian, Student’s Guide to Writing College Papers, 5th ed. (University of … Continue reading Books for Fall 2023
Book Cover for Who Is James K. Polk?
After a much longer time than I wanted or expected, my newest book is scheduled to come out later this year. Entitled Who Is James K. Polk? The Presidential Election of 1844, it is part of the University Press of Kansas' American Presidential Elections series. It includes coverage of all five presidential candidates in 1844—Polk, … Continue reading Book Cover for Who Is James K. Polk?
Books for Spring 2023
Introduction to Historical Methods Michael J. Salevouris et al., The Methods and Skills of History: A Practical Guide, 5th ed. (Wiley Blackwell, 2022) ISBN 9781119569190 James M. Banner Jr., The Ever-Changing Past: Why All History Is Revisionist History (Yale University Press, 2021) ISBN 9780300238457 Kate L. Turabian, Student’s Guide to Writing College Papers, 5th ed. (University of Chicago … Continue reading Books for Spring 2023
Review of Nighthawk’s Wing
Credit: https://charlesfergus.com/nighthawk In 2019, I reviewed A Stranger Here Below by Charles Fergus, the first entry in his Gideon Stoltz Historical Mysteries series. The sequel, entitled Nighthawk's Wing, came out last year. In this book, Stoltz investigates the murder of a woman accused of witchcraft. Fergus keeps the reader guessing as to the guilty party, … Continue reading Review of Nighthawk’s Wing
Books for Fall 2022
American Presidency MaryAnne Borrelli, The Politics of the President's Wife (Texas A&M University Press, 2011) ISBN 978-1603442855 Mark R. Cheathem, The Coming of Democracy: Presidential Campaigning in the Age of Jackson (Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 2018) ISBN 978-1421425986 Andrew S. Moore, ed., Evangelicals and Presidential Politics: From Jimmy Carter to Donald Trump (LSU Press, 2021) ISBN 978-0807174340 … Continue reading Books for Fall 2022
Did the Rothschild Family Try To Kill Andrew Jackson?
Xaviant Haze’s The Suppressed History of American Banking: How Big Banks Fought Jackson, Killed Lincoln, and Caused the Civil War is one of the strangest books I’ve ever read. The main argument is that the Rothschild banking family caused the War of 1812 to make money from it, fought Andrew Jackson to preserve the Second … Continue reading Did the Rothschild Family Try To Kill Andrew Jackson?
Are These Andrew Jackson Quotes Accurate?
I wanted to celebrate today's Presidents' Day by examining a list of alleged Andrew Jackson quotes recently posted by Mental Floss. Some of the quotes are accurate, but several are apocryphal. Not surprisingly, a couple of them come from our old friend and noted purveyor of historical lies Augustus C. Buell. “The bank, Mr. Van … Continue reading Are These Andrew Jackson Quotes Accurate?
This Tariff Debate Is So Taxing!
I came across a Twitter conversation today that drew my attention. The topic was the role of tariffs as a cause of the southern states' secession in 1860-61, which appears to have been prompted by this blog post. I won't wade into the morass of opinions exchanged on Twitter, but I do want to address … Continue reading This Tariff Debate Is So Taxing!
Review of And Tyler No More
Credit: https://stanhaynes.com/ Earlier this fall, attorney and author Stan Haynes offered to send me a copy of his newest book, And Tyler No More, which is set in the Jacksonian/antebellum period. Although there is some fiction set in this period (see my review of A Stranger Here Below), there isn't a lot. With that in … Continue reading Review of And Tyler No More
Jacksonian America: Society, Personality, and Politics 