Category: Books

People sometimes ask me what new things I learned from writing a book. Early in my career, my answers were long, so much so that I came to recognize the glazed-over eyes that were my sign to wrap things up. As a senior scholar (still a label I am finding hard to accept!), I'm still … Continue reading What I Learned from Writing Who Is James K. Polk?

Every historian is indebted to the scholarship of those who came before them. I provided a lengthy bibliographical essay at the end of Who Is James K. Polk, but I wanted to highlight a few books that were crucial to its structure and arguments. Robert Elder, Calhoun: American Heretic (Basic Books, 2021). Amy S. Greenberg, … Continue reading The Books That Influenced Who Is James K. Polk?

As you can see, I found a nice surprise waiting for me on Friday. It's always nice to hold in completed physical form what has so far only appeared on screen or in marked-up printouts. The old adage "it takes a village" certainly applies when it comes to publishing a book. It's why I always … Continue reading It Takes a Village

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

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

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

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