Triumph by Philip Wylie “[A]s intriguing today as it was when first released.”—BlogCritics Magazine “Triumph is an excellent example of books that warn about the horrors of nuclear war. It is a powerful reminder that we have too complacently abandoned efforts to achieve nuclear disarmament.”—Jewish Journal Continue reading Praise for Triumph

The French Navy and the Seven Years’ War by Jonathan Dull “Dull’s book is a monument to careful scholarship. With clear, concise prose, he navigates deftly through a complex tale of war, diplomacy, and politics. His book is the definitive work on this topic.”—Canadian Journal of History Continue reading Praise for The French Navy and the Seven Years’ War

In my hectic pre-holiday-travel mental state, I was at a loss to come up with a theme for today’s “This Week in History” posting. Let’s just call this week’s theme “Classical Music of the Revolutionary War as Performed by Ty Cobb in His Turn as the Finnish Scrouge in A Christmas Carol in Scandinavia, Co-starring Branch Rickey in Space.” Sound good? Great! Now, let’s see what happened… This Week in History December 16, 1770: Composer Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany.If you’re nuts for this Ninth Symphony composer, you’ll want to snag copies of The Critical Reception of … Continue reading This Week in History: December 16-21, 2007

Thoreau would be so proud… If you’ve ever been to Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Smoky Mountains, the Rocky Mountains, Joshua Tree, or the Grand Canyon, you know just how beautiful and awe-inspiring our national parks are and how lucky we are to have them within our borders. Wouldn’t it be a marvelous experience to travel across the country on a car-camping trip through our national parks? Well, that’s just what the women in Joanne Wilke’s new memoir/family history, Eight Women, Two Model Ts, and the American West did. Not only that, they did it back in 1924, “without a man or … Continue reading Linking in Lincoln: December 20, 2007

Apollo Moon Missions: The Unsung Heroes by Billy Watkins “Billy Watkins’s book is celebration of the devotion of those who worked on the Apollo program. It is a welcome reminder of a single-minded devotion to duty. Our thanks are due to all those who took America to the Moon. This book helps to spotlight some of their stories.”—Roger D. Launius, former NASA Chief Historian Continue reading Praise for Apollo Moon Missions

Between Panic and Desire by Dinty W. Moore “[A] quirky, entertaining joyride.”—Publishers Weekly “The writing is frequently very funny; insightful, too, especially Moore’s belief that humans are generally delusional when it comes to their expectations vs. what is realistically possible. . . . The narrative has its poignant moments, particularly in Moore’s recollections of his father. And despite his fractured take on the world, his message is essentially hopeful. Moore, it seems, is moving on.”—Robert Kelly, Library Journal “In intertwined, wildly inventive essays . . . Moore conjures up his, and our, past from a grab-bag of elements. . . … Continue reading Praise for Between Panic and Desire