Posts Tagged: history
The Island of Stopped Clocks: Inside Cuba 50 Years after the Revolution
In a museum in Havana there are two skulls
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Columbine, Virginia Tech, Fort Hood, Tucson, Aurora, Newtown: An Etiology
“Guns are not simply tools or commodities; they are instruments of social power.”
...moreBooks Through Time
Writers might be interested in yesterday’s installment of Dinosaur Comics, about the development of books through history.
If talking clip-art dinosaurs can’t figure it out, what hope do the rest of us have?
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Revising the Revisionists
I suffer from the primary carpet-bagging compulsion of the northern writer living in the South:
...moreThinking Outside the Boomer Box
I am turning 60 this month, and I have to say that 60 has been occupying my thoughts quite a bit more than 50 did, or 40, or 30, or even 20
“To My Old Master”
Here’s a letter written in 1865 by an ex-enslaved man, Jourdan Anderson, in response to his former master’s request that Jourdan return to work on his farm.
“I served you faithfully for thirty-two years, and Mandy twenty years. At twenty-five dollars a month for me, and two dollars a week for Mandy, our earnings would amount to eleven thousand six hundred and eighty dollars.
...moreThe Importance of Bulgarian Fiction
Bulgarian fiction is making waves. Miroslav Penkov moved to the US for college, whereupon he became further interested in illuminating the stories of his country, which was the impetus for writing East of the West.
Stories of the homeland are essential to historical preservation, especially in contemporary Bulgaria where one in eight people live abroad.
...moreThe Trial of Charles Guiteau
I wish I could find who posted a link to this on Twitter, because I’d like to thank them publicly. All I know of Charles Guiteau is that he’s the man who assassinated President James Garfield. I know even less about Garfield.
...moreWar Slang
For all the logophiles out there—the Awl published an essay on how wartime words are integrated into our vernacular. Just as technological advances happened in the context of war, language evolved via wartime slang.
War is the context behind “trench coat” and “airminded.” A great history lesson to start your day!
...moreSan Francisco’s History Wiki
“FoundSF is a wiki that invites history buffs, community leaders, and San Francisco citizens of all kinds to share their unique stories, images, and videos from past and present. There are over 1,800 articles here presenting primary sources, essays, and images from history.
...moreRebecca Solnit’s Infinite City
Just to let all discriminating book-buyers know: Rebecca Solnit’s new gorgeously-illustrated and highly-collaborative book, Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas is out now at all independent bookstores.
...moreAction! Violence! Jilted Lovers! Pulp History!
David Talbot, former editor-in-chief of Salon.com, came into Red Hill Books recently to drop off his latest creation, Devil Dog: The Amazing True Story Of The Man Who Saved America, one of the first installments in the Pulp History series — a series that will blow minds left and right now and in the coming months.
...moreThe Fearless Book Vending Machine
“Lane’s other invention, alongside the cheap, quality paperback, was the Penguincubator, first installed outside Henderson’s (the ‘Bomb Shop’) at 66 Charing Cross Road, which signaled his intention to take the book beyond the library and the traditional bookstore, into railway stations, chain stores and onto the streets.
...moreOnward Christian History! An Update
A month ago, I blogged about an attempt by the Christian fundamentalist community in Texas to change the history and social sciences curricula for K-12 textbooks. There’s been a fair amount of reporting on the story since then, most recently in the NY Times, and the changes that have been pushed through so far are disturbing.
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