Play Ball!
I recently revisited one of the finest baseball books of all time: George Will’s Men At Work: The Craft of Baseball (1990). I offer as evidence the book’s ability to stir in me some early baseball-esque memories. When I...
Candice Millard
Over the past two decades, narrative historian Candice Millard has become one of America’s preeminent storytellers. While fully committed to the grinding work of comprehensive archival research befitting the hard-driven historians of days-gone-by, Millard’s fluid prose and sprightly sense...
Dollar Mania
The Good-Enough Life by Avram Alpert appears at first glance to be another self-help book; albeit one whose title suggests rather low aspirations. Good-enough equates with mediocrity and who among us wants to live a mediocre life? Closer examination...
Dam II
There are over 91,000 dams impeding the waterways of the United States. During much of the twentieth century, dams were built in just about every location where a dam could be built. The question, should a dam be built?...
Dam I
In response to three years of record drought, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has declared a “water shortage emergency” and Governor Gavin Newsom has called upon businesses and residents to reduce water usage by 20-30%. In a...
The Male of the Species
For the past three decades, novelist Richard Russo has been commenting upon the human toll of the decline of small-town America. Along the way, he has opened a window into the emotional meanderings of white working-class men in an...
Watching Corn Grow
Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright died recently, which prompted me to revisit her last book, Fascism: A Warning (2018). Written only a few years into the Age of Trump, Albright draws dark parallels between the emergence of...
For the Future
The climate on our planet is changing; and reversing the inevitable seems as if it will require a bit more cooperation than humanity has yet been unable to muster. The alarm bell has been ringing for so long that...
A Ukraine Brief
Recent events in Ukraine have their origins in a long history of strife. If we in the West are to respond appropriately, we should understand just what it is we are up against. It is commonly held that “Ukraine”...
1619
Black History Month is tricky. One month a year dedicated to recognizing the contributions and struggles of black Americans seems harmless enough. However, as a set-aside to the larger epoch of America, singling out an ethnic group in this...
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