Chapman Goals
Next school year, 2014-15, I will be teaching history at Chapman University in Orange County, California. I hasten to add, for those eager for the Edwin Stanton book, that I will only be teaching one class each term, that I should have time for my research and writing. In the fall I will be teaching…
Read MoreMock Trial Victory
Phillips Exeter has once again won the NH state championship; we are once again headed to the national championships. I cannot claim to be surprised–we were the favorites heading into this weekend’s state competition–but I am so pleased. In December, we formed three teams for the state championship; an A team composed mainly of…
Read MoreJune 2, 1862
I am sometimes asked why it is taking me so long to research and write my biography of Edwin Stanton. Let me answer, somewhat, by relating what I have found in my research regarding a single day, June 2, 1862. There are two main sources for Stanton’s correspondence in this period. The first is a…
Read MorePalenberg part 2
Yesterday, in New York City, my wife daughter and I were at the funeral mass for my dear friend John Palenberg. It was a beautiful service, filled with people from around the world, complete with eccentric music choices (Dancing Cheek to Cheek and Ave Maria, among others). There were five speakers, including my friend Susan…
Read MoreJohn Palenberg
My good friend John Palenberg died in New York City today. I met John when we both arrived at Harvard Law School in the fall of 1978. We were the same age, in the same section, the group of 140 students that was together for all our classes that first year. John, as I recall…
Read Morea kind of Mephistopheles
People often ask how I do research, and the short answer is that I find books and articles and documents, and use those to find other books, articles and documents. Today, for example, I am reading a book called The North Reports the Civil War. I have had this book on my “bibliography” for a…
Read MoreLincoln Forum
I am just back from an exciting weekend in Gettysburg, attending the Lincoln Forum. It is a great event, which I commend to anyone interested in Lincoln or the Civil War. Let me mention some of the high points. John Stauffer spoke about the the Battle Hymn of the Republic. I thought I knew about…
Read MoreDonald B. Cole
Yesterday I attended the memorial service for my history teacher and mentor, Donald Barnard Cole. It was a wonderful service, filled with music and laughter, stories and tears. I learned a great deal about Mr. Cole, and thought I would share here some of my own memories of him. I first got to know Mr.…
Read MoreSkeptical Biographer
One of the great reasons to live where we do is the Phillips Exeter Academy Library. I can WALK to the library, indeed when I walk our dog Sunny, we generally walk to the library and back, just to enjoy the view from there of the Academy Building. I have been known to tie Sunny…
Read MoreMock Trial Defended
In September my mock trial team put on a short mock trial for assembly for the whole school. One of the Exeter students, not on the team, did not much like what he saw, and he posted a long critique on his facebook page. As is the way of these things, other people saw the…
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