Get Tested
I continue to recover from my prostate surgery. A couple days ago the doctor removed the catheter and removed the dressing on my incisions. I am now working, not very well so far, to regain control of my urination. I wanted to publish what I hope is implicit in my past two posts: get tested.…
Read MoreProstate Cancer
A few weeks ago, on Friday April 13, I saw my usual doctor for my annual physical. The exam went well until that final phase, for men, the digital rectal examination. Instead of saying, as I expected, “that is fine too” Dr. C said something like “hmm, that is not quite right, you should see…
Read MoreSunday Services
It was an emotional Sunday for me at St. James Episcopal Church. I have prostate cancer, and on Monday I had surgery to remove my prostate. Any time you have cancer, any time you have major surgery, you think about life differently; you thank God for each new day with special fervor. And I am…
Read MoreBishop Bruno Again
I have been spending time, in recent weeks, on Bishop Bruno again, helping to write the brief on appeal in the Bruno case. I realize, looking back at this blog, that I have not posted on some key developments in the case and in the life of our church. First, most important, we are back…
Read MoreSeward Prize; Chase Contract
I learned yesterday that my Stanton biography has won the Seward prize for Civil War biography. This is an annual award, presented by the Civil War Forum of Metropolitan New York, for the best biography of a Civil War figure. I am the first person, I am told, to win this award twice, first for…
Read MoreThe Kindness of Strangers
My father recently moved to an apartment in an assisted living facility. As with any move, some things went missing. A few days ago, we discovered that his passport was missing. We were looking for the passport because my father was set to fly Saturday night to Miami and board an international cruise Sunday morning.…
Read MoreLynn Rowland MacBroom 1881-1918
My parents are cleaning out their house, preparing to move to an assisted living facility. They are coming across ancient letters, including the following 1918 letter from my great-grandfather, Lynn Rowland MacBroom. MacBroom was born in Indiana in 1881, grew up in Lafayette, attended Purdue University, graduating with an engineering degree in 1902. He then…
Read MoreNew Dog
It has been a hectic few weeks: a trip to Tucson for my father’s birthday, hosting Christmas here at the house, my mother in the hospital. But the most dramatic development is in the headline and the picture; we have a new dog. We purchased her just before Christmas, from a northern CA breeder, meeting…
Read MoreJohn Niven on Salmon Chase
As I start work on Salmon Chase, I am greatly indebted to John Niven. Starting in 1984, Niven led a team of scholars that gathered the papers of Salmon Chase. They published both a microfilm edition AND a five-volume printed version of Chase papers. In the midst of this massive project, Niven published in 1995…
Read MoreNon-Academic History
George Will has a strong review of Ron Chernow’s biography of Ulysses Grant in today’s Washington Post. Among other things, as I urge editors that Salmon Chase deserves at least 600 pages, it is nice to read a review that says Chernow’s 1000-page book is not too long. The following paragraph from Will raises interesting…
Read More