November Events
As you can see from the events page, I have a number of events coming up in November, almost two weeks on the East Coast. And these events are going to require different talks. The Lincoln Group of New York will naturally want to hear about Lincoln and Stanton. The Wheeling Public Library calls for…
Read MoreSalmon Portland Chase
I have more or less settled on my next subject: Salmon Portland Chase. Unfortunately, my agent and I were not able to reach an agreement on this book project with Simon & Schuster. So I am working to write a longer form version of the Chase proposal, for my agent to circulate among editors in…
Read MoreSixty
Tomorrow, September 7, 2017, I will turn sixty. I do not feel especially old. I still spend lots of time out running and cycling and walking. Indeed I probably spend more time exercising now than I did when I was younger, in an effort to prove to the world that I am not old. Why…
Read MoreJackson, Washington, Chicago
I am back in southern California for a few days after a trip to Jackson, Mississippi, Washington, DC, and Chicago, Illinois. Mississippi was very interesting: my friend Sam arranged for me to speak at Mississippi College, to a group of faculty and friends. People were eager to hear about Stanton, and my ideas about why…
Read MoreAugust 8, 2017
We had a wonderful book launch party on the evening of August 8, 2017, at Lido Village Books. Most of the folks were friends from St. James the Great, and I talked about Stanton and his faith, with some long quotes from the book, such as his praise to God Almighty when the news arrived…
Read MoreWSJ and NYT Reviews
Harold Holzer reviewed the Stanton book for the Wall Street Journal yesterday. It is a long, detailed review, and I will not quote it all here, but send the readers of this blog to the review itself. Key quote, from my perspective: “This exhaustively researched, well-paced book should take its place as the new, standard…
Read MoreSunny Stahr, 2001-2017
Almost every day, for the past sixteen years, I have gotten up early to feed and walk our dog, Sunny. I will not have to get up tomorrow, for Sunny died today. I had nothing to do with selecting and purchasing Sunny. My goal, on Saturday, March 24, 2001, was to buy a new car, to…
Read MoreBook in Hand
I have the first printed copy of the Stanton book in my hands today. It is an exciting moment, about five years since I first thought about this topic, and here is the finished printed book. Simon & Schuster has done a great job (if I do say so) with the physical book. The paper…
Read MoreJohn Jay and Bishop Bruno
I have re-read, in the past few days, my first book, a biography of John Jay, first published in 2005. A new paperback edition will be published soon, so that the book will be “in print” when I am out promoting the Stanton book. I noticed some small errors, but overall I was pleased…
Read MorePage proofs and cover quotes and book events
I am once again reading page proofs, “third pass” page proofs this time. I am not supposed to be making many changes, and I am not, but I have re-read some of the Lincoln and Stanton and McClellan quotes against the originals, and have located and corrected a few minor errors. I am also starting…
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