Mark Twain said that a classic is a book that everybody wants to have read, but nobody wants to read. Sad to say, “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson has become one of those classics. But “Treasure Island” lies waiting to be dug up, and perhaps the waning days of this summer is your chance…
Something for Summer Reading: ‘Treasure Island’ by Robert Louis Stevenson
‘Surrounded by Western Civilization’: The Overlooked Curators of Culture
Despite America’s relative youth when compared to such countries as Great Britain, Italy, China, and Japan, repositories of the past abound in the United States. Our major cities feature art and history museums, orchestras, ballets, statues of great men and women, monuments, and libraries. A visitor to our nation’s capital, for instance, might spend a…
Epoch Booklist: Recommended Reading for Aug. 12–18
This week, we look at an engaging history of battlefield medicine and a must-read by a “horse whisperer” who uses horse sense to train leaders. Fiction A Victorian Thriller ‘By Gaslight: A Novel’ By Steven Price In this trans-Atlantic Victorian-era thriller, Detective William Pinkerton, son of the famous American detective, is in search of the man…
Book Review: ‘Percy St.-John and the Chronicle of Secrets’: Thieves and Monks, Angels and Demons, Make for a Fun YA Novel
E.A. Allen has written a fun and intriguing young-adult (YA) novel in “Percy St.-John and the Chronicle of Secrets,” which appears to be the first in a series. The story follows a young teenage protagonist, Percy St.-John, from tragic son to heroic thief. The YA novel follows the general path of initial tragedy, much like…
Book Review: ‘Tales From the Queen of the Desert’: A Beautifully-Written Travelogue
Admittedly, the first I heard of Gertrude Bell was from watching the 2015 biographical film “Queen of the Desert,” starring Nicole Kidman. I was enchanted as was Kidman with Bell’s character. A fiercely independent woman, Bell decided to leave her comfortable life as a debutante in Victorian London and take to the desert. It was…
T.S. Arthur’s Short Story: ‘Dressed for a Party’
Just as a mirror reflects how we see ourselves, so what we wear signals to others how we want them to think about us. Every time we decide on how to dress and what to wear, we choose to either hide behind the superficiality of dress or complement our inner selves by our outward adornments….
Book Review: ‘At the Gates of Rome: The Fall of the Eternal City, AD 410’
Don Hollway has followed his debut book, “The Last Viking: The True Story of King Harald Hardrada,” with an absolutely fascinating read: “At the Gates of Rome: The Fall of the Eternal City, AD 410.” Hollway has shown himself to be a true storyteller in the realm of history, and in this new book, he…
Something for Summer Reading: ‘The Prisoner of Zenda’ by Anthony Hope
This “spirited and gallant little book,” as Robert Louis Stevenson called it, is gloriously upbeat, unafraid to take a positive, unapologetic stance on the side of virtue and valor. The best summer books remind people of the warm spirit of optimism that makes life refreshing and exciting. “The Prisoner of Zenda,” written in 1894 by…
Epoch Booklist: Recommended Reading for Aug. 5–Aug. 11
This week, we look at a lively overview of England’s formative years and their impact, and a biography of a U.S. frontiersman and peacemaker. Fiction Revisiting the Glory Days ‘Bleachers’ By John Grisham This is a different book than what we might expect from the law-drama king. Grisham takes readers on a walk down memory…
Book Review: ‘Let My People Know: The Incredible Story of Middle East Peace—and What Lies Ahead’
The Abraham Accords were truly some of the most important Middle East peace negotiations since Israel became a nation in 1948. With a mainstream media that is anything but conservative and blatantly against the now former Trump Administration, it is little surprise that the epochal 2020 treaties between the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco, and…
US News
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- Mimi Nguyen LyA federal judge on Aug. 18 has temporarily blocked part of Florida’s “Stop WOKE Act,” also known as the state’s Individual Freedom Act. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in April signed the measure,… [...]
- The Associated PressCHICAGO—R. Kelly’s legal team will get its chance to question the government’s star witness on Friday after she gave what jurors could see as damning testimony against Kelly at his… [...]
- BenzingaA 55-year-old former neonatologist from Spokane, Washington, has confessed to paying $60,000 worth of Bitcoin to kidnap his estranged wife. According to federal prosecutors, Ronald Ilg intended to kidnap and inject his… [...]
- Jackson ElliottWEST PALM BEACH, Fla.—George said he thinks former president Donald Trump got what he deserved with the Mar-a-Lago raid. But he also said the raid was politically motivated and that… [...]
- Eva FuFormer Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne, a key figure in a December 2020 White House meeting seeking to encourage then President Donald Trump to investigate allegations of election fraud, has filed… [...]
- ReutersU.S. oil companies are working around a century-old shipping law to supply fuel to the U.S. East Coast, according to data from Refinitiv and oil trading sources, as high demand… [...]
- The Associated PressKohl’s slashed its expectations for the year after sales slumped in the second quarter, sending shares down 9 percent at the opening bell Thursday and closing out a mixed week… [...]
- Janice HisleA battle over the cellphone data of “Juror X,” who repeatedly posted on Facebook about her involvement in a high-profile Ohio case, has intensified. In a recently released order, Judge… [...]
- Steven KovacAfter hearing from more than a dozen witnesses over seven days of testimony, federal prosecutors rested their case on Thursday against two men charged with conspiracy to kidnap Michigan Governor… [...]
- Jill McLaughlinTruckers at the Port of Los Angeles are facing some uncertainties due to new California policies including a set of clean air regulations and AB 5, the “gig worker law.”… [...]