I’ve known ere now an interfering branch Of alder catch my lifted axe behind me. But that was in the woods, to hold my hand From striking at another alder’s roots, And that was, as I say, an alder branch. This was a man, Baptiste, who stole one day Behind me on the snow in…
What Good Is Poetry? Robert Frost’s ‘The Axe-Helve’: Fitting Axes and Forming Children
Book Review: ‘The War of Jenkins’ Ear’: A Neglected Conflict
Many people have probably never heard of the “War of Jenkins’ Ear,” which sounds like the name of a skit from an old Monty Python show. In my own case, I was a history major in college with two years of graduate school in that same subject, and until now, if pressed, I might have…
Book Review: ‘Hamnet’ by Maggie O’Farrell
“He is dead and gone, lady, He is dead and gone; At his head a grass-green turf, At his heels a stone.” Hamlet, Act IV, scene 5 A very young boy is frantically seeking help for his ill sister. Judith is his twin, and her lifeblood seems to course through his veins. Her pain is his….
Book Review: “Revolutionary Monsters: Five Men Who Turned Liberation Into Tyranny”
Donald T. Critchlow has written an important book in a time when it seems to be most needed. The Katzin Family Professor at Arizona State University (ASU) has constructed a very readable and relatively short book on the danger of tyranny arising under the promise of liberty. The 177 pages of “Revolutionary Monsters,” which excludes…
Book Review: ‘A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II’
A British biographer and journalist, Sonia Purnell poured through documents in England and the United States for more than three years as well as conducting countless interviews to write the book “A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II.” A credit to her craft, Purnell…
Book Review: Beauty, Delight, Wisdom: Blown Away by ‘The Critical Temper’
Joy comes in many guises. A proposal of marriage, a promotion at work after two years of putting in extra time and effort, the birth of a child: These can leave us walking on air with a smile as big as the crescent moon. Even transitory delights—the gap-toothed grin of a 7-year-old, an unexpected gift…
A New and Important American Poet: Andrew Benson Brown
One of the lessons of history is that it is difficult to predict in advance who are truly the important people of the day—be they politicians, philosophers, artists, musicians, novelists, poets, or in any area of human endeavor. My favorite example of this is Shakespeare. While he was a huge commercial success as a playwright—groundlings…
Epoch Booklist: Noteworthy Reads
History Exposing the Plan to Divide America “Debunking the 1619 Project” By Mary Grabar The 1619 Project was key in introducing critical race theory into schools. Mary Grabar’s in-depth research debunks its claims about slavery and exposes the tricks used to misrepresent figures such as Abraham Lincoln. An essential read. Regnery History, 2021, 320 pages…
Book Review: ‘Our Wild Calling’
Acclaimed nature journalist and author Richard Louv has written several books most notably “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder,” “The Nature Principle,” and “Vitamin N.” His writings have been instrumental in birthing an international movement to connect children, families, and communities more closely with nature. He is co-founder and chair…
Book Review: ‘Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution’
Mike Duncan launched his first history podcast, “The History of Rome,” in 2007 when podcasting was relatively new but surging as a new medium. It is now a pillar in the history podcasting community. In 2013, he started his second podcast, “Revolutions”―undeniably a second pillar. His in-depth research, required for creating such successful podcasts, has…
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