History Author Show

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Fergus Bordewich – The First Congress Apr 04, 2016

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April 4, 2016 - Today, our time machine is whisking us back to the very earliest days of America's republic. Our guest is Fergus Bordewich , and his book is, The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government. It's the untold story of the most productive Congress in US history, in 1789–1791. Mr. Fergus Bordewich is the author of six previous books including, America's Great Debate -- Henry Clay, Stephen A. Douglas, and The Compromise that Preserved the Union, Washington: The Making of the American Capital, and Bound for Canaan: The Underground Railroad and the War for the Soul of America. You learn more about these and his other titles at FergusBordewich.com.

Jay Atkinson – Massacre on the Merrimack Mar 28, 2016

Show notes

March 28, 2016 - Step through the Guardian of Forever and back in time to colonial North America, in the heat of King William's War. Our guide on this journey is Jay Atkinson, called "the bard of New England toughness" by Men’s Health magazine for his approach to writing and his topics. He shares the story of another tough New Englander in his new book, Massacre on the Merrimack: Hannah Duston's Captivity and Revenge in Colonial America. Early on March 15, 1697, a band of Abenaki warriors in service to the Catholic French, raided the Puritan English frontier village of Haverhill, Massachusetts, killing twenty-seven men, women and children, and taking thirteen survivors captive. Hannah Duston and her one-week-old daughter, Martha, were among these survivors -- and it is there that our story begins. Jay Atkinson teaches journalism at Boston University, as well as a critic, essayist, investigative journalist, and itinerant amateur athlete up in Methuen, Massachusetts. He is also the author of the author of two novels, a collection of short fiction, and five nonfiction narrative books including Ice Time and Legends of Winter Hill. You can visit his website, JayAtkinson.com, follow him @Atkinson_Jay on Twitter, or drop him a like at Facebook.com/WriterJayAtkinson.

Don Glickstein – After Yorktown Mar 21, 2016

Show notes

March 21, 2016 - Today, we time-travel back to the times after the times that tried men's souls. The date is October 19, 1781, and a combined French and rebel force defeats the Redcoats at the Battle of Yorktown, Virginia. But contrary to two centuries of grade school and academic histories, the war for independence didn't end with the surrender of General Cornwallis's sword. The fighting dragged on for men like George Washington, Horatio Nelson, Lafayette, and Hyder Ali. This was a world war, with fighting from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean, and the Arctic to the coast of Sri Lanka. We learn about the men who kept fighting in Don Glickstein's debut book, After Yorktown: The Final Struggle for American Independence. We also mentioned Fergus Bordewich's book, The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government.

John McCavitt, Christopher T. George – The Man Who Captured Washington Mar 14, 2016

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March 14, 2016 - Today, our time machine touches down on one of America's darkest days: The capture of Washington, DC, and the burning of the White House, Capitol Building and a other public buildings. The man who lit the match? British Major General Robert Ross. A horseman, prankster, loving husband and daring commander who served under Wellington, Ross has fallen into obscurity over the two centuries since the War of 1812. But with the bicentennial, two authors have resurrected the tale of a man they describe as a "reluctant arsonist." John McCavitt is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and neighbor of Ross in Rostrevor (a town in Northern Ireland originally owned by the Ross family), and Baltimore's Christopher T. George, Vice President of the 1812 Consortium and founding editor of the Journal of the War of 1812. McCavitt and George are co-authors of, The Man Who Captured Washington: Major General Robert Ross and the War of 1812. You can follow them on Twitter @John_McCavitt and @CThompsonGeorge, or visit TheManWhoCapturedWashington.com. We decided to air this episode the week of St Patrick's Day, to honor the huge numbers of Irishmen who fought on both the British and the American sides in the war.

Stephen Coss – The Fever of 1721 Mar 07, 2016

Show notes

March 7, 2016 - Today, we're climbing into the Wayback Machine and setting the dial for the early 1700's, when temperatures ran high in politics, the press, and from a smallpox epidemic burning through Boston. Leading us on this journey is Stephen Coss: author, ad guy, and "close personal friend of Ben Franklin." Everything, Stephen says, that Franklin really needed to know, he learned in 1721 (and he's only half joking). Stephen's debut book is The Fever of 1721: The Epidemic that Revolutionized Medicine and American Politics. In it, we meet historical figures including the young Franklin laboring at his brother's newspaper, and the Reverend Cotton Mather, seeking redemption from the debacle Salem Witch Trials by pioneering the technique of inoculation against the dreaded pox. An unlikely advocate for something as revolutionary as vaccination, Mather convinces only a single doctor -- Zabdiel Boylston -- to try what we'd call a clinical trial on the controversial technique, one frowned upon in part because it had been practiced in Africa. You can follow Stephen @Coss1Coss on Twitter, or visit him at StephenCoss.com. In this episode, we also mentioned David Pietrusza's new book, 1932: The Rise of Hitler and FDR - Two Tales of Politics, Betrayal, and Unlikely Destiny.

Paddy Hayes – Queen of Spies Feb 29, 2016

Show notes

February 29, 2016 - Our time machine for this trip is tricked out like James Bond's Aston Martin, and we're speeding back to the height of the Cold War. Our driver on this journey is Paddy Hayes, who was kind enough to call into the show from Dublin, Ireland. His book is Queen of Spies: Daphne Park, Britain's Cold War Spy Master. Until this book, no biography has been written about Daphne Park's incredible contributions to the crown at a time when the intelligence services were still very closed to women. From helping prepare for the D-Day landings to shoring up the Falkland Islands' defense, her adventures included being thrown into a pit, swimming the chilly Volga River to escape the KGB, and threats of execution. "I must have been arrested and condemned to be shot several times," she said. "It was a hazard that I got used to." Daphne Park was Britain’s top woman spy, the most senior lady in MI6, a spitfire who people said once met, was never forgotten.

Paul Kahan – The Bank War Feb 22, 2016

Show notes

February 22, 2016 - This week, we sling-shot around the sun at high warp, sending us tumbling back in time to the Summer of 1832 -- and America, at war. It's not a conflict over land or of arms, but over the fiscal system of the young republic. Our guide on this journey is Paul Kahan, and his book is The Bank War: Andrew Jackson, Nicholas Biddle, and the Fight for American Finance. The fight against the Second Bank of the United States may have been the most frustrating fight of President Jackson's life, since -- for once -- he couldn't end things by simply shooting or threatening to shoot his opponent in the face. Dr. Kahan holds a Ph.D. in U.S. history from Temple University, an M.A. in Modern American History & Literature, and B.A.s in history and English. He's also the author of two books on Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary, and another titled, The Homestead Strike: Labor, Violence, and American History Critical Moments in American Industry. You can visit him at PaulKahan.com, or follow him on Twitter @Paul_Kahan.

Sheila Myers – Imaginary Brightness Feb 15, 2016

Show notes

February 15, 2016 - Today's destination is America in the 1870s, and our guest is Sheila Myers, author of the novel Ephemeral Summer, and associate professor at Cayuga Community College. Her latest novel is Imaginary Brightness: a Durant Family Saga. At the dawn of what Mark Twain would later dub the Gilded Age, the economy suffered a panic -- what we'd call a depression -- brought on, in part, by over-speculation in railroads. Dr. Thomas C. Durant, head of the Union Pacific Railroad, was one of those tycoons devastated by the crash. Imaginary Brightness tells the story of his children, William and Ella, whose world is turned upside down by the crash as they're torn away from their privileged lifestyle in high society London, and stuck in the wilderness of upstate New York's Adirondack Mountains. You can follow Sheila @SheilaMMyers on Twitter, or visit her online at wwdurantstory.com.

T.H. Breen – George Washington’s Journey Feb 08, 2016

Show notes

February 8, 2016 - Today, we're riding in Great White Coach with the father of our country. Our teamster is author Timothy Hall Breen, and his book is George Washington's Journey: The President Forges a New Nation. Aware of the fragile and fractured nature of the new republic after independence, Washington resolves -- in a day without maps or roads worthy of the name -- to take the federal government to the people. Staying in simple inns rather than fine houses, and suffering through terrible food and bad treatment for his horses, Washington visited every one of the thirteen states, and left a candid assessment of his opinions, as well as funny moments with the people -- and a few where he nearly died. Mr. Breen is the James Marsh Professor at-large at the University of Vermont and the author of eleven books on American history including, The Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence. You can follow him @TimothyHBreen on Twitter.

John J. Miller – The Big Scrum: How Teddy Roosevelt Saved Football Feb 01, 2016

Show notes

February 1, 2016 - An advocate of the strenuous life, President Theodore Roosevelt saw sports as essential to developing physical fitness and character. So when 18 players died playing football in 1905, and people called to ban the game, TR leaped into action to reform the pigskin pastime. The game in those days resembled rugby much more than the game the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers will play in Super Bowl 50. Joining us to discuss how we got from a time no forward pass, neutral zone or pads to the present day, is John J. Miller. His book is titled, The Big Scrum: How Teddy Roosevelt Saved Football. John J. Miller is a correspondent for National Review, contributor to the Wall Street Journal, and author of four books including a novel, The First Assassin, and the non-fiction offering: Our Oldest Enemy -- A history of America's Disastrous Relationship with France. He's also director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College -- and a proud fan of his college team, the Michigan University Wolverines. You can follow him on Twitter @HeyMiller, like him at Facebook.com/HeyMiller, or visit him at HeyMiller.com. He also hosts a podcast you'll want to check out if you're listening here. The show is called The Bookmonger with John J. Miller. Also mentioned in this episode: Theodore Roosevelt's Letters to His Children (free online), The Rough Riders, by Theodore Roosevelt (free online), Rough Riders (Film, 1997)

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