Blog Profile / The Edge of the American West
| URL : | http://edgeofthewest.wordpress.com | |
|---|---|---|
| Filed Under: | History / US History | |
| Posts on Regator: | 569 | |
| Posts / Week: | 3.5 | |
| Archived Since: | April 9, 2010 | |
Blog Post Archive
Rosenbaum on Shirer on the Third Reich.
William L. Shirer’s Rise and Fall of the Third Reich is fifty. Ron Rosenbaum re-introduces it: The arrest of Eichmann, chief operating officer of the Final Solution, reawakened the question Why? Why had Germany, long one of the most ostensibly civilized, highly educated societies on earth, transformed itself into an instrument that turned a continent [...]
Man at his best.
In Esquire: While we’re watching the signal, if not single, liberal achievement — the BFD, if you will — of the Most Disappointing President Ever™ writhe before conservative jurists like a tasty Christian before so many lions deciding whether merely to rip out the mandate or devour it whole (the Scalia lion is, of course, [...]
Good-bye, higher education.
USA Today hed reads, “Higher education vanishing before our eyes”. Even with top grades and extracurricular activities, students may find it difficult to gain acceptance to or graduate from a four-year university after recent cuts to higher education budgets. The month of March has been particularly bad for colleges and universities nationwide, as budget negotiations [...]
Shill not shrill.
Given what an ignorant slut he seems to be, I guess I’m willing to be more charitable than Timothy Burke and accept that David Levy (not the good one, mind you) only worked fifteen hours/week during his academic career. Really, though, rebutting this sort of disingenuous crap is beneath my dignity. But I do think [...]
It’s Out!
My new book, The Boxer Rebellion and the Great Game in China, came out today. Makes a great present for any occasion.
Bring back the Muppet Show.
The Muppets provided joy from start to finish. I knew we were in good hands from the first big musical number – part of which is above – “Life’s a Happy Song.” It gets a full, MGM-musical style choreographical treatment. It states the movie’s major theme (it will be reprised in the finale). And it [...]
Rupert in red.
The incomparable Michelle Vaughan, who did the typography for this marvelous piece of work as well as 100 tweets has done a much more affordable limited run of Rupert Murdoch’s tweets. I recommend them to all discerning readers with a spare $30 (plus S&H) looking for some frameable wit. (Murdoch would surely like you to [...]
It’s Out!
My new book, The Boxer Rebellion and the Great Game in China, came out today.
The Iron Harvest
Leftover ordnance is one of the legacies that lasts generations after the war itself concluded. The phrase “Iron Harvest” comes from the annual crop of exploded shells and bombs that French farmers in northern France bring to the surface when plowing their fields. Farming is a dangerous occupation in France. But the Iron Harvest is [...]
Tech support.
A reader reports the below glitch displaying this blog on iPhones. I don’t get it with mine. Do any of you? If so, please report what model and OS, and we’ll see if we can sort it out.
Some lying, some exceptions.
I’ve probably never said this here before, but having finished my book on Sand Creek, I’m now co-authoring a graphic history of the Civil War. As a consequence, I’ve been following this discussion with some interest. I don’t have much to add except this: I decided, very early in the process of writing the book, [...]
A day in the archives.
- Hi, sorry to bother you, but could you please help me? I’m confused … the description of this collection says it has 44 boxes but then there are only 20 boxes listed. - Hmm. Let me look at that for you … [clickety clickety clickety … pad pad pad … murmur murmur murmur … stride stride [...]
Media Sighting
An interview with moi is in this month’s Military History magazine. Introductory paragraph: Northern China in the summer of 1900 was the scene of the Boxer Rebellion, one of the most spontaneous, disorganized, violent and downright peculiar uprisings of that or any other century. Vividly described and detailed by Cornell University historian David J. Silbey [...]
Enhance…enhance…
Amelia Earhart, still sought after 75 years: Ric Gillespie is executive director of The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), and he revealed details of the new analysis at a press conference in Washington on Tuesday. Gillespie told reporters: “We found some really fascinating and compelling evidence. Finding the airplane would be the thing [...]
No Lying, No Exceptions
Understand that if you felt something that connected you with where your devices come from — that is not a lie. That is art. –Mike Daisey If you use real people and real events, you don’t get to lie. No dramatic license, no aiming for a larger truth, no composite characters, no changing things around [...]
politics vs. rock ‘n’ roll
Johnny Ramone: One night, the New York Dolls were hanging out there. They were already a band, but I hadn’t seen them yet. I pointed to Johnny Thunders and told Tommy that he looked cool. Tommy said that the band was terrible. But I knew, looking at him, that there was something there. To me, [...]
Bernanke vs. the Gold Standard
Stepping on one of my co-bloggers’ toes (that is, I am stepping on his toes, and he is one of my co-bloggers, not that I am only stepping on one of his toes). Let’s try that again. I’m sure Eric will comment about this at some point, but I thought I would note that Ben [...]
The Really Iron Lady.
Speaking to a crowd of supporters, Margaret Thatcher, as played by Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady, explains what she would do as prime minister: “Crush the working class, crush the scum, the yobs.” That’s in a pirated version. The cheap joke to make of course is, how pirated is it really though? And we’re [...]
Mmmm…Rotting Meat
A titan arum or “corpse plant” is about to bloom in a Cornell University green house: [The] bloom…has been recorded only 140 times in cultivation, and perhaps that’s for the best, as the plant smells like rotting meat when in bloom. The strong odor and deep purple color of the inner leaf attracts carrion flies [...]
“Germany of all places”.
John Demjanjuk has died. Reuters: “Former Nazi guard Demjanjuk dies in Germany aged 91” BBC: “Nazi camp guard Demjanjuk dies” Al Jazeera: “Nazi camp guard Demjanjuk dies in Germany” NYT: “John Demjanjuk, 91, Dogged by Charges of Atrocities as Nazi Camp Guard, Dies” NYT: Why so circuitous? Jerusalem Post editorial here. And, relatedly, a fascinating [...]