The Hypocritical Hagiographies of Harlow Giles Unger


Who Really Wrote The Monroe Doctrine? 
(And Who Not To Ask)
Cranking out a book a year since 2005, Harlow Giles Unger has been called "America's Most Readable Historian." One reason he’s so readable is because he doesn’t let boring things like facts get in the way of a good story.

Andrew Jackson Was A Real-Life Horror Movie Monster


The Indians called him "Sharp Knife" for a reason.

I’ve read a lot of Stephen King novels, but I was never afraid of a character jumping out from the pages of a book and punching me in the face until I read a biography of Andrew Jackson.

Jackson’s life is a long series of larger than life incidents of being an unrelenting murder machine. And I’m not even talking about the institutionalized horror of his genocidal Indian Removal Act, which wiped out thousands of Native Americans. I’m talking about personal in-your-face horror on a level his colleagues considered supernatural.

The Skinny on John Quincy Adams's Skinny Dipping Interview


The naked truth about JQA and reporter Anne Royall.

John Quincy Adams died 169 years ago, but one legend about him and writer Anne Royall lives on. And it's time for it to die.

Hollywood Needs To Tell Louisa Adams's Story


Meet your new favorite first lady.

John Quincy Adams wasn’t looking for love in 1795. The 28-year-old diplomat, son of the vice-president, and future president himself was still recovering from a recent heartbreak when he arrived in London. He wrote to his mother, Abigail, that he would not consider even marrying until he was 45.

Then he met Louisa Johnson.