Plodding through the Presidents

John Quincy Adams's Prophetic Diary Entry

He's bringing eloquent back.

Following his father’s advice, John Quincy Adams started a diary at age 12 and kept it up for the rest of his life. The result is a treasure trove of historical insight and wit and a fascinating window into 70 years worth of Adams’s private thoughts.

To commemorate the notorious JQA's 250th anniversary this July, Library of America just put out a beautiful brand new two-volume selected edition of his diary, which I immediately ordered. It arrived last night and immediately sucked me in. I found myself tearing through the pages of his life from the age of 12 through 22, astounded at how precocious and utterly relatable he was.

History Carnival #166

Some of the best historical blog writing from May 2017

I’m excited to be hosting the 166th installment of The History Carnival, a monthly showcase of some of the best recent blogging on historical topics from around the world. Each month it's hosted at a different blog to provide a variety of approaches and perspectives, and this month the pleasure of compiling this eclectic mix is all mine!

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.