History Buzz: July 2009

History Buzz

By Bonnie K. Goodman

Ms. Goodman is the Editor/Features Editor at HNN. She has a Masters in Library and Information Studies from McGill University, and has done graduate work in history at Concordia University.

July 27, 2009: Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s Arrest, President Obama and Race in America

HISTORY BUZZ:

POLITICAL HIGHLIGHTS:

This Week’s Political Highlights

BIGGEST NEWS STORIES:

Henry L. Gates,Jr. 911 call: Witness not sure she sees crime: – AP, 7-27-09 Obama Tries to Move Past Gates Furor: – WSJ, 7-26-09 Obama, Gates and the American Black Man: NYT, 7-25-09 Gates Says ‘Yes’ to Beer With Crowley: It was very kind of the President to phone me today. Vernon Jordan is absolutely correct: my unfortunate experience will only have a larger meaning if we can all use this to diminish racial profiling and to enhance fairness and equity in the criminal justice system for poor people and for people of color…. – Henry Louis Gates in The Root (edited by Henry Louis Gates) (7-24-09) Black males’ fear of racial profiling very real, regardless of class– LAT, 7-24-09 Case Recalls Tightrope Blacks Walk With Police – NYT, 7-23-09 Obama doesn’t regret ‘acted stupidly’ remark about Henry Gates Jr. arrest– NY Daily News, 7-23-09 Cop who arrested black scholar is profiling expert– AP, 7-23-09 Police Chief Responds to Obama’s Remarks – WSJ, 7-23-09 “The good news about the Henry Louis Gates fiasco” – James Hannaham at Salon.com, 7-22-09 Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and the Police in “Post-Racial” America – Brandon M. Terry at the Huffington Post, 7-22-09 If it can happen to Skip Gates….– Inside Higher Ed, 7-22-09 Skip Gates and the Post-Racial Project: – Melissa Harris-Lacewell in The Nation, 7-21-09 The Root Editor-in-Chief Henry Louis Gates Jr. talks about his arrest and the outrage of racial profiling in America: I’m saying ‘You need to send someone to fix my lock.’ All of a sudden, there was a policeman on my porch. And I thought, ‘This is strange.’ So I went over to the front porch still holding the phone, and I said ‘Officer, can I help you?’ And he said, ‘Would you step outside onto the porch.’ And the way he said it, I knew he wasn’t canvassing for the police benevolent association. All the hairs stood up on the back of my neck, and I realized that I was in danger. And I said to him no, out of instinct. I said, ‘No, I will not.’…. – Henry Louis Gates Jr. in The Root, 7-21-09 Police Drop Charges Against Black Scholar– WSJ, 7-21-09 Gates chastises officer after authorities agree to drop criminal charge: “I believe the police officer should apologize to me for what he knows he did that was wrong,” Gates said in a phone interview from his other home in Martha’s Vineyard. “If he apologizes sincerely, I am willing to forgive him. And if he admits his error, I am willing to educate him about the history of racism in America and the issue of racial profiling … That’s what I do for a living.”… – Boston Globe, 7-21-09 Henry Louis Gates Jr. Arrested – NYT, 7-21-09 Black scholar’s arrest raises profiling questions – AP, 7-21-09 Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. arrested outside his home, calls Cambridge police ‘racist’ – NY Daily News, 7-21-09 Henry Louis Gates, Jr.: Harvard professor arrested, racism accusations – AFP, 7-20-09

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY:

On This Day in History…. This Week in History…. July 27-August 2, 2009 10 Reasons Why Apollo 11 Moon Landing Was Awesome: Yesterday marked the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Forty years ago mission commander Neil A. Armstrong and lunar module pilot Edwin Eugene ‘Buzz’ Aldrin, Jr. walked on the moon while command module pilot Michael Collins orbited above. Today however, marks the 40th anniversary of the day people really reacted to what just happened. As with all major events in time, there is always a day of reflection…. – Wired, 7-21-09

IN THE NEWS:

Teaching American History Grants Funding In Jeopardy – Lee White at the website of the National Coalition for History (NCH) (7-24-09) Dr. Rafael Medoff: Historians Join Other Holocaust Scholars in Praising Uganda’s Darfur Arrest Threat: …We salute Uganda for making it clear that Bashir is not welcome, and we hope other countries will follow Uganda’s lead. Strong international action is necessary to end the Darfur genocide and bring the murderers to justice. The International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Bashir must be implemented. – Press –Wyman Institute (7-24-09) State Dept Offers New Caveat on Nixon Tapes: The transcripts of Nixon White House tape recordings that are published in the State Department’s official Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series are merely “interpretations,” not official records, the State Department acknowledged in the latest FRUS volume that was released this month. As such, those transcripts are susceptible to revision and correction. Secrecy News, written by Steven Aftergood, is published by the Federation of American Scientists (7-20-09) Tariq Ramadan … Scholar’s Visa Denial Suit Revived – Inside Higher Ed (7-20-09)

OP-EDs & BLOGS:

Melody Rod-Ari: NYT features op ed by art history grad student worried about her future in a bad economy University of California, Los Angeles My ‘Irrelevant’ Field, the Humanities – NYT, 7-26-09 Trevor Griffey: Fed-up historian offers a citizen’s guide for FOIA requests to the FBI – Trevor Griffey, PhD Candidate University of Washington, at his blog (7-22-09) Daniel Pipes: Believes Iraq will become Obama’s Vietnam – Daniel Pipes at his blog (7-19-09)

REVIEWS & FIRST CHAPTERS:

James MacGregor Burns: Judicial Roulette PACKING THE COURT The Rise of Judicial Power and the Coming Crisis of the Supreme Court – NYT, 7-26-09 James MacGregor Burns: PACKING THE COURT The Rise of Judicial Power and the Coming Crisis of the Supreme Court , Excerpt – NYT, 7-26-09 Rich Cohen: A Land and a People ISRAEL IS REAL An Obsessive Quest to Understand the Jewish Nation and Its History – NYT, 7-26-09 Allis Radosh and Ronald Radosh: Zionist in the White House A SAFE HAVEN Harry S. Truman and the Founding of Israel – NYT, 7-26-09 Richard Brookhiser: MEMOIR Conservatively Speaking RIGHT TIME, RIGHT PLACE Coming of Age with William F. Buckley Jr. and the Conservative Movement – WaPo, 7-26-09 Bradley Graham: MILITARY HISTORY A Warrior Fighting the Wrong War BY HIS OWN RULES The Ambitions, Successes and Ultimate Failures of Donald Rumsfeld – WaPo, 7-26-09 Art Historian Anthony Blunt: Memoirs of British Spy Offer No Apology – NYT (7-23-09)

PROFILED & FEATURED:

Andrew Roberts: The history man who loves to party – U.tv.news (7-26-09) Ehud Netzer: An Israeli archaeologist is certain he has solved the mystery of the biblical figure’s final resting place – Barbara Kreiger in Smithsonian Magazine (7-1-09)

QUOTED:

Guy Walters: Journalist–author of WW II history books–accuses Simon Wiesenthal of fabricating much of his own Holocaust story – The London Times (excerpted from his new book: Hunting Evil), 7-18-09

INTERVIEWED:

Reinhard Siegmund-Schultze: Historian discusses new book on an academic exodus that saved lives and changed mathematics Mathematicians Fleeing from Nazi Germany: Individual Fates and Global Impact Inside Higher Ed (7-27-09) Robin Hood Discovery: An Interview with Julian Luxford – www.medievalists.net, 3-25-09

HONORED, AWARDED &APPOINTED:

Marvin Dunn: Historian digs for stories of black settlement and its massacre (Rosewood) – Miami Herald (7-24-09)

SPOTTED:

Conservative dismisses the historians who met with Obama as lefties – American Conservative Daily (7-21-09)

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Medieval battle records go online BBC (7-20-09)

EVENTS CALENDAR:

Woodrow Wilson Center Holding Summer Institutes for High School Teachers: U.S. and the Cold War: THE UNITED STATES AND THE COLD WAR July 26-July 31, 2009 – Press Release (7-25-09) Woodrow Wilson Center Holding Summer Institutes for High School Teachers: U.S.-China Relations U.S.-China Relations July 26-July 31, 2009 – Press Release (7-25-09) August 1, 2009: An Evening with Ken Burns: Kens Burns has been making documentary films for more than 30 years. Since the Academy Award-nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, he has gone on to direct and produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made. The late historian Stephen Ambrose said of Burns’ films, “More Americans get their history from Ken Burns than any other source.” This evening will afford Chautauqua an opportunity to hear one of the most influential documentary makers of all time. Chautauqua Institutition. For more info 716-357-6200. – Jamestown Post-Journal, 5-21-09 Inaugural Semester-long seminar on Constitutional History offered at N-Y Historical Society this fall: Lincoln’s Constitution will be taught at the New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, on Thursday afternoons from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. The seminar will be held on September 17 and 24 and on October 1, 15, 22, and 29, 2009. NYHS Press Release (7-20-09)

ON TV:

BBC to launch new series on history of Christianity – Religious Intelligence, 6-19-09 C-SPAN2: BOOK TV Weekend Schedule PBS History Detectives: Mondays at 9pm History Channel: Weekly Schedule History Channel: “Hippies” – Monday, July 27, 2009 at 2pm ET/PT History Channel: “Sex in ’69: Sexual Revolution in America” – Monday, July 27, 2009 at 9pm ET/PT History Channel: “Return of the Pirates” – Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 2pm ET/PT History Channel: “Life After People & That’s Impossible: Eternal Life” – Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 8pm ET/PT History Channel: “Moonshot” – Saturday, August 1, 2009 at 8pm ET/PT History Channel: “Art of War” – Saturday, August 1, 2009 at 8pm ET/PT

BEST SELLERS (NYT):

NYT Non-Fiction Best Sellers List – August 2, 2009 #6 – Doug Stanton: HORSE SOLDIERS #8 – C. David Heymann: BOBBY AND JACKIE #16 – Craig Nelson: ROCKET MEN #24 – Richard Wolffe: RENEGADE #25 – Larry Tye: SATCHEL

COMING SOON BOOKS:

Gil Troy: Reagan Revolution : A Very Short Introduction, July 30, 2009 Constance Rosenblum: Boulevard of Dreams: Heady Times, Heartbreak, and Hope along the Grand Concourse in the Bronx, August 1, 2009 David Freeland: Automats, Taxi Dances, and Vaudeville: Excavating Manhattans Lost Places of Leisure, August 1, 2009 William A. DeGregorio: The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, Seventh Edition, August 15, 2009 Brooks D. Simpson: The Reconstruction Presidents (Paperback), August 18, 2009 Richard C. Hoagland: Dark Mission: The Secret History of NASA (Revised), September 1, 2009 Douglas Hunter: Half Moon: Henry Hudson and the Voyage That Redrew the Map of the New World, September 1, 2009 Noah Andre Trudeau: Robert E. Lee: Lessons in Leadership, September 1, 2009 Annette Gordon-Reed: The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family (Paperback), September 8, 2009 Jon Krakauer: Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman, September 15, 2009 Dean C. Jessee (Editor): The Joseph Smith Papers: Revelations and Translations, Volume 1: Manuscript Revelation Books, September 2009 James Patterson: The Murder of King Tut: The Plot to Kill the Child King – A Nonfiction Thriller, September 28, 2009 Timothy Egan: The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America, October 19, 2009 Gil Troy, Vincent J. Cannato, eds.: Living in the Eighties, October 23, 2009 L. Fletcher Prouty: JFK: The CIA, Vietnam, and the Plot to Assassinate John F. Kennedy, (Paperback), November 1, 2009 Edward Kritzler: Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean: How a Generation of Swashbuckling Jews Carved Out an Empire in the New World in Their Quest for Treasure, Religious Freedom–and Revenge, (Paperback), November 3, 2009 Anthony Haden-guest: Last Party: Studio 54, Disco, and the Culture of the Night (Paperback), December 8, 2009

DEPARTED:

Lionel Casson: Who Wrote of Ancient Maritime History, Dies at 94 – NYT (7-24-09)

Posted on Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 1:08 AM

July 20, 2009: 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11 & the 1st Moon Landing

HISTORY BUZZ:

POLITICAL HIGHLIGHTS:

This Week’s Political Highlights

BIGGEST NEWS STORIES:

Walter Cronkite, longtime CBS anchorman, dies at 92 LAT, 7-17-09 Walter Cronkite, Voice of TV News, Dies – NYT, 7-18-09 An Appraisal ‘Cronkite’ Meant the News NYT, 7-18-09 28 Years After Retirement, Anchorman Goes Off the Air – NYT, 7-19-09 Walter Cronkite ‘told the story of space’ – USA Today, 7-19-09

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY:

On This Day in History…. This Week in History…. July 20-26, 2009

IN THE NEWS:

James Carafano: A national historian for US government? – Source: Federal News Radio (7-13-09) Rick Perlstein attacked by O’Reilly on Fox as a far left activist YouTube video (7-14-09)

OP-EDs & BLOGS:

Julian E. Zelizer: What Jimmy Carter had right: On July 15, 1979, President Jimmy Carter delivered one of the more controversial speeches in recent presidential history. When Carter delivered what would come to be known as the “malaise” speech America was in bad condition. Inflation was devastating the economy. Unemployment rates were high. OPEC had increased oil prices several times within a few months. With his re-election on the horizon, Carter watched his approval ratings plummet to below 30 percent…. – Politico, 7-15-09

REVIEWS & FIRST CHAPTERS:

Craig Nelson: Apollo 11’s Bright Glare ROCKET MEN The Epic Story Of the First Men On the Moon – WaPo, 7-19-09 Hobson Woodward: Shakespeare’s Storm A BRAVE VESSEL The True Tale of the Castaways Who Rescued Jamestown . . . – WaPo, 7-19-09 Lynn Hudson Parsons: Power to (Some of) the People THE BIRTH OF MODERN POLITICS Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams and the Election of 1828 – WaPo, 7-19-09 Thomas Levenson: HISTORY A New Newton NEWTON AND THE COUNTERFEITER The Unknown Detective Career of the World’s Greatest Scientist – WaPo, 7-19-09 Martha A. Sandweiss on W. Ralph Eubanks: The Family That Rejected Jim Crow THE HOUSE AT THE END OF THE ROAD The Story of Three Generations of An Interracial Family in the American South – WaPo, 7-19-09 Greg Grandin: UTOPIAS Welcome to the Jungle FORDLANDIA The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford’s Forgotten Jungle City – WaPo, 7-19-09 Richard Holmes: Science and the Sublime THE AGE OF WONDER How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science – NYT, 7-19-09 Richard Holmes: THE AGE OF WONDER How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science, Excerpt – NYT, 7-19-09 David Kennedy on Margaret MacMillan: What History Is Good For DANGEROUS GAMES The Uses and Abuses of History – NYT, 7-19-09 Margaret MacMillan: DANGEROUS GAMES The Uses and Abuses of History, Excerpt – NYT, 7-19-09 Greg Grandin: Dearborn-on-Amazon FORDLANDIA The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford’s Forgotten Jungle City – NYT, 7-19-09 Greg Grandin: FORDLANDIA The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford’s Forgotten Jungle City, Excerpt – 7-19-09 Alistair Horne: Got Your Back KISSINGER 1973, the Crucial Year – NYT, 7-19-09 Alistair Horne: KISSINGER 1973, the Crucial Year – NYT, 7-19-09 Larry Tye: A Fastball Wrapped in a Riddle SATCHEL The Life and Times of an American Legend – NYT, 7-19-09 Larry Tye: SATCHEL The Life and Times of an American Legend – NYT, 7-19-09 James Gavin: No Prisoner of Love STORMY WEATHER The Life of Lena Horne – NYT, 7-19-09 James Gavin: STORMY WEATHER The Life of Lena Horne, Excerpt – NYT, 7-19-09 Jackson Lears continues his search for the origin of our times – John Summers in Book Forum (7-17-09)

PROFILED & FEATURED:

David McCullough: Next book is about Americans who headed to Paris – http://www.mvgazette.com (7-14-09)

QUOTED:

David Garrow “At 100, NAACP debates its role”: David Garrow, a civil rights historian, says there has been a shift from the traditional notion of black civil rights because of steady growth in black civic participation and decline of civil-rights-era protest groups…. – Chicago Tribune, 7-13-09 One Step Was Plenty First Man to Walk on the Moon Stoically Backpedals on Earth: Forty years ago today, Neil Armstrong became the most famous man on the planet by taking a short walk off of it. Since then he’s tried to live with that fact, and also live it down. – WaPo, 7-19-09

INTERVIEWED:

Charles W. Eagles: Author discusses new book on James Meredith and his battle to enroll at the University of Mississippi The Price of Defiance: James Meredith and the Integration of Ole Miss – Inside Higher Ed (7-14-09)

HONORED, AWARDED &APPOINTED:

Jonathan Brent: Former editorial director of Yale University Press and general editor of its celebrated Annals of Communism series is now in charge of one of the world’s most important archives of Jewish life – Chronicle of Higher Ed (7-15-09)

EVENTS CALENDAR:

August 1, 2009: An Evening with Ken Burns: Kens Burns has been making documentary films for more than 30 years. Since the Academy Award-nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, he has gone on to direct and produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made. The late historian Stephen Ambrose said of Burns’ films, “More Americans get their history from Ken Burns than any other source.” This evening will afford Chautauqua an opportunity to hear one of the most influential documentary makers of all time. Chautauqua Institutition. For more info 716-357-6200. – Jamestown Post-Journal, 5-21-09

ON TV:

BBC to launch new series on history of Christianity – Religious Intelligence, 6-19-09 C-SPAN2: BOOK TV Weekend Schedule PBS History Detectives: Mondays at 9pm History Channel: Weekly Schedule History Channel: “Beyond the Moon: Failure Is Not an Option 2” – Monday, July 20, 2009 at 2pm ET/PT History Channel: Apollo 11 Specials – Monday, July 20, 2009 at 4-11pm ET/PT History Channel: “Live from ’69: Moon Landing” – Monday, July 20, 2009 at 8:30pm ET/PT History Channel: “Moonshot” – Monday, July 20, 2009 at 9pm ET/PT History Channel: “Last Days on Earth” – Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 8pm ET/PT History Channel: “Journey to 10,000 BC” – Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 2pm ET/PT History Channel: “Mega Disasters: New York City Hurricane” – Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 6pm ET/PT History Channel: “Mega Disasters: San Francisco Earthquake” – Friday, July 24, 2009 at 2pm ET/PT History Channel: “Cities Of The Underworld” Marathon – Friday, July 24, 2009 at 4-6pm ET/PT History Channel: “Stealing Lincoln’s Body” – Friday, July 24, 2009 at 9pm ET/PT History Channel: “Ancient Aliens” – Saturday, July 25, 2009 at 8pm ET/PT

BEST SELLERS (NYT):

NYT Non-Fiction Best Sellers List – July 26, 2009 #4 – Doug Stanton: HORSE SOLDIERS #15 – Richard Wolffe: RENEGADE #19 – Larry Tye: SATCHEL #27 – Craig Nelson: ROCKET MEN

COMING SOON BOOKS:

Buzz Aldrin: Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon, July 23, 2009 Alice Morse Earle: Child Life in Colonial Times (Paperback), July 23, 2009 William A. DeGregorio: The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, Seventh Edition, August 15, 2009 Douglas Hunter: Half Moon: Henry Hudson and the Voyage That Redrew the Map of the New World, September 1, 2009 Annette Gordon-Reed: The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family (Paperback), September 8, 2009 Jon Krakauer: Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman, September 15, 2009

DEPARTED:

Civil War historian Kenneth Stampp dies at 96 – HNN, 7-13-09

Posted on Monday, July 20, 2009 at 5:10 AM

July 13, 2009: Obama Discusses the Presidency with Beschloss, Brands, Brinkley, Dallek, & Kearns Goodwin

HISTORY BUZZ:

POLITICAL HIGHLIGHTS:

This Week’s Political Highlights

BIGGEST NEWS STORIES:

Obama’s Secret Meeting With Historians: The president held a dinner at the White House for leading presidential scholars Obama held a dinner at the White House residence with nine such scholars on June 30, and it turned out to be what one participant described as a “history book club, with the president as the inquisitor.” Among those attending were Michael Beschloss, H. W. Brands, Douglas Brinkley, Robert Dallek, and Doris Kearns Goodwin. Obama asked the guests to discuss the presidencies that they were most familiar with and to give him insights into what remains relevant to the problems of today. – Kenneth T. Walsh in US News & World Report (7-10-09)

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY:

On This Day in History…. This Week in History…. July 13-19, 2009

IN THE NEWS:

Antony Beevor and Saul David: Historians furious as Kew archives are ‘dumbed down’ – Independent Institute website (7-12-09) James Watson and John Crawford:Historians: New Zealand was soft on Hitler – Waikato Times (7-11-09) Office of the Historian: Bureau of Public Affairs Release of Foreign Relations, 1969-1976, Volume E-10, Documents on the American Republics, 1969-1972 – Press Release–Office of the Historian (State Dept.) (7-10-09) Louisiana State U. Press Will Not Close, Director Says – Chronicle of Higher Ed (7-10-09) Campus Watch says Middle East Studies profs have turned on Iran – Cinnamon Stillwell at the website of Campus Watch (7-10-09) Luke Nichter, the Texas A&M professor runs Nixontapes.org: Watergate Figure John Dean Threatens to Sue Historian Over Damaging Tape Recordings – Fox News (7-10-09)

OP-EDs & BLOGS:

Lisa Keller: Recounts her brief encounter with Robert McNamara – Lisa Keller: Special to HNN (7-7-09) Eric Alterman: “Me and MJ” (Michael Jackson) – Eric Alterman at his blog, Altercation (7-2-09)

REVIEWS & FIRST CHAPTERS:

Kevin Mattson: Thirty Years Later, in Praise of Malaise WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU UP TO, MR. PRESIDENT? Jimmy Carter, America’s “Malaise,” and the Speech That Should Have Changed the Country – WaPo, 7-12-09 Shaun A. Casey: RELIGION AND POLITICS Faith in the Electorate THE MAKING OF A CATHOLIC PRESIDENT Kennedy vs. Nixon 1960 WaPo, 7-12-09 Richard Wrangham & Tom Standage: Cooking Up a Pot of Civilization CATCHING FIRE How Cooking Made Us Human, AN EDIBLE HISTORY OF HUMANITY – WaPo, 7-12-09 Tom Standage: AN EDIBLE HISTORY OF HUMANITY Chapter One THE INVENTION OF FARMING – WaPo, 7-12-09 Margaret MacMillan: Getting History Right DANGEROUS GAMES The Uses and Abuses of History – WaPo, 7-12-09 James Scott: HISTORY Misguided Missiles THE ATTACK ON THE LIBERTY The Untold Story of Israel’s Deadly 1967 Assault on a U.S. Spy Ship – WaPo, 7-12-09 Larry Tye: BIOGRAPHY ‘No Man Got to Be Common’ SATCHEL The Life and Times of an American Legend – WaPo, 7-12-09 Larry Tye: SATCHEL The Life and Times of an American Legend Chapter One Coming Alive – WaPo, 7-12-09 Gavin Mortimer: HISTORY The Wright Stuff CHASING ICARUS The Seventeen Days in 1910 That Forever Changed American Aviation – WaPo, 7-12-09 Craig Nelson, Andrew Chaikin with Victoria Kohl: Giant Step, Full Stop ROCKET MEN The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon, VOICES FROM THE MOON Apollo Astronauts Describe Their Lunar Experiences – NYT, 7-8-09 Craig Nelson: ROCKET MEN The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon, Chapter Seven A Way to Talk to God – NYT, 7-8-09 Elijah Wald: Roll Over, John Lennon HOW THE BEATLES DESTROYED ROCK ‘N’ ROLL An Alternative History of American Popular Music – NYT, 7-10-09 James MacGregor Burns: New Book on Supreme Court by Historian Packing the Court: The Rise of Judicial Power and the Coming Crisis of the Supreme Court – iberkshires.com (7-6-09) James MacGregor Burns says Supremes Really Govern America Packing the Court: The Rise of Judicial Power and the Coming Crisis of the Supreme Court – MICHIKO KAKUTANI in the NYT (7-6-09)

PROFILED & FEATURED:

Duane Allan Smith: Colorado historian publishes book No. 50 – Denver Post (7-12-09) Peter S. Onuf, Edward L. Ayers, Brian Balogh: History Radio Show: Drive-Time History, With a Dry Sense of Humor – Chronicle of Higher Ed (7-13-09) John G. Sperling: How a history professor became the pioneer of the for-profit revolution, University of Pheonix – Chronicle of Higher Ed (7-10-09) What economists need to learn from Niall Ferguson – Robert J. Samuelson in WaPo (7-6-09) William Appleman Williams … still remembered – Greg Grandin in The Nation (7-1-09)

QUOTED:

Howard Zinn: Historian Responds To Robert S. McNamara’s Death, Calls Him A “War Criminal” talkradionews.com (7-6-09)

INTERVIEWED:

Immanuel Ness: You Say You Want a Reference Book About Revolution? The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest, 1500 to the Present – Inside Higher Ed (7-8-09) Michael Oren: Israeli Ambassador in conversation with Jeffrey Goldberg (video) – youtube.com (7-2-09)

SPOTTED:

Top Historians Dissect “The Bush-Cheney Years” – Press Release–Historians Against the War (7-6-09)

EVENTS CALENDAR:

August 1, 2009: An Evening with Ken Burns: Kens Burns has been making documentary films for more than 30 years. Since the Academy Award-nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, he has gone on to direct and produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made. The late historian Stephen Ambrose said of Burns’ films, “More Americans get their history from Ken Burns than any other source.” This evening will afford Chautauqua an opportunity to hear one of the most influential documentary makers of all time. Chautauqua Institutition. For more info 716-357-6200. – Jamestown Post-Journal, 5-21-09

ON TV:

Niall Ferguson: The Ascent of Money Brings The Economic Crisis Down to Earth on PBS each Wednesday in July – About.com, 6-29-09 BBC to launch new series on history of Christianity – Religious Intelligence, 6-19-09 C-SPAN2: BOOK TV Weekend Schedule PBS History Detectives: Mondays at 9pm History Channel: Weekly Schedule History Channel: “The Exodus Decoded” – Tuesday, July 14, 2009 at 2pm ET/PT History Channel: “Mega Disasters: San Francisco Earthquake” – Tuesday, July 14, 2009 at 6pm ET/PT History Channel: “Cities Of The Underworld: New York: Secret Societies” – Tuesday, July 14, 2009 at 8pm ET/PT History Channel: “The Antichrist” – Wednesday, July 15, 2009 at 2pm ET/PT History Channel: “Angels: Good or Evil” – Wednesday, July 15, 2009 at 4pm ET/PT History Channel: “Lost Worlds: The Real Dracula” – Wednesday, July 15, 2009 at 6pm ET/PT History Channel: “True Story of the Bridge on the River Kwai” – Thursday, July 16, 2009 at 2pm ET/PT History Channel: “The Lost Pyramid” – Friday, July 17, 2009 at 2pm ET/PT History Channel: “UFO Files: The Pacific Bermuda Triangle” – Friday, July 17, 2009 at 8pm ET/PT History Channel: “Kennedys: The Curse of Power” – Saturday, July 18, 2009 at 8pm ET/PT History Channel: “The Kennedy Assassination: Beyond Conspiracy” – Saturday, July 18, 2009 at 10pm ET/PT

BEST SELLERS (NYT):

NYT Non-Fiction Best Sellers List – July 19, 2009 #4 – Doug Stanton: HORSE SOLDIERS #7 – Richard Wolffe: RENEGADE #19 – Larry Tye: SATCHEL

COMING SOON BOOKS:

Roger S. Bagnall: Oxford Handbook of Papyrology, July 14, 2009 David Maraniss: Rome 1960: The Summer Olympics That Stirred the World (Reprint), July 14, 2009 Buzz Aldrin: Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon, July 23, 2009 Alice Morse Earle: Child Life in Colonial Times (Paperback), July 23, 2009 William A. DeGregorio: The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, Seventh Edition, August 15, 2009 Douglas Hunter: Half Moon: Henry Hudson and the Voyage That Redrew the Map of the New World, September 1, 2009 Annette Gordon-Reed: The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family (Paperback), September 8, 2009 Jon Krakauer: Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman, September 15, 2009

DEPARTED:

Bela Kiraly, 1912-2009 – Ralph Luker at HNN blog, Cliopatria (7-8-09) William Marina R.I.P. – David Beito at HNN blog, Liberty & Power (7-7-09)

Posted on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 at 3:33 AM

History Buzz July 6, 2009: Drew Gilpin Faust, Harvard President’s Tough Choices & July 4th Myths

HISTORY BUZZ:

POLITICAL HIGHLIGHTS:

This Week’s Political Highlights Sarah Palin Resigns as Governor of Alaska – For 2012 Presidential Run? July 1, 2009: Are the Democrats too Liberal? Obama’s Climate and Health Care Reforms

BIGGEST NEWS STORIES:

Drew Gilpin Faust “Harvard President School has tough choices in decline”: Drew Gilpin Faust started as Harvard’s president when the university’s prosperity seemed limitless. With its ballooning wealth, Harvard planned almost frenzied growth, from a building boom into Boston to vast increases in student financial aid. Billions of lost endowment dollars later, though, Faust faces a much different reality. “We can’t have chocolate and vanilla and strawberry. We have to decide which one,” she said… – AP, 7-5-09 Peter de Bolla “Expert: Fourth of July lore not accurate”: Cultural history Professor Peter de Bolla of King’s College at Britain’s Cambridge University said in a Los Angeles Times story published Saturday that while the Fourth of July is commonly tabbed as Independence Day, July 2 would actually be a more accurate day to celebrate. July 2, 1776, was the day colony delegates voted at the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to seek independence from Britain, de Bolla said. The history professor said July 4, 1776, was simply the day officials from the 13 colonies chose to make their July 2 ruling public…. – Times of the Internet, 7-5-09 Ken Davis “Fun Fourth of July Facts: A Pop Quiz!”: Author Ken Davis Tests “The Early Show” Anchors’ Knowledge of Independence Day – CBS News, 7-3-09

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY:

On This Day in History…. On This Day in History…. This Week in History…. July 6-13, 2009

IN THE NEWS:

American Historical Association: AHA Membership Grows Modestly, as History of Religion Surpasses Culture – Robert Townsend at the AHA blog (6-30-09) Stephen Ambrose: Another error found, this time in Band of Brothers: Despite the stirring portrayal in “Band of Brothers,” Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division was not the first to enter Adolf Hitler’s Berchtesgaden mountain retreat near the end of World War II, says military historian Dr. John C. McManus in a new book. – Missouri University of Science and Technology news release (7-1-09) State Department Historical Advisory Committee Meets – Lee White at the website of the National Coalition for History (NCH) (6-29-09)

OP-EDs & BLOGS:

Harold James: Who is to Blame?: Now that the economic crisis looks less threatening (at least for the moment), and forecasters are spying “green shoots” of recovery, an ever more encompassing blame game is unfolding. The financial crisis provides an apparently endless opportunity for unmasking deceit, malfeasance, and corruption. But we are not sure quite who and what should be unmasked…. – IBTimes, 7-2-09 SARAH VOWELL: A Plantation to Be Proud Of – NYT, 7-5-09

REVIEWS & FIRST CHAPTERS:

John Ferling: First in War, First in Peace, First in Hogging the Credit THE ASCENT OF GEORGE WASHINGTON The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon – WaPo, 7-5-09 Raymond Arsenault: CIVIL RIGHTS Let Freedom Ring Marian Anderson, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Concert That Awakened America – WaPo, 7-5-09 Raymond Arsenault: Marian Anderson, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Concert That Awakened America, First Chapter – WaPo, 7-5-09 Jeffrey Rosen on James MacGregor Burns: THE LAW Black Robe Politics PACKING THE COURT The Rise of Judicial Power and the Coming Crisis of the Supreme Court WaPo, 7-5-09 Alan Brinkley on Richard Brookhiser: God and Man at National Review RIGHT TIME, RIGHT PLACE Coming of Age With William F. Buckley Jr. and the Conservative Movement – NYT, 7-5-09 Richard Brookhiser: RIGHT TIME, RIGHT PLACE Coming of Age With William F. Buckley Jr. and the Conservative Movement, Excerpt – richardbrookhiser.com Jackson Lears on D. D. Guttenplan: Paper Trail AMERICAN RADICAL The Life and Times of I. F. Stone – NYT, 7-5-09 Henry Waxman with Joshua Green: POLITICS Moustache of Justice THE WAXMAN REPORT How Congress Really Works – WaPo, 7-5-09 Vladislav Zubok: HISTORY Breaking the Bloc ZHIVAGO’S CHILDREN – WaPo, 7-5-09

QUOTED:

Doris Kearns Goodwin “Barack Obama’s Martha’s Vineyard days to come”: The Obamas face a similar situation that the Clintons did: Neither have their own vacation home or estate. “Unlike FDR, who had Hyde Park, or Lyndon Johnson or George W. Bush who had their own ranches, they need to find a place where they can relax, which the others did by going to their own homes,” said author and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. The presidential getaway is no small matter: The off-hours have given shape to the imagery of the presidency. Ronald Reagan cultivated a sun-baked masculinity by spending time at Rancho del Cielo, his California ranch. “Once, when an aide told President Reagan that it might be better if he didn’t go to his ranch so much, he said: ‘You can tell me a lot of things, but you can’t tell me that,'” said Goodwin…. Politico, 7-5-09

PROFILES & FEATURES:

Peggy Noonan calls David McCullough our greatest living historian: On David McCullough: … He is America’s greatest living historian. He has often written about great men and the reason may be a certain law of similarity: He is one also…. – WSJ (7-3-09)

INTERVIEWED:

Greg Grandin “Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford’s Forgotten Jungle City”: The book tells the story of Henry Ford, the richest man in the world in the 1920s, a nd his attempt to build a rubber plantation and a miniature Midwest factory town deep in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon. Democracy Now, 7-2-09 Johann N. Neem: A nation of joiners, an interview – Boston Globe (6-28-09)

HONORED, AWARDED &APPOINTED:

John W. Hall in place as the first Ambrose-Hesseltine Professor in U.S. Military History: University of Wisconsin at Madison hires military historian – Inside Higher Ed (7-2-09)

EVENTS CALENDAR:

W.Va. Civil War group debuts at Harpers Ferry Sesquicentennial of John Brown’s Raid kicks off – Journal News, 6-26-09 August 1, 2009: An Evening with Ken Burns: Kens Burns has been making documentary films for more than 30 years. Since the Academy Award-nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, he has gone on to direct and produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made. The late historian Stephen Ambrose said of Burns’ films, “More Americans get their history from Ken Burns than any other source.” This evening will afford Chautauqua an opportunity to hear one of the most influential documentary makers of all time. Chautauqua Institutition. For more info 716-357-6200. – Jamestown Post-Journal, 5-21-09

ON TV:

History Channel: Niall Ferguson: The Ascent of Money Brings The Economic Crisis Down to Earth on PBS each Wednesday in July – About.com, 6-29-09 BBC to launch new series on history of Christianity – Religious Intelligence, 6-19-09 C-SPAN2: BOOK TV Weekend Schedule PBS History Detectives: Mondays at 9pm History Channel: Weekly Schedule History Channel: “MonsterQuest” Marathon – Monday, July 6, 2009 at 2-5pm ET/PT History Channel: “Crime Wave: 18 Months of Mayhem” – Monday, July 6, 2009 at 8pm ET/PT History Channel: “The Crumbling of America ” – Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at 2pm ET/PT History Channel: “Mega Disasters: San Francisco Earthquake” – Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at 4pm ET/PT History Channel: “Ancient Aliens” – Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at 8pm ET/PT History Channel: “Crime Wave: 18 Months of Mayhem” – Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 2pm ET/PT History Channel: “Cities Of The Underworld: 13 – Underground Bootleggers” – Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 5pm ET/PT History Channel: “Art of War” – Thursday, July 9, 2009 at 2pm ET/PT History Channel: “Secrets of the Founding Fathers” – Friday, July 10, 2009 at 2pm ET/PT History Channel: “The Presidents: 1977-Present” – Friday, July 10, 2009 at 6pm ET/PT History Channel: “Rumrunners, Moonshiners and Bootleggers” – Friday, July 10, 2009 at 8pm ET/PT History Channel: “Expedition Africa” Marathon – Saturday, July 11, 2009 at 8-12pm ET/PT

BEST SELLERS (NYT):

NYT Non-Fiction Best Sellers List – July 12, 2009 #4 – Doug Stanton: HORSE SOLDIERS #7 – Richard Wolffe: RENEGADE #18 – Larry Tye: SATCHEL

COMING SOON BOOKS:

Mike Evans (Editor): Woodstock: Three Days That Rocked the World, July 7, 2009 Roger S. Bagnall: Oxford Handbook of Papyrology, July 14, 2009 David Maraniss: Rome 1960: The Summer Olympics That Stirred the World (Reprint), July 14, 2009 Buzz Aldrin: Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon, July 23, 2009 Alice Morse Earle: Child Life in Colonial Times (Paperback), July 23, 2009 William A. DeGregorio: The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, Seventh Edition, August 15, 2009 Douglas Hunter: Half Moon: Henry Hudson and the Voyage That Redrew the Map of the New World, September 1, 2009 Annette Gordon-Reed: The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family (Paperback), September 8, 2009 Jon Krakauer: Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman, September 15, 2009

DEPARTED:

Togo W. Tanaka dies at 93; journalist documented life at Manzanar internment camp: In 1942, Togo W. Tanaka and his family were evacuated to Manzanar internment camp, where his “rich daily accounts of everyday life” and his unflinching support of the United States “got him into a lot of trouble,” historians say. Many of his reports were critical of camp administrators and the policy that led to the internment of 10,000 people of Japanese descent, most of whom were U.S. citizens from Los Angeles County. – LAT, 7-5-09 Alice L. Cochran: historian and professor at Webster University, dies – www.stltoday.com, (7-2-09)

Posted on Monday, July 6, 2009 at 10:02 PM

Posted by bonniekgoodman on July 28, 2009

https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2009/07/28/history-buzz-7-2009/