Category: REVIEWS

Book Review: Founding Rivals

founding-rivals

Chris DeRose, Founding Rivals: Madison vs. Monroe, The Bill of Rights, and the Election That Saved a Nation (Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2011).

Before serving the young United States as President, or as Secretary of State, James Madison and James Monroe each eventually served the new republic in Congress. In the nation’s first election under the newly adopted Constitution, these two men faced each other in a contest to represent Virginia’s 5^th Congressional District. Madison, author of the Constitution versus Monroe, a soldier hero of the Revolution. Madison, the Federalist versus Monroe, the Anti-Federalist. The Constitution’s survival as a governing document was at stake.

Review: Presidential Wit and Wisdom

I was recently gifted this brilliant little book, a great quick read, containing selected quotes of various U.S. presidents. This book would be the perfect gift for any person interested in U.S. history.

Here are two selections from James Madison and a bonus track from William Henry Harrison.

A remarkable story, a great blog that references other great blogs! A lot of history.

Aviation Trails

War creates some remarkable heroes. It makes people perform beyond the limits of normal human endurance; through immense pain and suffering, these heroes are able to perform duties beyond those expected or even believed possible.

There were many airmen who carried out these duties with little or no recognition for their actions, never to speak of them or be acknowledged for them.Georges Nadon, a French-Canadian Spitfire pilot, is one of them.

Georges had a long career, he fought both in the skies of Britain and Malta, and completed two ‘tours’ that amounted to an incredible 277 operations and more than 500 hours in the air.

Georges Nadon’s flying career began with 122 Squadron based at RAF Hornchurch, where he flew Spitfires. Of the 27 original pilots of 122 Sqn, only Georges and one other pilot survived. On Christmas Eve 1943 he sailed to Malta, where he would fly – on…

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Duesenberg-Milton Land Speed Record Car

If you are into cars, this is a great article.

Old Machine Press

By William Pearce

After winning the Elgin National Road Race, held in Elgin, Illinois on 23 August 1919, Duesenberg race car driver Tommy Milton began to focus on one of his top goals: establishing a new land speed record at Dayton Beach, Florida. The current record was held by Milton’s rival Ralph De Palma at 149.875 mph (241.001 km/h). Milton had been contemplating a land speed record (LSR) car for a long time. In December 1916, he and Fred Duesenberg entered into an agreement* to build a car to Milton’s specifications provided Milton would partially fund the vehicle. With his share of the Eglin winnings, Milton was one step closer to building the LSR car.

Tommy Milton sits in the Duesenberg-Milton LSR car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (most likely in May 1920). The burnt paint on the engine cowl was a result of a fire during its speed runs…

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When Did Passenger Trains Begin to Run between New York City and Montreal?

Well researched, interesting history

PenneyVanderbilt

It all started out with a question from a reader wondering if there was a railroad that went from New York City to Montreal circa 1855? He had some of John Stover’s books and with maps that show a line going from NYC to the Canadian border as early as 1850. But it’s really not too clear and there is no text stating that.

Our reader found the answer – no direct line, but there was a line through Vermont that then crossed over to Rouses Point and connected up with the Plattsburgh to Montreal line that opened in 1852. Yup, that bridge eventually became part of the Rutland line to Ogdensburg, NY

The D&H at created a line from Albany / Troy to Rouses Point. Then they bought a subsidiary, Napier Junction Rwy, that got them into Montréal. Connections NYC to Albany were not in place 1855.

If you…

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The More noble..the more humble

This gallery contains 3 photos →

Semi-Pro Football

1946hollywood-bears charlestonrockets

Hollywood Bears Charleston Rockets

(www.oldestlivingprofootball.com) (www.logoserver.com)

A couple gifts for a Sunday. A little history on two stadiums with important connections to Semi-Pro Football. Stadiums, leagues, teams, and players important to the history of the game.

A Post About Clio

Though often unrecognized, history constantly brushes against us. It is present in all the places we visit, in houses we walk past, and the roads on which we drive. Stored in libraries and archives the world over, these histories link people to place, but they are not easily accessible. Wireless devices allow us to access an incomprehensible amount of information, if we know what to enter in a search field. How can the history buff easily connect with the history around them? How can a football fan travelling through Portsmouth, OH, quickly discover the local stadium NFL Hall of Fame members once called home? If a naval enthusiast gassed up in Portsmouth, NH, how could they casually learn of William Badger’s 1800’s shipyard? Clio connects you with historic places, people, and events with which you are not familiar. It is free and simple to use.

Book Review: West of the Revolution

Rarely, will I recommend a book with revisionist appeals. Claudio Saunt’s work, West of the Revolution, is such a book. As the title indicates, Saunt explores North American events contemporaneous to, but removed from, the American Revolution. Despite an appeal to modern revisionist belief, it is an enjoyable and informative read of 211 pages.

Book Review: The Last Battle

Although cliché, it is certainly true that history is the story of intersecting paths. History’s best stories are those whose various character paths originate at points most divergent from each other. One such story occurred in Austria during the final days of World War II. In his book The Last Battle, Stephen Harding successfully informs not only to the historical significance of the point of intersect (the battle); he also relates the backstories (the paths), of the participating characters.

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