Crash Course in American History
curated by serendipity
Forgive me for the later than usual and probably shorter post today. I have become immersed in trying to understand our current politics from a better vantage point (bedsides having lived through a lot of it since arriving when I was 12 and now being 78). I don’t seem to remember taking an actual course on the subject of American History although perhaps in high school I got a smattering. I do remember the main focus of one whole year was British History probably in freshman year around the time when I was fresh off the boat. Anyway, better late than never.
A recent trip to Goodwill provided me with two lovely hard back books which are helping fill in some of the gaps. The first is Time’s Portraits of the Presidents by Hugh Sidey, subtitled power and personality in the Oval Office. While the book is chockablock full of fabulous photographs—not just the formal portraits which I was expecting—there is also quite a bit of historical background to absorb. It covers the time from Franklin Roosevelt through Bill Clinton.
The second brand new copy I found was of John Bolton’s bestselling memoir The Room Where It Happened, his story of being in the White House for 453 days as the National Security Adviser to the former President now facing 4 legal cases with 88 indictments left I think. Anyway, former Ambassador Bolton is still a staunch Republican as far as I can gather but not a supporter of the current presumptive nominee of that party. So I am finding it very interesting to read the day by day account of how horribly things could have gone wrong without some of the people who were able to prevent the worst from happening then. It is clear that a second term would not include such people.
I do love sitting and reading all day, so because I got out for a walk earlier, I feel completely justified to indulge my second favorite passion today. Oh, and by the way, someone else on Substack said that they had read every word of the Bible. I have never read any of it actually, other than quotes in other media. I have, however, read every word of the January 6th Report. So there’s that. Enjoy yourselves in any manner you like and I will do the same. TTFN.
I remember the history courses from high school. They didn't get into the underlying causes of the events we were told about. Not taking any history courses in college was likely an error but thanks to some good writers who delve into the historical depths and tell the story of things like Andrew Johnson trying to resurrect the Old South that had just been defeated by Generals Grant and Sherman in the Civil War. And of course we didn't really understand how that conflict started.
Thanks, Don. Every time I see your handle I want to ask about the ground hog. But I know that’s a different place. Good to keep learning stuff.