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Category Archives: history
The Fall of Roman Britain
When we speak of the fall of the Roman empire, we’re usually engaging in hyperbole: Rome’s decline in Europe was more of a slow decay and transformation. In Britain, though, first Rome was there and then it wasn’t — and … Continue reading
Posted in history, Reviews, science
Tagged archaeology, Britain, climate change, history, Rome, science
2 Comments
The Club
I have an interest in men’s clubs dating back to reading Around the World in 80 Days and The Time Traveler as a kid, and I have no idea why. Boys like clubs and clubhouses as a rule, I think, … Continue reading
Posted in history, Reviews
Tagged Britain, history, literature, Of Boys and Men, social history
6 Comments
Elizabeth’s London
Let us travel to a city which, in great part, no longer exists: Tudor London, much of which has been erased by time, fire, and ‘progress’, which holds burying swimming pools under concrete as a capital idea. I first read … Continue reading
Life Below Stairs
If, like me, you became interested in the goings-on of English servants via Downton Abbey, Alison Maloney opens with a word of caution. Many servants didn’t work in small armies at places like Highclere Castle. Instead, they were thoroughly leavened … Continue reading
Summer of ’49
In the summer of 1949, young David Halberstam was fifteen years old, facing a father in declining health and thankful for the distraction that was baseball. The Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees would provide it in spades, … Continue reading
Ballpark
Regardless of one’s personal beliefs about the origins of baseball, there’s no getting around the fact that the game as we know it is a product of the cities, particularly New York: the cities were where the people were, and … Continue reading
Posted in history, Reviews
Tagged architecture, baseball, cities, history, sports and outdoors
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A Right to Read: Segregation and Civil Rights
Alabama public libraries were early stages for Civil Rights projects, given their high public profile and higher deals: libraries were created for the common good, for the benefit of society, meant to serve everyone. How could they bar someone from … Continue reading
Posted in history, Reviews
Tagged 1950s, 1960s, Alabama, bookshops and libraries, Civil Rights, history
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Short rounds: Idols, community, and baseball bros
Despite appearances, I have been reading this past week… Elizabeth Scalia’s Strange Gods: Unmasking the Idols of Everyday Life invites readers to consider those things which get between them and God. I heard sermons on this topic in my youth … Continue reading