Damn Interesting Stuff
Geoffrey Wheatcroft,"A. J. P. Taylor," Prospect, March 2006, reviews the British historian's work in the centennial of his birth. Wheatcroft describes his own disillusionment with Taylor as the first of the"hackademics" and"teledons" – the forerunner of Niall Ferguson and Simon Schama. Thanks for the tip to Eric Rauchway at POTUS, who is critical of Wheatcroft's sneering attitude toward popularization.
Jacob Weisberg,"The Erring Republican Authority," Slate, 29 March, explains why Kevin Phillips and his American Theocracy should be ignored.
Welcome Lucas Edward Bailey to the world -- just in time to coach dad, Richard, through his final oral exams. The little lad already has a blog of his own!
Finally, Rob MacDougall's"Superman I: Secret Origins," Old is the New New, 15 March, prompts Jason Kuznicki to step back in time with"History: Poisonous, Repetitive, Written by Losers," Positive Liberty, 29 March. On the comic book front, see also: Frederic Wertheim, the man who changed comic books forever. Dave found that damn interesting piece at DamnInteresting.com. There's also damn interesting stuff on"The Dutch Tulip Bubble of 1637," early photography of nuclear explosions and a lot more DamnInteresting history here. Don't forget to send nominations of your damn interesting posts to Dave for this week's Carnival.