Things Noted Here and There

Barry Schwartz,"Make College Admissions a Crapshoot," LA Times, 18 March, argues that admissions at elite institutions are now so competitive that it defies a rational decision-making process. Schwartz, a professor of psychology at Swarthmore, is the author of The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less.

James V. Grimaldi,"Smithsonian Documents Detail Chief's Expenses," Washington Post, 19 March, looks at the extravagant compensation for the Smithsonian's director, at a time when the Institution, itself, is increasingly underfunded.

Jonathan Keates,"Historical Novels from the Tudors to the Blitz," TLS, 14 March, reviews recent historical fiction. Thanks to Manan Ahmed for the tip.

Amy Sturgis,"Florida's Forgotten Rebels: Rediscovering the most successful slave revolt in American history," Reason, April, reviews J. B. Bird's web documentary, Rebellion: John Horse and the Black Seminoles, the First Black Rebels to Beat American Slavery.

At Airminded and Revise and Dissent, Brett Holman has a"State of the Military Historioblogosphere." He graphs the growing numbers of military history blogs, the nationality and gender of its bloggers, and their subjects: periods, theaters, and wars. The five most popular military history blogs, Brett finds, are: 1) Blog Them Out of the Stone Age, 2) Civil War Memory, 3) Investigations of a Dog, 4) Airminded, and 5) Military History. About's Military History, interestingly enough, is currently without a"guide," so if you're interested in blogging as a military history generalist at a site with an established audience, here's your opportunity. The launching of a Military History Carnival on 12 April confirms the increasing vitality of the military history blogosphere.