Books
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Nation Cannot Survive At Shallow End Of Swimming Pool
Somewhere between rereading The Imperial Presidency by Arthur Schlesinger and the daily newspapers, I have been trying to place the lessons of the past into the constant absurdity and irrationality of the present. I am not sure I am making headway in my thinking, but I want to share where I am as of today. Continue reading
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Letter From Home: Heartstopper And Hancock 1/23/26
Last fall, at Barnes & Noble, thanks to a large display near an entrance to the bookstore, I first became aware of Alice Oseman, and the Heartstopper series. Several books of her work were prominently displayed, and I spent a few minutes reading a bit and exploring the overall tone and mission of them. Heartstopper Continue reading
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What Must Be Done To Face Our Current Crisis In America?
While reading the newspapers today, I thought about a book I had read decades ago by Arthur Schlesinger. I read it in my 20s while in Door County, a decade after it was published. The Imperial Presidency was written following the twin debacles of Vietnam and Watergate, with an emphasis on what should be the Continue reading
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Charles Michelson: The Man Who Saw Hoover Clearly, Lesson For Trump Years
I want to write this column about a newspaperman who understood the times in which he lived and then worked to report on what it meant for the people. He also revolutionized political marketing as the first party official dedicated to media outreach. When reading 1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin, which contains many memorable personalities, Continue reading
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1929: Greed Creates Public Crisis, Andrew Sorkin’s Masterpiece
As the New Year unfolds, I am reminded of how I wish to spend a chunk of my time in the next 360 days. Reading great books. Recently, I wrote rarely do I read a newly published book. My shelves and current book pile are filled with slices of history published many years and decades Continue reading
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Last Book Of 2025: Riveting British History From Robert Harris
History, when told well, has the pulse of a thriller. Over the past few decades, the quality of the narratives from historians and writers has increased, ranging from Herbert Donald Smith, David McCullough, Ron Chernow, and Erik Larson as they stoked boundless enthusiasm on the printed page for the lives and times of Abraham Lincoln, Continue reading
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A Bittersweet Farewell To George Meyer, Dies In Madison, 78
Mother Nature offered a poignant farewell to George Meyer on Wednesday. The highly respected former secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and a steadfast friend to environmental causes across the state, passed away at his home after a courageous battle with cancer. In the final hours of Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, a Continue reading
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In Cold Blood: Truman Capote’s Book Viewed 60 Years Later
The main news over the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend was shameful. The collective retaliation by the Trump Administration against people from nations around the world who are now part of our national family, as he desires to halt all asylum decisions and remove millions who call this place home. It was chilling to learn that Defense Continue reading
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Robert Caro Still Working On Final Volume Of Lyndon Baines Johnson Series
Robert Caro is a name often bantered about in our home, especially when victors walk through our rooms with bookcases. The volumes of his work about Lyndon Baines Johnson are noted as they underscore the joy found in the past by an author, incredible researcher and powerful storyteller. He is what many book lovers and Continue reading
Caffeinated Politics 