Category Archives: American History

Depressing, yet compelling

Posted on February 11, 2019 by Linda

Paul O’Connor reviews a book he meant to read long ago, one that still offers important lessons. Like Paul, I find that I will listen to the audio version of difficult books I cannot make myself read in print. Reviewed … Continue reading →

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Through a screen, darkly

Posted on January 13, 2019 by Linda

From time to time, my younger son, a Navy officer, contributes a review. This one is particularly timely, not to mention thought-provoking. Reviewed by Lt. Samuel Brinson LIKEWAR: The Weaponization of Social Media. By P. W. Singer and Emerson T. … Continue reading →

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America: Our founders, ourselves

Posted on November 30, 2018 by Linda

Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson AMERICAN DIALOGUE: The Founders and Us. By Joseph J. Ellis. Random House Audio. Read by Arthur Morey. 8 ½ hours; 7 CDs. $40. Also available in print from Knopf. 283 pages. $27.95. I started listening … Continue reading →

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Challenging the powerful, a reporter’s story

Posted on June 20, 2018 by Linda

Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson REPORTER. By Seymour M. Hersh. Random House Audio. 14 hours; 11 CDs. Read by Arthur Morey. $40. Also available in print from Knopf, 355 pages, $27.95. “I am a survivor from the golden age of … Continue reading →

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History and mystery

Posted on March 6, 2018 by Linda

Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson JEFFERSON’S DAUGHTERS: Three Sisters, White and Black, in a Young America. By Catherine Kerrison. Books on Tape (Penguin Random House Audio). Read by Tavia Gilbert. 17 hours; 14 CDs. Also available in print from Ballantine … Continue reading →

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Franklin Roosevelt, meeting the challenges

Posted on February 10, 2018 by Linda

Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT: A Political Life. By Robert Dallek. Penguin Audio. Read by Rick Adamson. 30 hours; 24 CDs. $79. Also available in print from Viking. 704 pages, $40. Robert Dallek’s new book about Franklin … Continue reading →

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A prudent president at a dangerous time

Posted on January 17, 2018 by Linda

Tom Dillon says Jeffrey Engel’s new book on the first President Bush takes a worthwhile look at a time most of us lived  through without fully understanding. WHEN THE WORLD SEEMED NEW: George H.W. Bush and the End of the Cold … Continue reading →

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War, independence and family ties

Posted on July 2, 2017 by Linda

Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE LOYAL SON: The War in Ben Franklin’s House. By Daniel Mark Epstein. Random House Audio. Read by Scott Brick. 16 ½ hours; 13 CDs. $60. Also available in hardback from Ballantine Books. Most of … Continue reading →

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What did the president know …

Posted on April 11, 2017 by Linda

Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson RICHARD NIXON: The Life. By John A. Farrell. Random House Audio. Read by Dan Woren. 29 hours; 23 CDs. $60. Also available in hardcover from Doubleday. There have been other biographies of Richard Nixon, the … Continue reading →

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A most misunderstood president

Posted on March 29, 2017 by Linda

Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor HERBERT HOOVER: A LIFE. By Glen Jeansonne. Berkley. 464 pages. $28. Also available from Penguin Audio, read by Mark Deakins. 16 hours, 28 minutes. $29.95. Head west across Interstate 80 from Chicago, and you’ll come … Continue reading →

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