Over the Thanksgiving week, the family and I decided to do a trip to Munich, Germany. It was the first time we had been to Germany, so were looking forward to heading over there. As a self-described history nerd, I immediately go deep into the history of the region. Here are 5 key takeaways from…
Author: James
The house where Franklin Roosevelt died is a must see
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to go to Warm Springs, Georgia to visit the cottage Franklin Roosevelt owned. It was his break from Washington and a place where he could swim in the warm pools to help his with his polio. It was referred to in the media as The Little White…
10 things about Frederick Douglass I learned after reading David Blight’s Pulitzer Prize winning book
I just finished the very lengthy Pulitizer Prize winning book by David Blight, titled Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom. It is well worth the read to get a better understanding of the life of Frederick Douglass and the pivotal issues in America from the 1820s to the 1890s. 10 things about Frederick Douglass, slavery, Jim…
8 facts on the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam that make it a must see
During Thanksgiving week, I traveled to Europe with the family. It was the first time I have been to Europe in over 30yrs ago when I was a child. During graduate school, where I got my Master’s in Early American History, I had to read a lot of books on European history since they were…
Go see Tombstone, Arizona if you are interested in the Wild West
I have spent the week in Arizona, which for me is my first visit. I did not come to Arizona as my capacity as a blogger, but for my full time job. As a self-described history nerd, I could not resist using up most of my free time going to historical sites within the state….
The legacy of Jack Daniel the man and his whiskey
Introduction: When it comes to American whiskey, one name stands out as an enduring symbol of quality and tradition: Jack Daniel. Born in Lynchburg, Tennessee, in1850. It would be his brand of whiskey with the famous number 7 on the bottle that is now a premier whiskey brand around the world. It would be that…
Embers of War, anti-Communism, and the making of the Vietnam War
Title: Embers of War by Frederik Logevall: The Fall of An Empire and the Making of America’s Vietnam Introduction: Embers of War, authored by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Frederik Logevall, is a monumental book that offers a comprehensive and compelling examination of the lead up to the Vietnam War. Through meticulous research and storytelling, Logevall delves…
Juneteenth is a holiday we all should celebrate
On June 19, 1865, a bearded man from New York, with a force of 2,000 Union troops, arrived to Galveston, Texas and issued General Order number 3. It later would become one of the most famous orders given in American history. It freed the last of those held in slavery. From that point, no one…
Top 4 things in the JFK Presidential Library
A couple of weeks ago I visited the President John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is a beautiful library that site directly on the coastline of Boston Harbor. It also is make almost entirely of windows, so on a Sunny day it gets lots of natural light. The library’s permanent…
The Great Escape in Nazi Germany
Roger Bushell, also known as “Big X,” was a British RAF officer who is best known for his role in planning the “Great Escape” from Stalag Luft III during World War II. Bushell was one of the 76 prisoners who managed to escape from the camp on the night of March 24, 1944. In this…
