Reviews
The Quintessential Optimist
Reading a presidential memoir, for any American, is normally an act of retroactive curiosity. And no one does it quickly. The pages are densely littered with information no longer relevant to anyone but the most issue-specific historians. But when those…
The Gifted School
Back in August, on the morning of my first day of teaching at a gifted school, I carved out 10-15 minutes in my classroom to grab a cup of coffee and read the first chapter of Bruce Holsinger’s 450-page novel,…
A Comic Look at the White House
Last night, I finished book #53 on the year, #150 in my personal library of presidential history. Turns out, “Thanks, Obama” is the Rated R version of the Obama Administration. Just think Bachelor Party meets A Few Good Men meets…
Biden, Harris, & Buttigieg
This past week, ahead of the Democratic debates, I decided to sit down and read through the most recent works of Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Pete Buttigieg, all of whom I respect as Americans, all of whom I consider…
On Earth, We’re Briefly Gorgeous
For the past two years, I have made a regular point of going downtown, on June 12, and paying my respects with families and friends at Pulse, reading tributes, shaking hands, and sharing smiles, moved by the reality of a…
When They See Us
As a society, we tend to avoid reflection, to steer clear of any admission that we, either collectively or individually, ever did anything wrong, that we are devoid of blame, that we can, without any lingering guilt, wash our hands…
A Presidents Day Message
Nestled between the untouchably humble Calvin Coolidge and the untouchably favored FDR is one of the more historically maligned presidents of the 20th Century, a man so low on the totem pole of American memory as to warrant only a…
About Hamilton
In the early aughts (2002-2009), after my wife and I got married, my little brother and my little sister used to come and stay with us on breaks from school. Aspiring to be though not yet fully an educator, I…
The Great American Painkiller
Between mid-January and early February, I sat down to read Beth Macy’s Dopesick, namely because it covered a subject for which I was only vaguely familiar and because opioid addiction has only just recently garnered a bigger and bigger flashlight…
The World As It Is
A raw, combative, and unflinching insider’s look at the Obama administration and its foreign policy. I finished “The World As It Is” this afternoon, listening to hours and hours of rainfall on the back lanai, enjoying the book more so…
