HISTORY TODAY MAGAZINE (DECEMBER 2023) – This issue features The 50 years that made America from Revolution to the Monroe Doctrine, the forgotten role of Archbishop Wulfstan, the home front of the First World War, the role of sokol in Czech nationalism, Volcanos on tour, and the best history books of 2023.
Fifty years separate the Boston Tea Party and the Monroe Doctrine. How did a group of British colonies become a self-proclaimed protector of continents within half a century?
It was the evening of 16 December 1773. At Boston’s Old South Meeting House, more than 5,000 people awaited word from the governor of Massachusetts Bay, Thomas Hutchinson. Had the governor finally given in to their demand to send back to England the three ships laden with East India Company tea that were moored in Boston harbour? When learning of the governor’s refusal, tradition holds that the firebrand orator Samuel Adams loudly declared that ‘this meeting’ could do no more to defend the rights of the people. The words were a pre-arranged signal.
Books of the Year 2023
Revolutions and rubles, godlings and fascist symbols, Shakespeare and silk: ten historians choose their favourite new history books of 2023.
Times Literary Supplement (October 6, 2023): The new issue features War Stories – A review of the Iliad; Frances Sputford’s ‘Other America’; In Chaucer’s Shadow; The devil and ChatGPTand Martin Buber’s ‘I and Thou’…
“Xi’s sense of personal destiny entails significant risk of war…”
Foreign Affairs (September 29, 2023):The United States now confronts graver threats to its security than it has in decades, perhaps ever. Never before has it faced four allied antagonists at the same time—Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran—whose collective nuclear arsenal could within a few years be nearly double the size of its own. Not since the Korean War has the United States had to contend with powerful military rivals in both Europe and Asia. And no one alive can remember a time when an adversary had as much economic, scientific, technological, and military power as China does today.
The problem, however, is that at the very moment that events demand a strong and coherent response from the United States, the country cannot provide one. Its fractured political leadership—Republican and Democratic, in the White House and in Congress—has failed to convince enough Americans that developments in China and Russia matter. Political leaders have failed to explain how the threats posed by these countries are interconnected. They have failed to articulate a long-term strategy to ensure that the United States, and democratic values more broadly, will prevail.
The brilliant mountain maples, birches and beeches in the White Mountains of New Hampshire
NEW YORK TIMES TRAVEL (September 25, 2023) – Here are five beautiful places to catch the leaves — and while you’re there, you can peek out of covered bridges, gaze up at waterfalls, ride a tramway or a train, or even try to spot a legendary Bigfoot-like creature known as the Grassman.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
White Mountains Trail
Driving the White Mountains Trail, a 108-mile loop that winds through groves of gold birches, bronze beeches, and orange, yellow and red mountain maples, you may find yourself unable to resist stopping in the middle of a covered bridge to peek through the walls.
The Albany Covered Bridge, which crosses the rocky Swift River in the White Mountain National Forest near Conway, N.H., is one of 54 remaining covered bridges in the state. Built in 1858, it features a red roof and weathered brown walls with gaps that let the leaves peep at you.
MASSACHUSETTS
Mount Greylock State Reservation
From the study at his farmhouse in Pittsfield, in western Massachusetts, Herman Melville gazed at 3,491-foot Mount Greylock, whose humped shape possibly inspired the white whale in “Moby-Dick.” When the trees on that hump start to change, it becomes more of a gloriously mottled whale.
The mountain’s colors typically peak in early to mid-October, with golds, bright oranges and vivid reds, mainly from tamarack, striped maple and yellow birch. The wet summer may lead to some spotting and discoloration on some leaves, said Nicole Keleher, the director of forest health for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, but she predicted a wide variety of colors overall.
GEORGIA
Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest
The Russell-Brasstown National Scenic Byway, a 40-mile loop through the nearly 867,000-acre Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, winds through mountains drenched in the yellows of tulip poplars, the crimsons of dogwood, and the scarlets and purples of maples — with most expected to peak the week of Oct. 24, said Steven Bekkerus, a public affairs officer for the forest.
Deep in those woods, you’ll find two waterfalls to complement the autumn palette.
OHIO
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
From a vintage rail car on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, the reds and golds of Cuyahoga Valley, Ohio’s only national park, roll by — and if you see a shadow darting among the trees, it could be the Ohio Grassman, also known as the eastern Bigfoot, a creature reputed to reside in the woods there.
The colors, which peak in mid- to late October, “range from brilliant reds of the sugar maples to the deep browns of the white oaks,” said Pamela Barnes, a public information officer at the park, which is just south of Cleveland.
The Economist (August 10, 2023) – Non-cash payments are on the rise all over the world. Our writers explain how digital technology has changed the way consumers shop in three important markets: America, China and India.
Video timeline: 00:00 Cashless transactions are on the rise 00:18 America: account and card 02:01 India: Unified Payment Interface 04:06 China: App payments
France and the French can remain globally relevant only in English. Or so says British journalist Simon Kuper in one of a series of articles published recently by Le Monde. According to him, French is losing its utility, while English reigns supreme.
BERNARD CERQUIGLINI
“The French Language Is Doing Just Fine, Thank You!”
Who better than this jovial linguist to champion the French language? Bernard Cerquiglini holds a doctorate in literature, formerly directed the Center for French and Francophone Studies at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie, and has been the vice-president of the Fondation des Alliances Françaises for the last two years.
A table! This October, we invite you to a dinner party – a roomful of transatlantic talent like Thomas Chisholm, the French-American chef shaking things up in Paris, New York-based French philanthropists Olivia and Jean-Pierre Chessé, and the team at Bragard, the French house that has been dressing chefs since 1933!
Also in this issue, read how Rousseau inspired not one, but two revolutions; travel to Camargue (“the French Wild West”); and meet French vanlifer Ben Quesnel, who left his job at Facebook to travel up and down the West Coast in a Volkswagen bus and turned his itinerant lifestyle into a company.
This month, the world’s greatest couturiers will descend on New York and Paris for Fashion Week. For the occasion we bring you stories about la mode and the people behind it. Read about Lee Miller (“A Fashion Model in Combat Boots”), Condé Nast (“The Man Behind the Empire”), and how young, urban creatives in France and America have adopted le bleu de travail – the French worker’s jacket. Also in this issue, travel to the South of France and the Camargo Foundation, which was created in 1971 by American filmmaker Jerome Hill; read our editorial on the Uberization of the world, and meet Belgian “food alchemist” Pascal Baudar, who spends most of his time in the hills around Los Angeles looking for his next meal: plants, fruit, seeds, grains, and even insects!
Known as a symbol of freedom to its admirers and an assault weapon to its detractors, the AR-15 is one of the most controversial weapons in America. Lightweight and easily customizable AR-15-style weapons have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years taking center stage at gun ranges and shooting competitions across the country.
According to the most recent national figures, there are an estimated 393 million civilian-owned firearms in the U.S. And there are about 20 million AR-15-style weapons in the country. Firearm manufacturers have seen revenue surge taking in about $1 billion from the sale of AR-15-style weapons in the past decade.
But the weapons have also been involved in a number of mass shootings. AR-15-style weapons were used at shootings in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, a Fourth of July parade in suburban Chicago and a grocery store in upstate New York. Critics argue the weapons are also aggressively marketed by gun companies targeting at-risk young males.
So what is behind the popularity of the AR-15 and what responsibility do gun makers have when their products are used in mass shootings? Watch the video to learn more.
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious
The Economist
Boomers Daily 