Emily Bernard starts her biography, “This book is a portrait of a once controversial figure, Carl Van Vechten, a white man with a passion for blackness.” And while today more people can recognize Carl Van Vechten as a patron and leader of the black arts and Harlem Renaissance movement, in
Here, Francis J. Bremer, author of the recently published biography, Building a New Jerusalem: John Davenport, a Puritan in Three Worlds, discusses the intertwined religious and political histories of Boston, the first founders—its clergy, and their importance to our historical understanding. Francis J. Bremer— At a time when religion is politically
Follow @yaleSCIbooks “If heaven had given me choice of my position and calling, it should have been on a rich spot of earth, well watered, and near a good market…” – Thomas Jefferson, 1811 Thomas Jefferson was passionate about horticulture and his gardens at his home in Monticello. Peter J.
Follow @yaleARTbooks In the century and a half since the Civil War, more than 75,000 books have been published about the war and its legacy. The figure speaks to the magnitude of its impact on American politics, economics, and culture. However, few of these books have examined how American art
Read an excerpt from Wall Street Last month Strike Debt, an offshoot group of Occupy Wall Street, began buying strangers’ debt in order to make it disappear. Another manifestation called Occupy Sandy swooped in during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy to assist gathering and delivering supplies, filming a documentary in the
Sarah Osborn was a prolific writer, drafting a memoir as well as an additional two thousand pages documenting her life. And while few people will ever write that much about their lives, even fewer will have a story to tell as fascinating and enlightening as Sarah’s. Ms. Osborn, a wife,
You may know Thomas Jefferson as the third U.S. President but ever consider that he has, thus far, been our nation’s only epicurean president? In his book “A Rich Spot of Earth”: Thomas Jefferson’s Revolutionary Garden at Monticello, Peter J. Hatch introduces yet another of Jefferson’s many extra-political interests that
Journalist Paul VanDevelder, author of Savages and Scoundrels: The Untold Story of America’s Road to Empire through Indian Territory, considers the development of American history from the perspectives of the Founders and what a narrow consideration of the nation’s expansion might mean for how we as Americans—indeed, all types—reflect on
Read an excerpt from Elizabeth and Hazel There are no simple stories, if they’re true. Fifty five years ago, a young black student named Elizabeth Eckford moved toward Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas to attend class for the first time. She was part of what would be known as
Since Election Day, a host of scapegoats have been blamed for Mitt Romney’s campaign loss – Obama’s “gifts” to minorities, Governor Chris Christie, single women, Former President Bush – the list is tireless. Yet perhaps the most convincing factor has less to do with Romney and more with the Republican