In Pursuit–Version 1

I only found out about a wonderful documentary series titled In Pursuit: Philadelphia and the Making of America because the show’s writer and co-producer, Nathaniel Popkin, was dogged about tracking me down via email.[1] I am so glad he did. The ten-episode series uses the specifics of Philadelphia’s story to explore the broader story of…

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Road Trip Through History: Colonial Michilimackinac

Last weekend My Own True Love and I hit the road after far too many months of being tied to desks, tasks, and deadlines.  It was our third anniversary and we wanted Romance, plus a little history, long walks, fabulous food, glorious scenery.  We chose the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan. The hotel was…

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Steinbeck in Vietnam

Reading Steinbeck in Vietnam: Dispatches From the War, edited by literary scholar Thomas E. Barden, is a fascinating, and occasionally uncomfortable, experience. In December, 1965, Nobel laureate John Steinbeck, then 65, accepted an assignment from Harry F. Guggenheim to report on the war in Vietnam for Newsday.  A personal friend of Lyndon Johnson, with one…

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