Category Archives: Books

Is Wolf Hatred Really “Wolfism”? by Rick Lamplugh and George Lamplugh (Adventures in Interdisciplinary Land, 8)

[NOTE: The following, a collaborative (or even interdisciplinary!) effort by my brother and me, is cross-posted from “Rick Lamplugh’s Blog.” I hope you enjoy this very different post on “Retired But Not Shy.”] * * * * * For the … Continue reading

Posted in "In The Temple of Wolves", Age of Jim Crow, American History, Books, Civil Rights Movement, Current Events, Historical Reflection, History, Interdisciplinary Work, Popular Culture, Research, Rick Lamplugh, Southern History, Uncategorized, Wolves, WP Long Form | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Evolution of a Blog: “Retired But Not Shy” at Four

[NOTE: If I had not edited my school’s “History Department Newsletter” over the last few years of my teaching career, I might never have become a blogger. Using a template provided by Microsoft, I planned each bi-monthly issue, parceled out … Continue reading

Posted in "Lincoln"--the movie, "The Race Beat", American History, Blues Women, Books, Civil Rights Movement, Civil War, Current Events, Delta Blues, Dr. Martin Luther King, George R. Gilmer, Georgia History, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, Interdisciplinary Work, James Gunn, Martin Luther King, Popular Culture, prep school teaching with a PhD, Research, Retirement, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, Teaching, The Blues, Vietnam War, Wilson Lumpkin | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

The South on the Nation’s Psychiatric Couch, Again

A Review of Tracy Thompson, The New Mind of the South. New York and London: The Free Press, 2013. [NOTE:  I became a historian of the South not by birth, but because a southern grad school to which I’d applied … Continue reading

Posted in Age of Jim Crow, American History, Books, Civil Rights Movement, Civil War, Current Events, Georgia History, Historical Reflection, History, History graduate school, Popular Culture, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

“Famous for Being Famous”: A Kardashian for the Gilded Age

Let’s admit it up front: for a lot of us, there is a definite “cringe factor” when we make our way through the supermarket checkout aisle and glance at magazine covers, or sign in to msn.com or yahoo.com. Whether or … Continue reading

Posted in American History, Books, Current Events, Historical Reflection, History, Interdisciplinary Work, Mark Twain, Popular Culture, Retirement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on “Famous for Being Famous”: A Kardashian for the Gilded Age

“He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,” The Writer

A Review of Rick Lamplugh, In the Temple of Wolves: A Winter’s Immersion in Wild Yellowstone. (2014) (available at amazon.com in both paperback and e-book formats) [Full Disclosure: I’m about to violate the book reviewer’s code of conduct here, which … Continue reading

Posted in "In The Temple of Wolves", Books, Retirement, Rick Lamplugh, Wolves, Yellowstone National Park | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

B.B. King, “King of the Blues” (Blues Stories, 12)

[NOTE:  There is a generic career arc for many twentieth-century Blues performers: a poverty-stricken background in the Jim Crow South, especially the Mississippi Delta; “escape” to the “land of opportunity” somewhere in the North or Midwest; early career success, followed … Continue reading

Posted in American History, B.B. King, Books, Civil Rights Movement, Delta Blues, Historical Reflection, History, Interdisciplinary Work, John Lee Hooker, Research, Retirement, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, Teaching, The Blues, Urban Blues | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Teaching History “Backwards” (History Lesson Plans, 1)

[NOTE: Sometimes teaching ideas come from odd sources. In 2007, for example, I asked the principals of our elementary, junior high, and high schools to reflect in the columns of Atlanta’s Finest Prep School’s (AFPS’s) History Department newsletter on the … Continue reading

Posted in Age of Jim Crow, American History, Books, Civil Rights Movement, History, Research, Southern History, Taylor Branch, Teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Son House–Preacher, Killer, “Father of the Delta Blues” (Blues Stories, 10)

A review of Daniel Beaumont, Preachin’ the Blues: The Life & Times of Son House. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. [Note:  The cover picture on the double compact disc, “Son House: Father of the Delta Blues: The … Continue reading

Posted in "Charley Patton", Alan Lomax, American History, Books, Delta Blues, History, Research, Retirement, Robert Johnson, Son House, Southern History, Teaching, The Blues | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Big Bill Broonzy–The Blues Man as Pragmatist (Blues Stories, 9)

A Review of Robert Riesman, I Feel So Good:  The Life and Times of Big Bill Broonzy.  Chicago and London:  The University of Chicago Press, 2011. [NOTE:  2011 was a very good year for Blues biographies:  three reputable university presses … Continue reading

Posted in Alan Lomax, Big Bill Broonzy, Books, Chicago Blues, Delta Blues, History, Muddy Waters, Research, Retirement, Southern History, The Blues | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Book that Changed my Life (Adventures in Interdisciplinary Land, 4)

[Note:  A couple of years before I retired, our energetic new high-school librarian proposed that interested faculty and staff contribute to the library’s website brief essays on books that had had a significant impact on their lives.  What follows is … Continue reading

Posted in Books, History, Interdisciplinary Work, Kingsley Amis, Lucky Jim, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments