Edge Induced Cohesion

This evening, shortly before heading to dinner, I was chatting with a dear Persian friend of mine about her tendency to bring up important questions about grammar, ask for me to provide more information about them, only to immediately fall asleep and delay the conclusion of the discussion to the following day. I noted, when she got up, that this tendency reminded me of the collection of tales that resolves around the woman we know as Scheherazade, the heroine of the collection of tales we know as the 1001 Arabian Nights....

Whose Thousand And One Nights? This evening, shortly before heading to dinner, I was chatting with a dear Persian friend of mine about her tendency to bring up important questions about grammar, ask for me to provide more inform…

The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars, And Caliphs, by Marc David Baer This book is a classic case of a mixed book that both benefits and suffers from the author's historical interests and perspective. It is also a book that it is capable to appreciate even where one disagrees with some of the major points of the author, such as the author's unsettling and somewhat contradictory contextualization of the Ottoman reputation for tolerance at the beginning of their empire as well as their pervasive pederasty....

Book Review: The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars, And Caliphs The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars, And Caliphs, by Marc David Baer This book is a classic case of a mixed book that both benefits and suffers from the author’s historical interests and perspective…

The Complete Infidel's Guide To Iran, by Robert Spencer In examining a book like this, one has to think of the time it was made and the purpose it was made for. Some books are timeless classics which can be enjoyed long after they were written, other books have no time in which they are worth reading. This is a book that was written for the moment--specifically, for the election of 2016--for an audience of people who were highly critical of the Iran peace deal that was made in the latter days of the Obama administration, and the book sought to remind its readers that the Islamic Republic of Iran was a far more dangerous threat to American and to Americans than the trendy ISIS, which has largely at this date faded (fortunately) into the dustbin of history along with the historical ruins it has similarly demolished....

Book Review: The Complete Infidel’s Guide To Iran The Complete Infidel’s Guide To Iran, by Robert Spencer In examining a book like this, one has to think of the time it was made and the purpose it was made for. Some books are timeless classi…

The Story Of Russia, by Orlando Figues How do you write a concise book about Russian history that seeks to be relevant to a Western audience in explaining Russia's own perspective while not making the book unreadable in its length? The author manages this by seeking to uncover themes and patterns within Russian history that lead down to the present day....

Book Review: The Story Of Russia The Story Of Russia, by Orlando Figues How do you write a concise book about Russian history that seeks to be relevant to a Western audience in explaining Russia’s own perspective while not m…

Napoleon was a bad movie, but it was a bad movie of a specific kind that is quite rare. It is probably a disadvantage when it comes to enjoying this film to come to it with a high degree of historical knowledge. From the opening scene--which takes place in 1793 even though it is labeled as 1789--the film manages to play fast and loose with chronology in its portrayal of the life of Napoleon....

Movie Review: Napoleon Napoleon was a bad movie, but it was a bad movie of a specific kind that is quite rare. It is probably a disadvantage when it comes to enjoying this film to come to it with a high degree of histori…

Lincoln's Code: The Laws Of War In American History, by John Fabian Witt There are tens of thousands of books about Abraham Lincoln, and while this book is not entirely unique in its interest in the Lieber Code that was authorized by Lincoln in the midst of the Civil War that served as a groundbreaking and deeply complex effort on the part of Americans to provide rules and principles for how wars should be fought, the level of detail it goes into is impressive and makes this book essential reading if one wants to understand the American approach to war....

Book Review: Lincoln’s Code Lincoln’s Code: The Laws Of War In American History, by John Fabian Witt There are tens of thousands of books about Abraham Lincoln, and while this book is not entirely unique in its interest…

One of the characteristic aspects of a life that has been spent as a student of military history is that one tends to find conflicts under rock. Military history is closely related to other disciplines of history, such as diplomatic history and political history in particular, and while one would think that a world as full as conflict as our own would be a goldmine for military history, it often tends to be far more fertile for efforts at shaping history rather than studying it....

Conflicts Under Every Rock One of the characteristic aspects of a life that has been spent as a student of military history is that one tends to find conflicts under rock. Military history is closely related to other discipl…

The Portuguese: A Modern History, by Barry Hatton This book is a book in English about the Portuguese, a people whom it is said that it is difficult to know, and this book is full of a great deal of nuance about the people of Portugal and their history. It seems, at least in reading this book, that the author begins in a far more pro-Portuguese mood and gradually writes more critical aspects about the people and their history....

Book Review: The Portuguese: A Modern History The Portuguese: A Modern History, by Barry Hatton This book is a book in English about the Portuguese, a people whom it is said that it is difficult to know, and this book is full of a great deal o…

I would like to take as my starting point for discussion the following text from noted Civil War historian Richard Hofstadter on the subject of comity: "Comity exists in a society to the degree that those enlisted in its contending interests have a basic minimal regard for each other: one party or interest seeks the defeat of an opposing interest on matters of policy, but at the same time seeks to avoid crushing the opposition, denying the legitimacy of its existence or its values, or inflicting upon it extreme and gratuitous humiliations beyond the substance of the gains that are being sought....

On Comity I would like to take as my starting point for discussion the following text from noted Civil War historian Richard Hofstadter on the subject of comity: “Comity exists in a society to the degr…

The Wikipedia Legends Of The Civil War: The Incredible Of The 75 Most Fascinating Figures From The War Between The States, by the editors Of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. This book is a very bad book, but bad of a specific type and for a specific reason. The editors who made this compendium of what they view (badly) to be the 75 most compelling people who have wikipedia entries relating to their Civil War experience are so skittish and shy about taking credit as editors that they make a somewhat aggressive copyright claim without having any copyrighted material to claim--it is all material copied and slightly edited from wikipedia.org--while also remaining anonymous....

Book Review: The Wikipedia Legends Of The Civil War The Wikipedia Legends Of The Civil War: The Incredible Of The 75 Most Fascinating Figures From The War Between The States, by the editors Of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. This book is a very bad book, …

Thank You For Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, And Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About The Art of Persuasion, by Jay Heinrichs A book like this needs to come with a bit of a warning. I enjoyed this book as a reader who has a practical interest in rhetoric and as someone who engaged regularly in public speaking where I seek to engage in appeals that are heavy in logos and ethos, and only limited pathos....

Book Review: Thank You For Arguing Thank You For Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, And Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About The Art of Persuasion, by Jay Heinrichs A book like this needs to come with a bit of a warning. I enjoyed this b…

Robert Woods and his trunk went on the boat from Freetown to Nassau. He looked around him, trying to memorize the islands and their sights in his mind. It was only a few hours after this when he found himself in Nassau once again. He investigated the dock and found which ships were headed to England, hoping that one would take him as far as Hull, and found one that would make a few stops along the coast before dropping him off at Hull....

Mens Rea: Epilogue Robert Woods and his trunk went on the boat from Freetown to Nassau. He looked around him, trying to memorize the islands and their sights in his mind. It was only a few hours after this when he fo…

Before too long, the news came to the British in St. Augustine that peace was being worked out and that the Spanish and British had agreed to trade the Bahamas for East Florida, thus ending 20 years of British control over the peninsula. While future generations of Florida men and women would likely have preferred that the British maintained their hold over the area, the Spanish were happy to gain a territory back that they had never done very much with aside from the areas of St....

Mens Rea: Chapter Twenty-Three Before too long, the news came to the British in St. Augustine that peace was being worked out and that the Spanish and British had agreed to trade the Bahamas for East Florida, thus ending 20 year…

A guard on lookout duty came into the office of Don Antonio. "Sir, I believe there are some smugglers approaching the city," he said. "If they are smugglers, they are probably British," Don Antonio said evenly. "Do you want me to send some ships or some troops after them?" The guard asked. "Not for the moment," Don Antonio said. "It would be better for you to lie in wait and see when they are distracted by trying to load up their ships and leave, and then you can catch them in the act of smuggling."...

Mens Rea: Chapter Twenty-Two A guard on lookout duty came into the office of Don Antonio. “Sir, I believe there are some smugglers approaching the city,” he said. “If they are smugglers, they are probably Bri…

At first, it must have seemed like a hopeless mission to many people. Only seventy volunteers went with Major Deveaux from Saint Augustine towards the Bahamas at first. Considering that the Spanish had taken Nassau with some 1400 troops, making Havana vulnerable by drawing most of that city's garrison, in order to take over the Bahamas in the first place, it might be thought that the Briths would try something similar....

Mens Rea: Chapter Twenty-One At first, it must have seemed like a hopeless mission to many people. Only seventy volunteers went with Major Deveaux from Saint Augustine towards the Bahamas at first. Considering that the Spanish…

Lord Martin smiled at his guest as he was seated in his home in St. Augustine with his wife. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Major Deveaux," Lord Martin said. "I have been looking to talk with you for a while, but I fear you have been very busy." "I did not wish to be rude, Lord Martin, but I was indeed busy with an expedition on behalf of the British empire....

Mens Rea: Chapter Twenty Lord Martin smiled at his guest as he was seated in his home in St. Augustine with his wife. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Major Deveaux,” Lord Martin said. “I have been looking …

When Monday morning came to the House of Lords, many members of the house rose to give their memories of Viscount Lipton. He had made many friends among the Lords and was fond enough of games and drink and conversation that he had proven to be a witty conversation partner to those who had not known him very well or had not ever spent that much time listening to the same stories over and over again or been subject to his intensely critical and intensely hypocritical judgments....

Mens Rea: Chapter Nineteen When Monday morning came to the House of Lords, many members of the house rose to give their memories of Viscount Lipton. He had made many friends among the Lords and was fond enough of games and d…

Salmon P. Chase: Lincoln's Vital Rival, by Walter Stahr How vital of a historical personage is Salmon P. Chase? Most Americans will be most familiar with his name because Chase National Bank, one of the largest banks in the United States, was named after him by some friends. This honor was well-deserved, as Salmon P. Chase was Secretary of the Treasury during most of the American Civil War and largely responsible for creating the national bank system and uniform federal currency that was fundamental for the economic growth of the United States in the last half of the 19th century and beyond....

Book Review: Salmon P. Chase Salmon P. Chase: Lincoln’s Vital Rival, by Walter Stahr How vital of a historical personage is Salmon P. Chase? Most Americans will be most familiar with his name because Chase National Bank,…

The news about the death of Viscount Lipton had been a long time coming. Given that this particular Viscount had held on to the title for decades, from the early death of his father, the people of the area of North Yorkshire where the Viscount lived had taken his life and his existence for granted. No one could remember when someone else had been Viscount, at least no one who was not as old as the Viscount himself....

Mens Rea: Chapter Eighteen The news about the death of Viscount Lipton had been a long time coming. Given that this particular Viscount had held on to the title for decades, from the early death of his father, the people of …

It was not too long before the House of Lords convened again, with another baronet in the dock. "What is your name?" Viscount Montgomery asked the Vice Admiral. "My name is John Maxwell," the admiral replied. "Do you know why you are here?" Montgomery asked. "I have some idea why I am here," Maxwell answered. "Why did you leave Mr. Robert Woods in chains in Nassau rather than in having him paroled and bringing him back to St....

Mens Rea: Chapter Seventeen It was not too long before the House of Lords convened again, with another baronet in the dock. “What is your name?” Viscount Montgomery asked the Vice Admiral. “My name is John M…

A young man sat at the bar, surrounded on all sides by the titled nobility of Great Britain. "What is your name?" the lord in charge of the proceedings asked the man. "My name is John Temple," he replied. "Do you have any title?" the questioner, Viscount Montgomery, asked. "My father was a baronet, but I don't know that he had a courtesy title at all, no," John replied....

Mens Rea: Chapter Sixteen A young man sat at the bar, surrounded on all sides by the titled nobility of Great Britain. “What is your name?” the lord in charge of the proceedings asked the man. “My name is …

Robert Woods spent enough time in chains to wonder if he had been forgotten. To be sure, he knew that he was not entirely forgotten, because the garrison did come and feed him and apologize to him for not being able to do more than simply keep him alive. He felt forgotten in the larger sense of not knowing if anyone knew what was going on or cared about him....

Mens Rea: Chapter Fifteen Robert Woods spent enough time in chains to wonder if he had been forgotten. To be sure, he knew that he was not entirely forgotten, because the garrison did come and feed him and apologize to him …

The Atlas Of The Civil War, edited by James McPherson Although most of my audience is American, this is a blog with a substantial international audience, and it should be noted that this book is about the American Civil War. There are no doubt many examples of civil wars that merit their own atlases, but this one is focused on the period between 1861 and 1865 in the United States....

Book Review: The Atlas Of The Civil War The Atlas Of The Civil War, edited by James McPherson Although most of my audience is American, this is a blog with a substantial international audience, and it should be noted that this book is ab…

While there were a lot of trials going on in London, at the same time there was a great deal of business going on elsewhere that I feel it necessary to explain, dear reader. As Francisco de Miranda had warned Governor Cagigal, Viceroy Galvez was not pleased that his efforts at conquering Jamaica were sabotaged by the depletion of the Havana garrison to attack Nassau instead....

Mens Rea: Interlude While there were a lot of trials going on in London, at the same time there was a great deal of business going on elsewhere that I feel it necessary to explain, dear reader. As Francisco de Miranda…

Terra Incognita (Medicus #2), by Ruth Downie There is always a danger in calling a book or considering something to be Terra Incognita (unknown land). After all, the supposedly unknown lands here are the lands of the human heart, which have probably been mapped out billions of times, as well as the lands of Northern England, which have been inhabited for thousands of years at the point of this novel....

Book Revie: Terra Incognita Terra Incognita (Medicus #2), by Ruth Downie There is always a danger in calling a book or considering something to be Terra Incognita (unknown land). After all, the supposedly unknown lands here a…

What is the power of a teacher? I am aware that we do not, as Americans, tend to think of teachers as a particularly powerful profession. There are several interrelated reasons for this. For one, America has a longstanding tradition that views teachers as a pretty low-status profession that is generally held by those who were not very good in school, at a par with those going into social work, and both professions tend to be paid accordingly at fairly low levels....

The Power Of A Teacher [Note: This is the prepared text for a sermon given to The Dalles congregation of the United Church of God on Sabbath, November 18, 2023.] What is the power of a teacher? I am aware that we do not,…

When Vice Admiral Maxwell arrived in St. Augustine with his paroled troops, he expected to find himself celebrated. What he found was something different. Not long after he arrived in town, he found himself with a visitor from among the better classes of the city. Lady Martin gave him a look that he was sure he had seen before. "Where is my son?"...

Mens Rea: Chapter Fourteen When Vice Admiral Maxwell arrived in St. Augustine with his paroled troops, he expected to find himself celebrated. What he found was something different. Not long after he arrived in town, he foun…

The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln And American Slavery, by Eric Foner There are a lot of books that have been written about Abraham Lincoln, including a great many I have read (which is only a small percentage of the total), and though this particular author has written about Abraham Lincoln indirectly, this book is the first time that he has written about Lincoln as a subject, and it is definitely a worthwhile book from an accomplished historian with a very particular interest when it comes to Lincoln....

Book Review: The Fiery Trial The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln And American Slavery, by Eric Foner There are a lot of books that have been written about Abraham Lincoln, including a great many I have read (which is only a small…

When Robert returned from his visit to Freetown, he found that Nassau looked much the same as when he had left it, which is about as he had expected. When he visited the fortress where the Vice Admiral, who also served as governor, resided, he found that there was no definite place for him decided within the administration, but that his presence was still wanted there, for reasons he did not quite understand....

Mens Rea: Chapter Thirteen When Robert returned from his visit to Freetown, he found that Nassau looked much the same as when he had left it, which is about as he had expected. When he visited the fortress where the Vice Adm…

Lincoln's Lie: A True Civil War Caper Through Fake News, Wall Street, And The White House, by Elizabeth Mitchell Now, this book is somewhat falsely titled. The author, herself a member of that unethical variety of pond scum known as the political journalist, which is perhaps an insult to more honorable pond scum, had the temerity to title this book as Lincoln's lie, which is itself a bit of fake news that is fitting of the level of integrity of contemporary journalists....

Book Review: Lincoln’s Lie Lincoln’s Lie: A True Civil War Caper Through Fake News, Wall Street, And The White House, by Elizabeth Mitchell Now, this book is somewhat falsely titled. The author, herself a member of tha…

Supreme Injustice: Slavery In The Nation's Highest Court, by Paul Finkelman Viewed in one way, this book is a valuable tonic to those works on the Supreme Court that largely whitewash and ignore the importance of slavery to Supreme Court decisions and justices with regards to the legal historiography of the period before the American Civil War. Positions like Dred Scott vs....

Book Review: Supreme Injustice Supreme Injustice: Slavery In The Nation’s Highest Court, by Paul Finkelman Viewed in one way, this book is a valuable tonic to those works on the Supreme Court that largely whitewash and ign…

Juan Cagigal looked at the letter that he had on his hand from his superior, Bernardo de Galvez. While outwardly he remained calm, inside he seethed. Galvez had already proposed the attack that was about to go off, twice in fact, once late last year and once earlier this year. But now, for some reason, he urged caution. The letter he looked at stated that the attack should not now go off, that it was inexpedient and would not serve to the benefit of Spanish arms....

Mens Rea: Chapter Twelve Juan Cagigal looked at the letter that he had on his hand from his superior, Bernardo de Galvez. While outwardly he remained calm, inside he seethed. Galvez had already proposed the attack that was…

I must admit that I was a bit surprised when I heard that this film was being released. Having enjoyed the first three books of the Hunger Games series (the main trilogy) and the four books that were made from them, the existence of The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes was something that had slipped by me (and probably many other people as well), so I made sure to read it before the movie came out so that I would not be completely blindsided by the plot....

Movie Review: The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes I must admit that I was a bit surprised when I heard that this film was being released. Having enjoyed the first three books of the Hunger Games series (the main trilogy) and the four books that we…

The Crooked Path To Abolition: Abraham Lincoln And The Antislavery Constitution, by James Oakes Given how many books there have been written about Abraham Lincoln (in the tens of thousands), this book is a worthy winner of the Lincoln Prize, which is an intensely competitive award given the popularity of writings about the 16th President of the United States. What this book does is it frames Lincoln's apparent contradictions with regards to slavery and his native tendency to compromise with Lincoln's belief in the antislavery constitution and in his sincere desire to achieve the best for the cause of freedom....

Book Review: The Crooked Path To Abolition The Crooked Path To Abolition: Abraham Lincoln And The Antislavery Constitution, by James Oakes Given how many books there have been written about Abraham Lincoln (in the tens of thousands), this b…

It was early the next morning when Robert awoke from his sleep and enjoyed a bit of breakfast. The crew of soon-to-be Bahamas landowners around him were a bit more bleary-eyed than he was, but Robert supposed that they had not slept as comfortably as he had, given that they had far less expensive accommodations than he did, and so let it pass without judgement....

Mens Rea: Chapter Eleven It was early the next morning when Robert awoke from his sleep and enjoyed a bit of breakfast. The crew of soon-to-be Bahamas landowners around him were a bit more bleary-eyed than he was, but Robe…

It did not take too long for the ship to reach New Providence, and as the ship approached the port of Nassau, Robert looked out from the deck to see the beauties of the city. When the ship docked, he was in no particular hurry, and so he let the other people exit the ship first who had a more urgent search for housing....

Mens Rea: Chapter Ten It did not take too long for the ship to reach New Providence, and as the ship approached the port of Nassau, Robert looked out from the deck to see the beauties of the city. When the ship docked, …

Before heading to the courthouse, as he had promised, Robert checked out of the inn and headed to the garrison with his carpetbag. He dropped it off with the duty officer and then walked back to the jail, where he saw Harrison and his family waiting. "Did Lt. Sanders end up talking to you?" Robert said to the Sadies. "Oh, was that what his name was?" the elder Sadie replied....

Mens Rea: Chapter Nine Before heading to the courthouse, as he had promised, Robert checked out of the inn and headed to the garrison with his carpetbag. He dropped it off with the duty officer and then walked back to th…

The Broken Constitution: Lincoln, Slavery, And The Refounding Of America, by Noah Feldman When I first began reading this book, I was at least mildly sympathetic to the author's argument that Lincoln sought to transform the meaning of the American constitution by reforging it with a moral commitment to freedom from slavery. By the end of the book, I was deeply alarmed by where the author was choosing to go, and what he saw as the moral purposes of government and the ability of government, ruled by self-righteous moral activists like himself, to impose their vision of what is right on a potentially wary and hostile majority....

Book Review: The Broken Constitution The Broken Constitution: Lincoln, Slavery, And The Refounding Of America, by Noah Feldman When I first began reading this book, I was at least mildly sympathetic to the author’s argument that…

Homestead Act Of 1862, edited by Jacob K. Friefeld and Mikal Eckstrom If I had to define this relatively short magazine that was labeled by my local library system as a book as briefly as possible, I would say that it is politically correct settler colonialism for kids. Now, I wish it to be plainly understood that I have nothing against settler colonialism....

Book Review: Homestead Act Of 1862 Homestead Act Of 1862, edited by Jacob K. Friefeld and Mikal Eckstrom If I had to define this relatively short magazine that was labeled by my local library system as a book as briefly as possible,…

As Robert arrived at the prison, he found that Harrison's family members were already there, trying to talk to him and keep his spirits up. "You look like you are on some kind of mission," Harrison said to Robert as he saw him walk in. "I am, I have just enjoyed a class of tea and an enlightening discussion with Judge McNeal," Robert replied....

Mens Rea: Chapter Eight As Robert arrived at the prison, he found that Harrison’s family members were already there, trying to talk to him and keep his spirits up. “You look like you are on some kind of missio…