American Writers (one Hundred Pages At A Time)

The documents from the summer of 1863, after the victories of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, show how rapidly Emancipation changed the fortunes of the war and public opinion in both the North and the South. I had a lot of fun with these documents and hope you enjoy too.

In this episode we continue our slow read through IT by Stephen King and finish up part two of the book. The chapters focus on the power of magic, belief, reason, and the group.

Part three of my review of IT by Stephen King. The chapters I look at here explore the creation of a Ka-tet (to steal a Dark Tower term) and meditate on the power of the group.

In this episode we look at a handful of turning points in the American Civil War by working through the Library of America's anthology of Civil War writings.

Part two of my review of Stephen King's IT. I mostly discuss how much I like the book's relationship to fictional and real history.

As I continue reading through a series of primary sources on the American Civil War, I dig into the events of June of 1863, which set the stage for some climactic events including the draft riots, the Battle of Gettysburg, and the attack on Fort Wagner.

This episode of my non-Hugo-award-winning podcast introduces a mini-series on Stephen King's IT, which will be released alongside my main series. Here I cover the first few chapters of the novel.

When did the American Civil War become a total war? The documents I look at in this episode cover the spring of 1863 and suggest these months may be when the war truly became total.

In this episode I continue my Civil War series and look at the impact of Emancipation on the war effort, diplomacy, and public opinion. I also talk about Sherman's questions about freedom of the press.

A bit of a mixed bag in this episode. I close out my look at Franklin's writings from before his relocation to London in 1757 and take on a grabbag of letters on science and politics.

I read another 100 pages of American writers. This time, it is Ben Franklin's writings from the 1740s and 1750s, up until the Albany Plan of Union and his departure to London. I found the most interesting sections in this bunch of readings involved Franklin's arguments for a proper education.

The 1730s and 1740s saw Benjamin Franklin use his newspaper to promote issues of public necessity such as a post office and a fire department. It is during these years he also helped form the American Philosophical Society. All of this got me thinking about the public domain and the role of the media in building community (or not).

We look at Ben Franklin's writings in the later 1720s and early 1730s. Mostly I consider some of his journalism for the Pennsylvania Gazette, but maybe most interesting from this period is his argument for paper currency.

In this episode I start a new series looking at the works of Benjamin Franklin. This time we will focus on his early Boston and London writings such as the Silence Dogood letters and his philosophical pamphlet on free will and pain.

The finale of my coverage of Sinclair Lewis with my final thoughts on BABBITT (1922). Is there any hope for Babbitt? I am not sure. I see some hints of it before he seems to surrender to conformity at the end. Let me know.

Part two of my review of the excellent novel by Sinclair Lewis, BABBITT. Here we see the calm before the storm of Babbitt's crisis of faith as he tries to invest in his social status in Zenith, without much success.

In this episode we jump into BABBITT by Sinclair Lewis. Most of the first third of this novel is devoted to introducing the character of the ultimate conformist George Babbitt and the town that is the root of his identity (although it could be almost any town in America), Zenith.

The finale of my review of MAIN STREET by Sinclair Lewis. The major themes in this part are the cancel culture of Gopher's Prairie and the possibilities of escape.

Part 4 of my review of MAIN STREET by Sinclair Lewis. In this part we see the Kennicott marriage fall apart, while the banality of Gopher's Prairie seems to have metastasized.

In this episode we explore more of MAIN STREET by Sinclair Lewis as Carol Kennicott takes a more practical approach to her reforms. Yet, her frustrations continue to deepen. Much of this section of the novel explores the nature of the family in middle America.