A grim, glowering fortress loomed in the darkness, bathed in the glow of arc lights shadowing its battlements and towers. This was the Illinois State Penitentiary at Joliet, thirtyish miles south of Chicago. Convicted … Read the article
Gangsters of Capitalism by Jonathan M. Katz tells the story of America’s forgotten path to global power through the incredible life of Smedley Butler. Read on for an excerpt.… Read the article
I first came across the name Smedley Butler in Haiti, shortly after I’d moved there to be the correspondent for the Associated Press in 2007. He was in a painting of three Marines in old-fashioned khaki … Read the article
Many believe that the most melancholy couple in the White House must have been the Lincolns. They endured the horrific American Civil War and suffered the loss of a child while in office. Only one of their … Read the article
While the holidays are primarily a time to reconnect with family and friends, there is nothing better during these cold months than curling up by the fire and reading a book you can’t put down. As … Read the article
As of January 1, 1863, all enslaved people in the United States were declared legally free by President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. However, as Union law could not be implemented in the Confederate-held south, slaves were not … Read the article
Benedict Arnold was one of the Revolutionary War’s most aggressive and courageous soldiers. It’s possible that without him, American patriots would have lost the Revolutionary War.… Read the article
In the early weeks of the COVID pandemic, several members of Congress introduced a bill to name the D.C. street in front of the Chinese embassy after Li Wenliang. Wenliang was the Wuhan doctor who was reprimanded … Read the article
In this excerpt from his ground-breaking biography, Charles Casillo explores how the actions of one army photographer sparked the transition of Norma Jeane into Marilyn Monroe.
Monroe photographed arriving at Ciro’s nightclub for a soirée celebrating Louella… Read the article