Grant wasn’t brilliant, especially handsome, or charming. He was an alcoholic and he wasn’t good at public speaking. He made mistakes, especially when it came to trusting businessmen. What made him successful was his honesty, his tenacity, and his reliance on others. He remained calm in battle. Once, while writing a dispatch, a shell landed near him. He only looked up briefly before he returned to writing.
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Andrew Johnson was born in a log cabin in 1808 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Despite being the state capitol, Raleigh was still a small town at the time. His parents were illiterate. His older sister died as a child. His father, Jacob Johnson, died soon after heroically saving three men who were in a capsized boat.
His mother, Mary (Polly) Johnson, was left to care for two boys by herself. She was a seamstress and laundress. Because Andrew had black hair and a darker complexion than his older brother William (who had freckles and light hair), there were rumors that Andrew’s biological father was a lawyer his mom did laundry for. Poor white women at the time did the same work as enslaved black women and were likewise at the mercy of the men in whose houses they worked, so the rumors are at least plausible.
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In the 1950s and 60s, H.L. Hunt was the richest man in the world. He hosted a conservative radio program called Life Line which told the world about the evils of JFK, RFK, MLK, and labor unions. He wanted to promote his radio show at the 1964 New York World’s Fair and spent millions of dollars on roller coasters and other investments, however his contract was cancelled and he lost all the money. Vice President LBJ told him the decision had been made by a “higher authority”, which Hunt took to mean President JFK. On the plane ride back to Dallas, Hunt told John Curington, the author of this book, “I’ve about got a bellyful of those Kennedy boys. They both need to go.”
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It’s not immediately obvious, but the year in question is 1998. This whopper of a book, containing over a quarter million words of fiction, begins with a 50-page summary of all the science fiction novels, short stories, collections, magazines, movies, TV shows, and more that appeared in 1998. It’s humorous in retrospect that editor Gardner Dozois says South Park is beginning to grow repetitive and he predicts its influence is beginning to wane, since it’s still making new episodes over twenty years later.
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Abraham Lincoln spoke in a high-pitched voice and had disproportionately large hands and a long neck. Walt Whitman wrote that Lincoln’s face was “so awful ugly it becomes beautiful.”
Lincoln didn’t speak a lot. His law partner said “He was the most shut-mouthed man that ever existed.” He was careful not to express certainty, once stating, “I am almost ready to say this is probably true.” He sought out the opinions of his opponents and looked at questions from every side. He had a keen sense of humor. He never officially joined a church, but he became deeply religious after becoming president.
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Because many people today believe in Christianity, studies of ancient Christian texts are handled differently than studies of ancient Greek or Roman religious writings. The field of classics is more strict with regards to what counts as evidence, while religious studies is more lenient. In this volume, Walsh applies the same standards used for studying classics to Christianity.
New Testament scholars often invoke oral history (for which there’s no evidence) or make appeals to the gospel writer’s religious community (for which there’s no evidence). They claim the gospels are unique and ignore the literary tradition they belong to. They claim Jesus is unique and ignore his similarity to Aesop, the Cynics, and the heroes of Greek novels.
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James Buchanan was born in a log cabin in Pennsylvania in 1791, the second of 11 children, not far from the Mason Dixon line. His father, also named James Buchanan, owned a general store which was successful enough for him to buy a substantial farm, then a store on main street in Mercersburg, and he eventually became one of the richest men in the area. As the oldest son, the younger James Buchanan was the favorite among his siblings, and was particularly close to his mother.
At 16, Buchanan went to college at Dickinson, but since his mother had already educated him in the classics, he found college too easy. He began his lifelong habit of smoking cigars (in later years, he would chew the ends of unlit cigars). He was the smartest student and also the most arrogant, flouting school rules. He got expelled for disorderly conduct.
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Benjamin Pierce fought in the Revolutionary War, was a sheriff, state legislator, and a local hero. However, his lack of education made him hesitate from a life of politics. He encouraged his son Franklin to be a politician. At 14, Franklin Pierce was sent to boarding school, then to Bowdoin College two years after that.
He wasn’t enthusiastic about school and came in dead last on the list of student standings his first year. He determined to do better. During the summer he made some money teaching. When he returned to college, he formed a marching unit. Younger students Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow drilled under his command and became friends with him.
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“That I have left my tales intact, complete with imperfections, serves not as proof of my dishonesty, but the opposite! Any blame lies not with the poor author who writes with the strictest regard to honesty, but with the events themselves.”
Pyrotechnicon is a fantastical, whimsical novel in which Cyrano de Bergerac has to face off against a man who’s part billiard table, a giant microscopic organism, a house made of birds, and other fantastical wonders. It’s pre-steampunk science fiction based on 17th century scientific ideas taken to their logical conclusions.
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The stories in this collection have good atmosphere, with an unsettling, melancholy tone. They’re full of well-researched details which helps to immerse you in the world of the story. Most of the stories have supernatural elements, but not all. Many of the protagonists are lonely outsiders cut off from the rest of society.
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Mania Delight 