History Author Show

Jun 3, 2016 - It’s History in Five Friday, presented by Simon & Schuster -- check them out at Facebook.com/HistoryInFive. `

This coming Sunday, June 5th, America will mark the anniversary of Ronald Reagan's death in 2004 at the age of 93. Rick Perlstein -- best-selling author of Nixonland -- looks at how the destruction of the Watergate scandal shook America to its foundations, and seemed to create a new paradigm of a smaller America -- only to see the Reagan Revolution's Morning in America dawn a short six years later, following Nixon's resignation, Gerald Ford's pardon, and Jimmy Carter's malaise.

The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan traces how the 37th president and the 40th, are connected by history. You can learn more about today's author at RickPerlstein.com, or by following @RickPerlstein on Twitter.

Simon & Schuster’s History in Five Friday.

It’s the perfect way to kick off your modern weekend…with people, from the past.

June 1, 2016 -  It’s Classical Wisdom Wednesday, presented by Classical Wisdom Weekly — bringing ancient wisdom to modern minds, every Wednesday morning before your first cup of coffee.

You might be familiar with the Trojan war and how the Trojan Horse swiftly put an end to the city of Troy. But what you might not know is what happened next. The Roman poet Virgil, picks up where Homer leaves off. And as we will see, he might not have had the purest intentions when putting pen to parchment to craft the epic, The Aeneid.

Your guide through the classical landscape is Van Bryan, Associate Editor of Classical Wisdom Weekly. You can catch Classical Wisdom Wednesday every week before your first cup of coffee, right here on the History Author Show.

May 30, 2016 - In this episode, we're going to cast our eyes back at how we memorialize those we lose in wars, tragedies, terrorist attacks and public outrages. It's a delicate topic, but we owe it to people who've lost their lives to get it right.

Our guest is Harriet F. Senie, author of Memorials to Shattered Myths: Vietnam to 9/11. Professor Senie is Director of the M.A. Program in Art History and Art Museum Studies at City College of New York, as well as a professor at the CUNY Graduate Center. She is the author of several books and articles on public art, and co-founder of the international Public Art Dialogue organization, where she serves as co-editor of its journal: Public Art Dialogue.

Also discussed in this episode was A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster.

May 27, 2016 -  It’s History in Five Friday, presented by Simon & Schuster -- check them out at Facebook.com/HistoryInFive.

While it’s no secret that Abraham Lincoln didn’t have an idyllic childhood, today’s guest -- journalist and political aide Sidney Blumenthal -- noticed something in particular about young Lincoln’s experience that might have impacted the way he perceived and spoke about slavery.

Blumenthal is the author of the book, A Self-Made Man: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1849.

Simon & Schuster’s History in Five Friday.

It’s the perfect way to kick off your modern weekend…with people, from the past.

May 25, 2016 - It’s Classical Wisdom Wednesday, presented by Classical Wisdom Weekly — bringing ancient wisdom to modern minds, every Wednesday morning before your first cup of coffee.

We might take for granted our civil liberties. Those of us living in the modern age might think that the political freedoms that we enjoy are the norm, but history buffs know that this was not always the case. When we talk about political liberty (at least in the Western, European tradition) we often think of the age of enlightenment. However, before Lock or Voltaire, the ancients were crafting, dare we say inventing, the earliest forms of political freedoms.

Your guide through the classical landscape is Van Bryan, Associate Editor of Classical Wisdom Weekly. You can catch Classical Wisdom Wednesday every week before your first cup of coffee, right here on the History Author Show.

May 23, 2016 - Lynn Sherr's book is titled: Sally Ride: America's First Woman in Space. It includes unique insights from her friendship with the astronaut, tennis player, astrophysicist, children's book author, and genuine American legend, as well as exclusives from Dr. Ride's family, partner, and countless friends and colleagues. You can enjoy more from our guest @LynnSherr on Twitter, or Facebook.com/SallyRideBio.

And although Dr. Ride passed away in 2012, her mission to inspire young people in science, technology, engineering, and math -- and to promote STEM literacy -- endures at Sally Ride Science at UC San Diego. You can visit them at SallyRideScience.com, or follow them @SallyRideSci.

May 20, 2016 – It’s History in Five Friday, presented by Simon & Schuster.

Today, journalist Lynn Sherr turns our time machine into a rocket ship to shatter the glass ceiling. Her new book is Sally Ride: America's First Woman in Space.  You can enjoy our full interview here.  It's the remarkable story of humanity's first baby steps beyond earth with Sputnik, to the Space Shuttle and I.S.S.  You can follow today's author on Twitter @LynnSherr.

Triumph, tragedy, and the right stuff. It's all up there in the stars.

History in Five Friday.

It’s the perfect way to kick off your modern weekend… with people from the past.

May 18, 2016 - It’s Classical Wisdom Wednesday, presented by Classical Wisdom Weekly — bringing ancient wisdom to modern minds, every Wednesday morning before your first cup of coffee.

Aristotle, Plato, the Greek drachma in 600 BC -- and spending sprees from Persia to Cathrage to Italy. How did the ancient world mint coins? What value did they put on their currency, and how did they confront the challenges of monetary policy?

Your guide through the classical landscape is Van Bryan, Associate Editor of Classical Wisdom Weekly. You can catch Classical Wisdom Wednesday every week before your first cup of coffee, right here on the History Author Show.

May 16, 2016 - Our time machine drops us off in December 1892, during the planning for Chicago's Columbian Exposition -- a forerunner of the 20th Century world's fairs -- with the perfect story for the boardwalks and carnivals of Summer 2016.

At the ticket booth is Betsy Harvey Kraft, and she's sharing The Fantastic Ferris Wheel: The Story of Inventor George Ferris. You may have seen her several other nonfiction books for young readers, including Theodore Roosevelt: Champion of the American Spirit.

The Fantastic Ferris Wheel is a book aimed at children ages 5 to 9, but it's fun -- as the saying goes -- for children of all ages. And it's beautifully illustrated by Steven Salerno. You can see some of the over 20 books he's brought to life at StevenSalerno.com.

It’s History in Five Friday, presented by Simon & Schuster.

Our guest is Douglas C. Waller, sharing some insight on several CIA Directors who had previously worked for William “Wild Bill” Donovan’s spy agency, Office of Strategic Services. Waller’s books related to this subject are Disciples: The World War II Missions of the CIA Directors Who Fought For Wild Bill Donovan and the New York Times bestselling biography Wild Bill Donovan: The Spymaster Who Created OSS and Modern American Espionage. Waller is a former correspondent for TIME Magazine, and you can keep up with his work at DouglasCWaller.com, and Facebook.com/DouglasWallerAuthor.

Simon & Schuster’s History in Five Friday.

It’s the perfect way to kick off your modern weekend…with people, from the past.