Years ago, I read a fine biography of Gershwin, but I decided to read a more recent one and, sure enough, I'm impressed by Gershwin all over again.

Dylan Thomas wasn't just a star. He was a supernova blazing before us before flaming out.

The American detective story with its hardboiled protagonist walking the mean streets was invented by Dashiell Hammett.

Johnny Appleseed might be the best known figure from America's past that most people know almost nothing about (and one that many believe to be a myth).

There are many people with TV shows named after them, but only a few have entire networks, and only Walt Disney transformed American culture.

The story of Abraham Lincoln is best take in small doses and today's book focuses on the events leading up to and including the dedication of the cemetery at Gettysburg.

It seems wrong to call Frank Lloyd Wright a "modern" architect - he was born just two years after the end of the Civil War. But he lived a long life and some of his buildings still look something that landed from outer space.

Is it possible that The Iliad and The Odyssey, with over 25,000 lines between them, originated in oral tradition rather than written texts? This is the story of a young Classics student who set out to prove it.

The little-known story of screenwriter Salka Viertel, who created a refuge for famous figures escaping World War ll.

The second part of our review of His Excellency, George Washington.