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Was he a kind man who did his best for Russia or a reactionary tyrant who despised the Russian people? Robert Service takes on both of these questions in The Last of the Tsars: Nicholas II and the Russian Revolution.

In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, Service describes the revolution of 1917 as well as the execution of Nicholas and his family in 1918. He also addresses rumors that members of the Romanov family may have survived and what Americans in 2017 can learn about Russia today from its history.

Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/bookmonger-john-miller/last-tsars-nicholas-ii-russian-revolution/.

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Kyle Mills continues the story of American assassin Mitch Rapp, the hero invented by the late Vince Flynn, in Enemy of the State.

In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, Mills describes his unusual collaboration with an author who died four years ago, what it's like to continue a series started by another writer, and how much research goes into each of his thrillers.

Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/bookmonger-john-miller/enemy-of-the-state/.

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Subscribe to The Bookmonger with John J. Miller in iTunes (and leave a 5-star review, please!), or by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in iTunes or by RSS feed.

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America in the late 19th century looks a lot like the America of 2017, says Richard White, author of The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896.

In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, White discusses what drew him to write about "historical flyover country," why Reconstruction went so poorly, and whether President Lincoln might have made things turn out differently if he had lived past 1865.

Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/bookmonger-john-miller/republic-stands-united-states-reconstruction-gilded-age-1865-1896/.

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Subscribe to The Bookmonger with John J. Miller in iTunes (and leave a 5-star review, please!), or by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in iTunes or by RSS feed.

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Studies of Paul may be the liveliest area of biblical scholarship today, says Paula Fredriksen, author of Paul: The Pagans' Apostle.

In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, Fredriksen describes why Paul was so important to early Christianity, how we know what we know about his life and times, whether he'd be surprised that the end times still have not come, and what he must have been like to meet in person.

Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/bookmonger-john-miller/paul-pagans-apostle/.

Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.

Subscribe to The Bookmonger with John J. Miller in iTunes (and leave a 5-star review, please!), or by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in iTunes or by RSS feed.

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Was Churchill a drunk? Richard M. Langworth insists he wasn't in Winston Churchill, Myth and Reality: What He Actually Did and Said.

In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, Langworth describes Churchill's drinking habits and addresses the accusations that Churchill exacerbated the 1943 famine in Bengal. He also recommends biographies of Churchill and offers his assessment of the new film Dunkirk.

Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/bookmonger-john-miller/winston-churchill-myth-reality-actually-said/.

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Americans in the 21st century can learn a lot from an Elizabethan Englishman who wrote about classical Rome. That's what Paul A. Cantor says in Shakespeare's Roman Trilogy: The Twilight of the Ancient World.

In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, Cantor describes what he's learned about Shakespeare over a lifetime of teaching his works, what he thinks of the recent production of "Julius Casear" that features a decapitation of a Trump-like character, and why he believes "Breaking Bad" is the greatest TV show of all time.

Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/bookmonger-john-miller/shakespeares-roman-trilogy-twilight-ancient-world/.

Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.

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Edwin Stanton was President Lincoln's indispensable man, says Walter Stahr, author of Stanton: Lincoln's War Secretary.

In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, Stahr explains how Stanton helped the Union achieve victory, whether he was wrong to arrest draft dodgers and journalists, and why Stahr writes that he "was not a good man, but he was a great man." He also takes aim at the conspiracy theorists who claim that Stanton help plot Lincoln's murder.

Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/bookmonger-john-miller/stanton-lincolns-war-secretary/.

Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.

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Flannery O'Connor was a great writer of literature, but was she also a political figure? That's the claim of Henry T. Edmondson III, editor of A Political Companion to Flannery O'Connor.

In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, Edmondson explains why people still enjoy O'Connor's work today, why conservatives hold her in special regard, and how she and Russell Kirk shared a concern over "misguided humanitarianism." For those new to O'Connor, Edmondson also suggests a couple of places to start reading.

Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/bookmonger-john-miller/political-companion-flannery-oconnor/.

Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.

Subscribe to The Bookmonger with John J. Miller in iTunes (and leave a 5-star review, please!), or by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in iTunes or by RSS feed.

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In his new book, False Black Power?, Jason L. Riley says that the civil-rights movement made a mistake when it choose political advancement over economic opportunity.

In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, Riley explains why the political success of African Americans hasn't translated into gains in human capital, what black politics should aim to accomplish in the 21st century, and why he put a question mark in his book's title.

Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/bookmonger-john-miller/false-black-power/.

Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.

Subscribe to The Bookmonger with John J. Miller in iTunes (and leave a 5-star review, please!), or by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in iTunes or by RSS feed.

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He was once "one of the most widely known American writers at home and abroad," writes Christoph Ir>mscher in his new biography, Max Eastman: A Life. So whatever happened to Max Eastman?

In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, Irmscher describes the life of Eastman (1883-1969), a public intellectual who started out as a political radical but then moved to the right, eventually becoming a contributor to National Review. He suggests that Eastman was the Christopher Hitchens of his time and makes the case for rediscovering Eastman today.

Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/bookmonger-john-miller/max-eastman-life/.

Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.

Subscribe to The Bookmonger with John J. Miller in iTunes (and leave a 5-star review, please!), or by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in iTunes or by RSS feed.