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MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images Hezbollah is a Lebanese paramilitary organization and political party that’s directly supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran. In the wake of the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, and Israel’s invasion of Gaza, there have been escalating attacks between Hezbollah and […]
Hiero of Syracuse calls Archimedes to fortify the city. By Sebastiano Ricci. The Context of the Siege By 213 BCE, the Second Punic War was raging, and Rome was embroiled in a life-or-death struggle with the Carthaginian general Hannibal, who had invaded Italy. Syracuse, a wealthy and strategically important city-state, had been a Roman ally […]
Oh, you didn’t think a little thing like a temporarily building closure would keep us from bringing you Oakland history programs this fall, did you?! The Oakland History Center is pleased to announce our 2024 Fall History Series lineup. On Tuesday, October 29 at 6pm, join us for a tour of the newly remodeled Henry […]
Florence Kelley’s father, William, taught his daughter to read in 1866 using books that chronicled child labor. When she was seven, he had her studying “a terrible little book with woodcuts of children no older than myself, balancing with their arms heavy loads of wet clay on their heads, in brickyards.” And she didn’t just […]
Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States, in 1862. “When the dogmas of a sectional party…threatened to destroy the sovereign rights of the States, six of those States, withdrawing from the Union, confederated together to exercise the right and perform the duty of instituting a Government which would better secure the liberties for the preservation […]
A Place to Hide is my ninth novel and the seventh set during World War II. As it frequently happens, research in support of one novel uncovers suggestions for a new and different novel. Thus, research on Denmark in preparation for Defending Britta Stein introduced me to factual scenarios unique to the Netherlands. Although these […]
Kid Curry, born as Harvey Logan. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons. It might be hard for some of you to believe that the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, with Paul Newman and Robert Redford in the title roles, premiered 55 years ago this week. I bring this up because my book Bandit Heaven — […]
Othniel Charles Marsh & Edward Drinker Cope. Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope: From friends to enemies The participants in this unusual conflict came from very different backgrounds and had many differences. Othniel Charles Marsh was born on October 29, 1831, near Lockport, New York. He was the third child of Mary Gaines Peabody […]
As the Second World War intensified, the Mediterranean became a critical theatre of operations for both the Axis and Allied powers. Control of the sea lanes in this region was vital for the supply lines of the British Empire and the Axis powers, particularly for Italy, which sought to dominate the eastern Mediterranean and secure […]
Rise to the Presidency Johnson was born into poverty and did not have the opportunity to attend school. Despite this, he apprenticed as a tailor and worked in various frontier towns before settling in Greeneville, Tennessee. Although he never received a formal education, he compensated by hiring others to read to him while he worked […]