Note: This article is a raw riff. I read, I riff, I publish. It will likely have grammatical mistakes, spelling mistakes, and various positions are not wholly fleshed out. This riff is for my book club, the first half is for everyone, the second half is for the paying members.

Does a mistake in a history negate the entire work? Should you stop reading the book? Should you wonder if you wasted your time or wonder if you need to look up the facts to erase the faults?

I spotted a big mistake in A Patriot’s History of the United States. I came upon a World War II passage that raised a question mark. I’m not a WWII expert, but I have a good enough understanding having read a number of books on it, most recently The Second World Wars by Victor Davis Hanson and The War of the World by Niall Ferguson. And I’ve dabbled into some military history. In college, I did study some of World War II, and got a firsthand look at Nazi sources. I read Mein Kampf, and in my study abroad my freshman year, vi…

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But this next topic is going to be not just part of the book club. It’s going to have its own section here on my site.

Before I get into that, the next book for the America book club topic has also been picked. As I mentioned before, given the size of the books I’m reading for the America theme, I will take some breaks in between. I had planned to get my other theme going, and now I’m burning for that other theme.

The next book for the America theme: A History of the American People by Paul Johnson.

This is a famous book, as Paul Johnson is a famous historian. It’s likely some of you have heard of or possibly even have read some of his known works:

• Modern Times

• Intellectuals

• Creators

• Heroes

• Humorists

A History of the American People is regarded more as literature than it is a history. Johnson is known for his flair, his telling of a story, and the philosophy underneath it.

When I start this book, I’m unsure. Likely it will be a bit, as I will explain below. Not many joined me on A Patriot’s History of the United States, but more of you seem to like my new read, riff, publish—where I read a book club book, riff on a passage, then publish it. One part is available to all members. The other is only available to paying members. I will continue that. I’m in the home stretch of A Patriot’s History with about 300 or so pages left. It was a doorstop book, so when finished, I’ll likely read a few easy reads, then jump into the next theme. I would normally ask who would like to join in for Johnson, but it’s a ways away for that. Still, if you plan to read it, or want to read it now and would like to discuss it with me, the chat is open to paying members to do that. I can bounce it off the two other books I’ve read for the America book club and what I know of American history.

The Next Pick: Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas is the next topic for the book club.

But this is not a one-off topic.

I’ve mentioned and hinted that I’ve returned to my Catholic faith. I have an article in the works that will meditate on that more. Yet as I return, and how my return was cerebral, I feel compelled to have a new section dedicated to this.

Now, I’m not going to start a podcast on Catholic faith. There are enough people who have either returned to their Catholic faith five minutes ago or became a Catholic one minute ago who now have a podcast. I’m not an expert on the Catholic faith. I seemed an expert at forgetting it all when I reflexively went atheist nearly 20 years ago.

My starting a Catholic faith secion on one end will be meditative, more of a memoir perhaps. I’ll write what comes to mind versus teach. I’m in no position to teach it. The other end, as you’ll see with the book club, will explore the rich and massive canon of Catholic works, Christian works, and theological works in general. The books will not be explicitly Catholic, as I will certainly look into:

• C. S. Lewis

• Stephen C. Meyer

• Carl Trueman

• Fyodor Dostoyevski

• Raymond Ibrahim

And more.

I’m not sure what I’ll name the section either. I thought “Confessions” after St. Augustine, but I’m not sold on that entirely. I thought something like “Summa Confessions,” but I thought that sounds too much like a shtick. But something will come to mind.

Now, onto Thomas Aquinas as the next pick for the book club.

Why Aquinas?

His name almost answers it, but the selfish reason: he’s my confirmation saint.

Right now I’m undergoing my adult confirmation. As part of getting confirmed, you pick a confirmation saint. A confirmation saint is a saint you wish to emulate, a saint you ask for help, a saint you seek for guidance. The latter two stuck with me.

For the last few weeks, I’ve been asking close friends, my wife, and Grok about a confirmation saint. My confirmation sponsor immediately went with Aquinas. But Augustine was up there since his return story has some similarities to mine. The others recommended and in the running were St. Joseph, St. Hyacinth (the patron saint of weightlifters), St. Jerome, and St. Sebastian. The latter is interesting because, if I recall correctly, I had picked him when I first started my confirmation process at St. Sebastian’s prep school. But I switched schools and never really thought about it again until now.

My conversation with Grok bordered on neurotic. I kept asking, and arguing, and when it hallucinated I called Grok names, and kept expanding the conversation. The conversation with Grok and with others kept coming back to either Aquinas or Augustine. A few good friends said to pray on it and to ask. After seeing a video of Father Chad Ripperger where he taught to be specific in your prayer, I asked specifically during my morning Lectio Divina.

That morning, when I checked my email, the first email I noticed was an article in the Claremont Digital Substack. That article was by one of my favorite political thinkers and philosophers, Daniel J. Mahoney. Mahoney also had a hand in my return to faith with his writings. The article was on Aquinas. Then, after reading it, I wondered if the fall issue of the Claremont Review of Books was out. I went to the site, and the first article I saw was by the famous Thomist, Edward Feser, whom I discovered while asking Grok and seeking answers for my confirmation. A Thomist, by the way, is a person who adheres to the grammar of Thomas Aquinas’s thinking. By agreeing with Aquinas, you’re not a Thomist per se, but if you adhere to or believe his grammar is correct, that, loosely, puts you into the Thomist camp.

Call it coincidence, but those two things cemented it for me. So, I chose Thomas Aquinas. And I want to learn the man and his theology.

Thomas Aquinas is arguably among the most consequential and famous philosophers to have ever lived, and one of the most famous theologians. He’s famous for having baptized Aristotle, taking Aristotle’s thought and seeing where it aligned with Christianity. His Summa Theologica is a masterpiece. In a quick summary, faith and reason are the hallmarks of Aquinas.

He’s a heavyweight of theology, philosophy, and Catholicism.

Now, I’m not going to read the entire Summa Theologica for Aquinas. Instead, I’ve curated a list of works.

Right now, as for how this topic will work, I imagine I will dive into a few, then dive out, likely dive into America again, and then back. But I know Aquinas is someone I will likely study for a lifetime.

The works curated are written by famous theologians, old and new:

1. G. K. Chesterton, Saint Thomas Aquinas: The Dumb Ox

2. Josef Pieper, Guide to Thomas Aquinas

3. Josef Pieper, The Human Wisdom of St. Thomas: A Breviary of Philosophy from the Works of St. Thomas Aquinas

4. Peter Kreeft, Summa of the Summa: The Essential Philosophical Passages of St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica Edited and Explained for Beginners

5. Edward Feser, Aquinas: A Beginner’s Guide

6. Peter Kreeft, Practical Theology: Spiritual Direction from St. Thomas Aquinas

7. Josef Pieper, Faith, Hope, Love

From what I gather, that’s a good order to go in. The first few are relatively short. I would love takers. I would love to discuss these works, and I would love to discuss Aquinas. A lot of wisdom here is to be found, whether you want to deepen your faith or wish to discover the wisdom and thinking of a significant mind. Aquinas is a figure who has left, and will continue to leave, enormous influence and consequence in the world.

If you’d like to join in, go ahead and comment below. The Chesterton edition I’m reading is not as easy to find. I will find a few resources on where you can find it new or used. It’s on Amazon, but AbeBooks might also be another great resource. Cheap, terrible editions exist—the PDF-to-print formats that often miss text, or whole sections are changed or gone, I hope to help you avoid those.

If you wish to join in on any of them, let me know, and if you want to be a fly on the wall, go right ahead.

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I’m working on an article for the new section. I’ll come up with a name for that section soon, but for now the article is in the works.

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Note: This is a raw writing riff. I write these as a part of my bookclub. I read, I riff, I publish. It gets the briefest of passes editing wise. It will almost certainly have grammatical mistakes, spelling mistakes, and whatever else.

This one is long, and it’s rather scary publishing it as for something like this, I would prefer to flesh out my arguments and positions. But you’re getting what’s top of mind as I read A Patriot’s History of the United States.

The first part is to all subscribers, the second to my paid members, and it gets further into the nitty gritty. This one is long, I’m going to start on an article, so it may be a little bit before the next piece, but I’m available on the Substack chat for this bookclub.

And soon, I will be announcing the next bookclub topic, a topic that will be its own section. But I have a topic for that section.

I voted for Trump.

I voted for him three times.

On the first date with my wife, when I first sat her down at Leven’s Deli in Denver to find out more about her values, I said what I said to all my first dates post-2020: I voted for Trump. Saying those words to a woman in Denver, a progressive stronghold, I knew it was perverse. On another first date, I said the same thing, and the women at the table next to us got up and moved seats but made sure to complain about me to the manager. My wife’s reaction when I said it: she asked questions. “Tell me more about that” was the sentiment. When she told one of her friends, she got blowback, fierce blowback. One of her friends in her circle was a psychiatrist and told her that she was disappointed that she would even consider dating me, that Republicans are misogynists, racists, stupid, and illiterate, and that I’d likely beat her. Another called her on the phone and ranted about how awful I was (I had never met her), and that my wife couldn’t be serious in actually going out with me, that she was being stupid and reckless. It was an eye-opening experience for my wife.

Those reactions, the mix of self-regard, spite for Donald Trump, along with zero perspective, have been a feature of X lately among various right-wing personalities. Seeing it all, it’s been a mixture of exhaustion, comedy, and eye-rolling, along with plenty of muting and unfollows. Lately, for those of you not terminally online, a number of MAGA personalities (although these personalities always have a habit of defining themselves as above labels, not right-wing, not alt-right, not conservative, not independent, I guess they all exist on a higher metaphysical plane of political wisdom) are having theatrical complaints about Donald Trump and the Trump presidency. They’re “crashing out,” as the kids say. To me, I see it as a whole lot of personal theatrics and melodrama, comedic levels of self-regard, and a bizarre sense of entitlement.

The best-known one, arguably, might be Mike Cernovich. He was posting a ton (he still is), and it’s chaotic in nature, but an example:

From what I gather, leading up to this, he believes that he helped deliver the recent Trump win. It was put out there, during Trump’s first victory, that Cernovich had a hand. And granted, during the Biden administration, various people were attacked for being on the right. Pro-life protesters were arrested, Donald Trump was debanked, traditional Catholics were put on FBI watchlists, and so on.

Cernovich is a voice among the right, yet a sense of entitlement comes out: that he is the one delivering the elections. Or we find odd attacks:

Anyone who knows anything of Victor Davis Hanson knows Hanson is antithetical to the neocon faction of the right, speaks out against globalists, and decries forever wars, yet Cernovich takes this shot at him, and a shot that goes from VDH speaking about cartels to making it about forever wars in the Middle East. Hanson’s The Dying Citizen explicitly articulates the destruction caused by the neocons. Cernovich’s tweet betrays an utter lack of perspective and principle.

The rest of the tweets have had a doomer feel. He taunts that the midterms can’t be won by “New MAGA” and the rest.

Downstream of him, we have those parroting him, yet with more theatrics:

And why not include this anon’s truest fantasy:

Much can be analyzed here. I don’t believe in the cynical “they do this for clicks” to court attention, even if many political accounts do get money.

But to me, as I read through A Patriot’s History of the United States for the book club, I see a profound lack of perspective, laced with self-regard, self-importance, and a sense of entitlement when not a single reason for that entitlement should exist.

Why are various personalities complaining like this? To me, some of it is the war with Iran, some of it seems about Israel, but most of it seems to be a lack of perspective.

To address one part, Victor Davis Hanson recently discussed figures like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Tucker Carlson. Both were close to Trump, then they were on the outs with Trump, and the about-face was wild. But he, I believe, correctly surmises that they had the president’s ear, felt entitled to it, that they could run the country, but then were placed further outside the president’s circle, for whatever reason, and they hated that. And they’re reacting like brats. It is the same with David French, Bill Kristol, and David Frum. When Trump was elected, they lost any say within the administration, and they acted like spurned teen girls.

But to come to the bigger point, these theatrical cries lack perspective.

Consider “getting everything we voted for.” I would love that. But that’s not how America’s civic system, a constitutional republic, works. The president does not rule by fiat. We have a Congress, a Senate, and an executive branch. Also, one must include the Supreme Court. That’s at the federal level. When you walk it down, each state, with the exception of Nebraska’s unicameral system, also has state senators, state representatives (an assembly), and its respective governor. Each also has its state supreme court, and each state has its own constitution.

The president cannot just rule by fiat. Even while executive power has expanded dramatically since America’s inception, most notably with Franklin Delano Roosevelt, he still can’t make up laws or do things without checks and balances. Plus, the executive office’s biggest powers tend to regard foreign policy.

Despite Trump winning the popular vote, he’s deeply hated. Why Trump will go down as one of the most consequential figures in American history is just how his existence ripped the mask off people and institutions. Like my opening mention of my wife in Denver, mentioning Trump instantly revealed a person’s true colors. My like of Trump to my wife’s friends ripped the mask off. Certain “conservatives,” like New York Times writer David Brooks, when Trump gained power, immediately dropped any association with the right. What Trump did to the psyche of many is uncanny. And it revealed how much mainstream media, universities, Hollywood, and the Democrats (which Trump revealed for what they are, largely socialists) hated not only Trump but also anyone to the right of them.

It should go without saying, but it needs saying, I guess, that the Trump administration faces enormous resistance at every turn. At the state level, especially in blue states, they act as neo-Confederates, defying federal orders and laws, and working hard to resist anything Trump does and any conservative-leaning or flavored legislation, particularly when it comes to what Trump ran on: crime, immigration, and the economy.

Trump surfaced the power and stronghold of particular ideologies. One need not look further than education, and how standards have lowered, private schools and colleges have essentially become left-wing think tanks, and anti-Western curricula are decrying America’s principles.

Some of these elements, many, in fact, are frightening. The education element frightens me the most. Consider education in my next home state. Nebraska is the home of Warren Buffett. Nebraska is a deep red state, and Omaha is a mixture of red and blue, and most deep red states have school choice and are open to or already have a robust charter school system. Yet Warren Buffett, through his Sherwood Foundation, has poured over a billion dollars into keeping school choice out of Nebraska. From movies that play statewide everywhere to various organizations, Buffett has kept school choice out, and has done, sadly, a remarkable job of painting it as an evil.

It should almost go without saying that resistance to Trump and his administration is enormous. Tie in that progressivism has become a religion to many on the left, and the resistance is even greater.

But go on X, and it looks like it does need saying that Trump can’t rule by fiat. Nor can he give someone with a big X following the exact ideological vision and the results to enact that vision perfectly, and in the manner desired by the personality.

Trump has, however, done a good job on his promises: immigration, crime, and the economy. The latter is still tough. The war with Iran has made things a little chaotic. But inflation has slowed, gas prices have gotten better, and the economy has performed. And furthermore, 2020 and the COVID era, when Biden and his administration enacted its policies, have consequences. Big consequences. And for many in the big cities, the resistance to Trump is more important, so they will double down on this. Denver, for instance, seems hell-bent on keeping the illegal aliens. They seem hell-bent on doubling down on the regulation policies that have contributed to soaring house costs and living costs. Rent costs are coming down, and while that is a good thing, in a sense, they’re coming down because people are leaving Denver in droves. Denver is still building a ton of apartments from when Denver was the fastest-growing city in the United States. Now Denver is the 10th most moved-out-of city, and rising. This is incredible since less than a decade ago it was number one as far as people moving in. And house sales here are slowing way, way down. Despite people complaining of expensive homes in other areas, like New York City, those houses are still selling, and people are still buying them: the demand is still there. In Denver, the demand is not there.

The last bit of perspective: some of those personalities are big, like Cernovich, but most are nowhere near the stature or impact of, say, Charlie Kirk. Charlie Kirk ran a massive operation. He was everywhere. He went into the public and debated his ideas. It was said that he would likely, at some point, be a presidential candidate. Nor are they of the stature of, say, Victor Davis Hanson. Hanson will leave a legacy of rigorous scholarship, best-selling books, and books that will likely be studied long after he’s gone, like his book on World War II or his work on ancient military history. Once many personalities stop tweeting, that will be it for them. It’s in the American spirit that they all speak up and opine, and that’s a wonderful thing. Yet the theatrics, the drama, and the lack of perspective, is at one end exhaustive nonsense fomenting shallow beliefs and at the other end telling certain people to not vote.

As for me, if you must know, I still support Trump. I’m white-knuckling right now with the whole Iran situation. I hope Trump sticks to his Jacksonian-style foreign policy here. But with the ideology of Iran’s leadership, Trump might have to go to the mat with them. I’m not pushing for that. I don’t want troops on the ground. But to break the back of an ideology, the examples in history: Sherman’s march, Patton’s march, Epaminondas’s march, and the dropping of the atom bombs. Regardless, I still remain a strong supporter of Trump.

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Now, let’s address another element. Many like to claim America, right now, is like Weimar Germany. I’ve seen a few claim that a civil war is going to happen, and make a few comparisons to America pre–Civil War. And I’ve noticed a ton of claims that we’re like the Roman Empire, or something is like one tiny specific factor like something in the water lowering the testosterone of men that caused the Roman Empire to fall.

Which one of those is true?

Note: These articles are a raw riff. They will likely have grammatical errors. But I read, riff, and publish. The first part is for everyone, the second part is for paid members.

A quick announcement:

I’ve selected my next book club topic. This topic will likely be ongoing. In fact, I’m going to make it its own section. I will have articles in it that are both free and for paid members and that are a mix.

The next topic: Catholicism.

I’ve returned to my Catholic faith. I’ve spoken of my journey back to God, and a little of returning to my Catholic faith. The Catholic canon is rich and deep. The number of classic works is endless. I hope to scratch the surface of a few. Also, the works will not be explicitly Catholic per se. Many will be on faith or belief. For instance, C. S. Lewis was not a Catholic, and I will read Lewis. The works on intelligent design by Stephen C. Meyer are not explicitly Catholic either, and I will read him. The same goes for fiction. Dostoevsky is often an author read who brings people into the Catholic faith. He was Russian Orthodox. But his works bring people to the Catholic faith. I will read him.

I’m not a Catholic expert, nor am I a theological expert. But the journey back and my journey going forward, I want to write about it, and I hope to discuss some great books with those interested.

I will start this alongside the America topic. Articles are likely to come out first. One is in the works. I’m not going to read two books simultaneously. I read one at a time (though my adult confirmation class requires me to read more than one book right now). But I will jump into it. When I start a book for you to join in with, I will pick a book and announce it the closer I get to finishing A Patriot’s History of the United States. And when I get to Tocqueville and reading Pierre Manent as a primer, that might be a blend of both.

More on this in time.

“How do you engage with a work?”

“How do you converse with a work?”

These are common questions I get when people want to get into more substantial works of nonfiction.

The simplest guidepost for your conversation with a work is the author’s thesis. Often the thesis is a single sentence stating the author’s core position, aim, or goal of the work. But it’s not always a single sentence. Sometimes it’s a paragraph, sometimes it’s an entire introduction or chapter. Or in the case of some authors, like Andrew Roberts’s The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III, you get most of the thesis in the title.

I’ve found with most works of nonfiction written from around 1950 on, the introduction features the thesis. Yet I’ve seen it in prefaces, new introductions to a new edition of the book, and still sometimes in the first chapter.

Some authors are explicit: in this work I argue that ____. Others will flow out their ideas, their conceptions, and it’s not as neat. One version is not better than the other, despite what the writing “experts” on social media claim. They always prefer the short, Hemingway-prosed, explicit call-out. Some writers lay out a super clear thesis and then walk the reader into a morass of ambiguous and shoddy arguments. Some lay out pages of a thesis, what comes across as conceptual rambling, to then have an airtight, concise, and crystal-clear exposition.

As the reader, you read a work out of your own curiosity, enjoyment, and perhaps to take on the intellectual challenge of a certain work. But to engage with it, to have that deeper convo, look for that thesis. Mark it, or if it’s a longer one, see if you can encapsulate the argument or goal of the author. From there, as you read, take note of how or whether the author articulates, expands, or strengthens his case. Also, use it as a signpost. Some works, especially doorstop books, easily fire up a reader’s insecurity that they’re not remembering enough, or reading fast enough, or engaging with it enough. That’s natural. Just keep reading, and look for the thesis expanded on or themes of it in the work. This works like a set of highway signs on a long stretch of highway. You see the mile marker or the exit or what’s up ahead. Seeing the themes or the thesis expanded, you have an idea where you are going. You might not have a counterargument. Your marginalia might be just repeating a passage. That’s OK. Just look for that thesis, and if you can, reflect on it a bit. You can just see the highway sign, know where you’re at, and consider some of the scenery. This helps to keep you going, and helps to keep you engaged.

The thesis of A Patriot’s History of the United States, the current book being read for the American Book Club, is the key principles of what makes America exceptional:

1. Common Law

2. Christian Tradition

3. Property Rights

4. Capitalism

Each chapter weaves in how these principles play out, are strengthened or weakened, are protected or attacked. It gives perspective to the arguments and historical analysis. It also gives light to difficult arguments in American history, such as property rights during the Civil War and leading up to the war, where Southern Democrats, particularly the aristocratic elite, viewed blacks as property and inferior and incapable of laying claim to rights. And the Republican Party saw the institution of slavery as an evil, yet they kept getting hit with states’ rights as a way to argue for property rights. The debates that ensued are, when just looked at debate-wise, fascinating.

Any questions or comments on this, reply below.

With that, members, let’s take a look at the consequences of kicking the can down the road.

Note: These articles are a raw riff. They will have grammatical and spelling mistakes. How it works, I read the book for my bookclub. I sit down, riff, then publish. I’m also trying something new, the first part is for everyone, free and paid subscribers. The second part is only for my paid subscribers, the bookclub is for paying members. Also, no video again, the situation with my family back in Boston makes my phone ring off the hook at random, so until that settles down, no video riff.

Papists are idolaters. They worship Mary, the mother of Jesus, and they have this whole weird thing with saints and angels. They believe in miracles, and the worst are the miracles they believe in after the Bible was written. The Catholic Mass is not worship, the Rosary is not prayer, and the Catholics need random people on social media to finally make that one post that totally destroys the Catholic Church and destroys all the Catholics.

I’ve returned to my Catholic faith. I’m a cradle Catholic. I went to St. Sebastian’s School, a private Catholic school in Needham, Massachusetts, from seventh grade to tenth grade. I transferred to The Governor’s Academy. I won’t share why I transferred. I was a good student, I love my parents, I was a well-behaved kid (I had zero detentions), and I liked St. Seb’s a lot. But it was important for me to get out of the house, and it was a tough decision to leave. I grew up Catholic, and being Irish in the Boston area, I considered myself an Irish Catholic, like all my other Boston-Irish Catholic brethren. Nana, my grandmother on my dad’s side, was hands down the most devout Catholic in my family. She went to Mass almost every day. She was super involved in the Church, she frequented a few churches, and she tithed a considerable amount of money. She visited the Vatican a number of times, along with visiting Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and a variety of famous holy sites all over the world.

My wife grew up in Douglas County, Nebraska, which is Omaha proper and the immediate surrounding area. She’s Catholic and grew up in a deep Catholic community in Omaha. She went to Catholic schools. She didn’t meet her first non-Catholic until she went to college.

I haven’t run into anti-Catholic sentiment since I moved away from Boston back in 2010. Boston had, and I believe still has, various Protestant neighborhoods and institutions that outright disdained the Catholics. If St. Sebastian’s came up, or if someone could easily spot that I was Irish (my dad and Nana were real easy to spot as Irish), the old Anglo disdain would come out. I noticed it most in country clubs. My family, particularly my dad’s family, belonged to a few different country clubs in the Boston area, Charles River Country Club being one such club. And Charles River Country Club was for the wealthy Irish Catholics. The Country Club, America’s oldest, didn’t allow Catholics. And part of the reason it was built was to be an enclave free of those lowly Italian and Irish Catholics. At some of these clubs, if they spotted your Irish face or if I said, “I go to St. Sebastian’s,” instantly that good old-fashioned Yankee Protestant snobbery would come out (it also came out when they heard my last name. We were considered new money).

The opening paragraph of this musing and my family background have a point. America’s earliest colonists were Protestants, Protestants who detested Catholicism. Where I’m from had the New England Brahmins, the New England WASPs, the Peabodys, the Saltonstalls, the Cabots, the Adamses, and so on. Names and families still ingrained in the Boston area. Mostly they were Congregationalists, Unitarians, and Episcopalians. Each faction had its own flavor. And these New England factions were far different from the southern Protestant colonists. The southern Protestants were never Puritan in nature. They were far more agrarian in style, and various factions had different flavors. And some were tolerant of Jews yet were vehemently anti-Catholic.

Maryland was the only Catholic colony, and was an experiment in Catholic tolerance, but the number of Catholics there was minuscule compared to the rest of the population in Maryland and in the rest of the colonies. At the time of the American Revolution, something like 13 priests, total, were in America. Catholics were banned in the colonies for the most part, and various American Founders, or big influences, were staunchly anti-Catholic and tried to enforce it.

A Patriot’s History of the United States is what I’m currently reading for my book club, the topic of that book club being America. Authors Schweikart and Allen show just how anti-Catholic the early colonists were. It struck me. I knew a bit from the culture I grew up in, that the Catholics were seen as lowlifes, as trashy, and maybe the best painting of the sentiment is portrayed at various points in the iconic comedy Caddyshack. The character Danny, his Irish family being large to the point that Danny’s father has no clue that his nephew is eating breakfast with him. Or the bishop he’s caddying for asking if he’s Roman Catholic, and then turning him away. Most of the caddies are Italian and Irish, and most Catholic, as you can see the crosses. Even the concept of them coming from large families is taken as sexually lewd (also portrayed in the famous Life of Brian movie by Monty Python).

Yet the American colonists truly despised the Catholics. Certain writings of various laws excluded Catholics from having rights. The American Founders and most of their circles disliked the Catholics. The First Great Religious Awakening occurred when the colonies had established themselves. American ideals, the dynamism of the American economy, that dynamism’s flavor of either urban or agrarian, influenced American Protestantism and its various factions. New factions arose, and the classic fire-and-brimstone sermon emerged. The sermons discarded piety, and we see the nondenominational church theatrics common today in this first awakening. Some sermons were plays intended to frighten the audience. The audience bursting with random emotional outbursts, which is still common today among various Protestant sects, first surfaced. The Second Great Religious Awakening occurred around the time of Andrew Jackson. This awakening is fascinating in that we see its influence, and not even influence but outright following of its formula, not just in religion but even in hustle culture, or the self-development world. This awakening fomented a belief that a person could attain or should seek perfection on earth, and that perfection was attainable. Groups like Christian Scientists first emerged, and they had the belief, and still do, that spiritual health was all mindset. The self-development world most are familiar with today, the Tony Robbins, the James Clear, the habits, biohacking, much of it has its influence and outright modeling on groups in this era. Diet tricks, lifestyle hacks, all with the aim of living sin-free and becoming a perfect being.

Turning back to religion, the second awakening, we see more of a cementing of what is found today with evangelical churches, nondenominational, Baptist, Methodist, and other Protestant denominations. The songs, the popular fashion with how they’re sung, traveling preachers, the entertainment-style sermons, and sermons that adhere more to popular fashions, politics, and current trends than to tradition or traditional religious observances.

With all of these new sects, a distinct element held. Even those stodgy old New Englanders, while they scoffed at the theatrical aspect, and while many sects differed in their biblical views, they were all tolerant of each other. That tolerance was not found in the rest of the world. But as tolerant as they were, and as novel as this tolerance was, one group was excluded from this tolerance: the Catholics. Not the Jews, not the atheists — the Catholics. Catholics do not evangelize like nondenominational churches. Catholics are much more reserved. But Catholics expanded in their own way. They built churches in areas. And they conducted missionary activity with the Native Americans.

What fascinates me is that if you go online, Jews get blamed for everything. And on X, someone will write a self-referential pseudo-essay, or “take” as it’s called, about how a group of Jews controlled banks or something else, long before anyone, and it’s why we have cultural rot or Bonnie Blue or why a city has fallen or how that event led to the killing of Charlie Kirk. It’s all nonsense. Yet to me, it’s wild to see in A Patriot’s History and also detailed in The Last King of America, which I’ll cover below, that Catholics were the center of conspiracy. Insert most of the crazy conspiracies you know of Jews, and in America’s early days, Catholics were accused of it.

On X, Catholic bashing exists. Personalities seem to make it their identity to reply-guy or troll certain posts under a belief that they will own the Catholics and perhaps make the entire Catholic Church fall. That’s about the only Catholic bashing I sense. In my neighborhood’s men’s Bible study, which I love, it’s obvious at times I’m the lone Catholic. When I returned to my faith, I tried different churches. Mainly nondenominational churches. As I said, I was shocked at the pop music and the motivational element. But learning about American Protestantism in A Patriot’s History has deepened my understanding of my faith and my Catholic faith. And it’s especially made me see more colors in the American fabric.

Enough of this ramble. Let’s look a little more inside A Patriot’s History.

Note: This is a raw riff. It’s barely edited and I’m sure grammatical and spelling errors exist. These pieces are part of my bookclub, featuring an experimental aspect. The first bit is available to everyone, then, as you’ll see, the rest is for paying members. I’m hoping to get these out weekly, but a family situation back in Boston has made that tricky.

Paid members, there is no video. That may be on hold since my phone can blow up off the hook at any time like it did the last two days.

Go down the rabbit hole.

If you pick up a work of fiction and the author connects, then buy another one of his works and read it next. In fact, buy a bunch of them and read them in a row if you’d like.

If you’re curious about a topic, say the Roman Empire, order a few books and read them. Read them in a row, but if you find yourself a bit burned out, perhaps you read a massive doorstop of a book, take a break with an easy book or two, then jump back in. Or come back to it after maybe a few books.

I’m not sure if there is already a cool name for this concept of curating books on a topic and reading them, or riding the wave of an author, fiction or nonfiction, for a few books. But it’s simple: go with an author or go with a topic for a while.

I’ll focus on looking a topic for this riff and at some point will discuss reading one author for a while.

Right now I’m reading A Patriot’s History of the United States: From Columbus’s Great Discovery to America’s Age of Entitlement, by Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen, for my book club. It’s the second work I’m reading for this topic. The first was The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III by Andrew Roberts. Mortimer Adler said that the Great Books of the Western Canon have a way of talking with each other. I’d add that other great books have a way of talking to each other. Sometimes the style changes, like how the fashions change with music. At other times, it’s ideas fleshed out and then other ideas conceptualize it further or counter it for various reasons. Regardless, one can see a discussion or an influence. And if you curate books for a topic, a conversation between each book often surfaces.

Walking it down to a less abstract level, another good reason to read a few books on a topic is that it helps you remember things better. Dates, names, battles, all that fun stuff that maybe overwhelmed you while reading the first book begins to look more familiar in the second book.

I’ve currently read the introduction and am now a few pages into chapter 4 of A Patriot’s History. Already I’m seeing it converse with The Last King of America and I’m getting more familiar with a few names, dates, and goings-on.

Andrew Roberts throws an exhaustive amount of events at you, and expands on them, but it’s naturally tricky to remember it all. As I go through A Patriot’s History I recognize events, names, and so forth. I’m gaining familiarity with America’s beginnings. Now the goal isn’t remembering everything you read, but getting familiarity on a topic is satisfying. Satisfying on a simple end of, “Hey! I recognize this.” And on the other deeper end, “Oh I remember this now, and this is why or around when it happened.” It’s fun when you feel you start to have a handle on a topic. It offers some enjoyment and it makes the topic a little easier to navigate.

On the more abstract end, I’ve spotted a place where Roberts counters a claim regarding King George III and the king’s intelligence. And, while reading The Last King I kept remarking about Britain and the king not grasping the American spirit. In A Patriot’s History the authors explicitly lay out the driver of that spirit: American Exceptionalism. Furthermore, the authors name four components of American Exceptionalism:

1. Christian Tradition

2. Common Law

3. Property Rights

4. Capitalism

Britain and King George misunderstood the Americans and what had developed in the colonies for about a hundred years. Seeing each book address certain sides adds understanding and depth.

That abstract end, where maybe it’s more philosophical or making a connection, shows stronger familiarity on topic. It shows getting nuance and perspective. Will it make you an expert on it, no. But getting that nuance, that depth, means when you come across the topic elsewhere, say a book or podcast or documentary or movie, you can converse with it better and you can cultivate convictions on it. Or perhaps one view you held, new evidence comes to light or an argument, and your position changes. Regardless, it has some depth. And maybe best of all, when you hear or read a true expert on it, you can better understand and navigate what he says or writes.

Let’s take a look at the Introduction up to chapter 4 of A Patriot’s History.

The last month or so I’ve been daily on the phone with a family situation that surfaced in Boston (where I’m from). It’s a wild and tricky situation that’s required full attention. On top of that I went on two big family trips, one to spend time with my wife’s family in Omaha (where we may be moving to at some point) and with my family in Maine. And between those trips, I’ve spent time in Boston dealing with this situation.

It disrupted the bookclub riffs. Those are the new pieces since the chat is a little tough to get going. It looks like for chat to work on Substack you need thousands of paid members and it takes on a life of its own. I’m nowhere near that. The bookclub riffs are me writing a riff from what I’m reading, it’s unedited, I send it out to paid members and converse with them from there. I also am trying something new where I might riff something general on reading or another topic to all subscribers, and then bookclub riffs and notes are behind a paywall. The crazy situation also disrupted an article I’m cooking up on masculinity which was inspired by my reading of The Iliad around a year ago.

Each day something new surfaces with this situation. I’m going to do my best to sneak in writing and get things published. The video riffs accompanying bookclub pieces I hope will continue, but my phone rings off the hook most days. The light at the end of this tunnel is yet to be seen.

The chat is always open to paid members and you can scroll and find the American thread if you want to join in.

Onwards to the Bookclub.

America Bookclub

I’ve finished the first book in the series of books curated for this topic. That book The Last King: The Misunderstood Reign of George III by Andrew Roberts. It was exhaustive, detailed, and wonderful. Andrew Roberts is a force.

The biggest takeaways from that book:

• George III was in no shape or form tyrannical or anything near it

• George III, British Parliament, and Britons all misunderstood America and Americans

• The American spirit is real, tangible, alive, and still misunderstood abroad

• George III faced an uphill battle with his legacy due to slander beginning when he was born and slander continuing to this day — he was in fact an admirable King

• George III and Britons were confused as to why America wanted to split and its ambivalence towards Americans and not wishing to punish them through force or even use force gave the Americans a massive advantage in the Revolutionary War

• The stresses of being a world leader are unimaginable

• His mental illness and how it surfaced were sad and at times abhorrent considering his era’s methods to deal with mental illness

• He did his best to live an upstanding and moral life

• He loved his country (he loved America and Americans) and worked hard to do what was best

• His idealism and stubbornness at times proved terrible, like with America, and at times astute, like his dealings with Napoleon

• Roberts’s 28-point walkthrough of the Declaration of Independence is fantastic; Thomas Jefferson used fabulist rhetoric to instill more want of total independence and to ride with American spirit

The biggest American themed takeaway is the American spirit. To me, it looks like once the heavy yoke of puritanism was lifted, American dynamism thrived. But, puritanism is still imbued into the American fabric. Its latest iterations are found with the Progressive Left or most of the modern Left in reality, and on the very online fringe Right. Another fascinating place to see it is with the Manosphere, with their pseudo-theoretical straitjackets.

With that, I’ve just begun the next book: A Patriot’s History of the United States: From Columbus’s Great Discovery to America’s Age of Entitlement - 15th Edition by Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen. Along with it, I’m reading its companion volume: The Patriot’s History Reader: Essential Documents for Every American by Larry Schweikart, Dave Dougherty, and Michael Allen.

This is a behemoth of a book. Though I know of one taker who already began reading it. No one joined me in reading of The Last King, but I did have a few flies on the wall.

For Those New or Needing A Recap of How the Bookclub Works (If Not New Skip To The Next Section)

It’s simple.

I pick a book or a topic. You can read along or can be a fly on the wall. You can comment, ask questions, and join on livestreams if I host them.

The current topic is America.

I curated the following books for this topic (and maybe will add in some others, we’ll see):

• The Last King of America, Andrew Roberts

• A Patriot’s History of the United States, Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen

• A History of the American People, Paul Johnson

• Democracy in America Alexis de Tocqueville (and will prime it by reading Pierre Manent’s Tocqueville and the Nature of Democracy)

• Ethnic America, Thomas Sowell

These are big books. And the reader will need to be motivated. I’m not reading all the books in a row. I want to avoid reading burnout. So I’ll read one, see how I feel towards the end, and then likely indulge in a few easy reads before picking up the next big book. Also, given the length of the books, it’s quite possible I start another bookclub topic that I will jump into as a break from America. I’ll keep you posted on that.

To join along, whether reading or wishing to be a fly on the wall, you must be a paid member.

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A Patriot’s History: Why This Book And When To Start

You can start reading it now.

I’m reading the 15th edition. Various editions exist, and the one I have has updated past positions once held or since sharpened due to new resources made available to the authors.

Why this book?

I was a history major in college, and I’m still a history nerd. I tend to lean towards history when I read. I loved it as a little kid and I still love it now. After historical field trips, I would bug, nag, and beg my parents to take me to where school took us and to go there as soon as possible. My cousins in Virginia groaned when I visited because they knew I would ask to go to Mt. Vernon, and other sites, and my aunt and uncle were more than happy to oblige.

In college I had to pick European or American history as my lane. I had taken too many history classes, and I was about neck and neck with American and European. Given the choice fresh after a trip from Ireland, I chose European. When I started my thesis, I regretted my choice. Nothing against European history, but in my heart of hearts I wanted to do American history. My thesis was terrible by the way, a total snooze fest.

A second reason, in college I read Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States. I also read it post-college. My conviction having read it twice, historically it’s abysmal; agenda-wise Zinn gets his point across. Zinn pushed the modernist Marxist historical lens and outright sought to dismantle American values and ideals via his ideological lens. From what I gather, Patriot’s History began as a counter to him, and after reading the introduction, has expanded into a more robust history.

The coolest class I took in college was about historical lenses and perceptions. You had to be a top student to get into it. Which I’m proud I got in, arguably my best academic achievement. It was for students looking for careers in history or were likely headed to good law schools. Those careers not necessarily meaning professors, but careers in museums, for companies that do those historical plaques you see at various historical sites, and historical production studios.

It was a fascinating class, and one that stuck with me. Perhaps the most useful academic class in my life. I learned to pick up ideology or lenses right away.

Well, in that class, we looked at Zinn. He was a rockstar of the 1960s New Left educational movement which sought, explicitly, to dismantle traditional educational norms. The New Left wanted its philosophical underpinnings — relativism, postmodernism, Marxism, Critical theory (what fueled the most famous Critical Race Theory) — to be the educational foundation for the West. It sought to exploit the sins of each Western country and define that country through those sins, fomenting an Oppressor and Victim narrative, and that the only way to escape Western evils was a deconstruction of its history and create a Progressive agenda. Historians like Zinn, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Richard J. Evans, and countless others are of this ilk. Some explicitly so, others less so on the nose.

Even in college, with a super Left-leaning professor, we studied this lens. We studied the other side of the lens, though, if I recall, less so. And we looked into how to spot the lens, the philosophies influencing it, and why.

In short, I’ve read Zinn. I’ve long had Patriot’s History on my list. I want to see the other side here, the side of my side. I’m curious how it’s presented, and more so, I’m curious for the history of America told by authors who aren’t out to dismantle America.

It’s a big book and reading its companion reader alongside it will also take time.

If you want to read along, don’t worry about your speed or catching up to me. Read at your pace, whatever that is, slow, medium, or fast. I’m available to those who take part, even if it is after I start. If you just want some wisdom on American history, or to see how I work through a book like this, want to ask questions, yet have no intention of reading the book, no worries. Feel free to join and ask questions.

I’ve started the book. It will take time.

With my family situation, I might not be able to contribute weekly as I had planned with the last book. But I will work to get content up and out. I want to be up front and not set false expectations.

You can join below.

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Note: I apologize for the long delay. An unfortunate situation has occurred to my family. It has required trips to Boston, and most of my day spent on the phone dealing with it when I’m not in Boston.

Note note: These pieces are quick riffs and off the top of my head. They will likely have grammatical and spelling errors as I write this and then publish. And the video, as always, is a riff.

Note note note: I’ve finished the Last King. This article is a time capsule before the family situation erupted in Boston. I started it, situation erupted, and it went left unfinished. I’ve decided to finish it, no video will accompany it. As of this writing, I’m beginning A Patriot’s History of the United States by Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen. I’ll make a formal announcement soon. And below I’m trying something new, all subscribers will see something and paid subscribers their bookclub notes.

Names.

Dates.

Battles.

Policies.

Towns.

Cities.

Events.

The Last King of America hurls all of the above at you and more. Many readers are under the notion that they comprehended and got the lessons from a history only if they remember the Jeopardy gameshow facts. That you best know the book if you can not only recite the dates and events, you can then divulge the particulars of those dates and events.

Readers with that mindset, the mindset of needing to remember the names and dates of events, go into a work like The Last King and soon find themselves guilty, anxious, and frustrated. They see some names, then a few pages later some new names, but wonder if those names were mentioned before. Then, an event happens, and maybe 100 pages later that event is mentioned again, and what happened with that event again exactly?

Reading a history via the perfect recall and perfect comprehension mindset is well-intentioned but misguided.

On one end, this mindset comes from the Self-Development world plus the “prep for the test” mix of reading, which the self-development world pushes despite self-developments claims of school teaching them nothing. On the other, it comes from a notion that good readers read a book and turn into an expert on the topic. That they could go on a podcast, or often, speak to someone at a social event, and impress people with their profound knowledge on a subject.

If you want to be an expert on a topic reading one book, even a big one, will not cut it. To have a good level of knowledge you need to immerse in that topic. You need to read a ton of different books on the topic, whether it’s a bunch in a row similar to this American book club, or spread out over time. To be an expert on it, you need to be trained on it, such as Victor Davis Hanson or Barry Strauss or Andrew Roberts. Those top notch experts have devoted their lives to their craft.

Keep in mind, those historians you admire on a topic, or perhaps a fan of a topic who riffs on a podcast with depth, they have spent enormous time with a topic. They didn’t just read one or two books, and suddenly they turn into Will Hunting with polymath knowledge on the topic.

Another overlooked aspect, you will remember some books better than others. A glib saying goes that if you don’t understand what you’re reading or you walk away not an expert, that’s on the author. Sure, that can be the case in many instances of academic writing of the tone-deaf intellegentsia or jargon LinkedIn writing. But on the whole, some books and some authors will offer you a challenge. Thomas Sowell’s Conflict of Visions is written simply, it uses simple Anglo words, but the philosophical topics are a challenge. The Last King by Andrew Roberts is written with incredible style. He’s not as Hemingway-esque as Sowell, but he uses repetition in two ways, to keep you abreast and to then show the historical consequences playing out. Readable, but it takes cognitive capacity to grasp what’s going on. Other times, you will read a work, really enjoy it, and then months later forget it. That’s natural. That’s nothing on you. In some way it did not resonate deeply with you. For instance, I read James Madison by Jay Cost around three years ago, and I can’t remember a thing from it. Is that on my not reading it well? Or is it on the author, Jay Cost? Sometimes, perhaps more often than we’d like to admit, we forget some books. The answer is distinct to each reader. I remember other histories I read around that time far better than I do James Madison. But I’m not worried I didn’t remember it, it’s the nature of reading. Some books will stick with you for a lifetime, others you’ll forget after a few weeks.

What should you focus on?

First, the enjoyment. If you’re trying to read as a means to some end, you’ll wear yourself out, especially with a book like The Last King. You don’t need to walk away from a book like it to impress anyone or recite stats. You can just enjoy it and move on. That’s the most important part.

Second, when curiosity strikes, go with it. Spend time with a passage. Look up some things if you want. See where your thoughts go.

If you want to engage more…

Third, ask questions. Any question. It doesn’t have to be intelligent, just ask question. This starts the process of engaging with a book.

Fourth, see if you recognize themes or a position the author is taking. Note them in some marginalia, and see if those positions are expanded upon, repeated, or added to.

Fifth, if you have some previous wisdom on the topic, or remember something on it whether in passing or in depth, and you see it pop up, note those sections mentally or in marginalia. See how the author handles that information. You might have a myth busted, a previous conception validated, or something else.

Note, these pieces are a raw riff. They’re unedited and will likely have grammar errors.

Andrew Robert’s continues impressing. He’s engaging, scholarly, rigorous, and an exemplar of how to handle first hand sources. To the latter, as I’ve mentioned, I was a history major in college. My proudest academic achievement in college was getting into a class, which you needed the grades for, that began training you how to be a historian versus studying history. Much of it was learning how to dissect viewpoints, how to take first hand sources, aka, sources from the period, and extract history from it. Spot hyperbole, factions, political sides, the cultural fashions and notions of the time, and how to extract history from it. We also learned how to present a museum or how to tell the viewpoint of the museum and its goal of the curation. In addition, we learned how to dissect second hand, third hand, and other sources. Like, is it a Progressive revisionism, or is it more from a Conservative standpoint? The New Left of the 1960s radically changed how history was presented.

Roberts is a conservative historian, but he keeps partisan stances out. He, like most conservative historians in reality, are rigorous on evidence, and evidence from various angles. He isn’t pushing a narrative. But, he’s able to inject into the passages where we see history rhyming today, or gain perspective. Like how George III concern over moral rot and a lowering of a decorum, thinking it might end England. This sentiment of moral rot we see today. Or the conspiratorial nature of certain theories of what’s truly happening, it happened in America then, and that nature is widespread on X today. Robert’s ability to do this without getting partisan or without breaking a 4th wall, is remarkable.

Ok, I’m thinking of doing a livestream discussing America. It will be history focused. If that interests you, reply here or in the chat, if we get a few, I’m game.

Onwards.

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The Cavalier Treatment of America

My marginalia repeatedly remarks of the cavalier treatment of America. Roberts clearly shows that King George is not nor was not tyrannical in any degree. The argument and evidence will continue to show up in pages I’m sure, but it’s clear King George III was not tyrannical in any degree or manner. Yet George and countless others in Parliament viewed America cavalierly. Another way of putting it, George and others in his political circle and those in Parliament, were stuck in an echo chamber of local British politics and viewed America in a kind of conceptual abstract. That it was mere chess pieces to move.

The cavalier treatment however wasn’t in disdain, most in Britain had mutual respect for the colonies, but it wasn’t treated as pressing. Also, the small handful who did see the potential of America, like William Pitt, didn’t …

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The title of the book encapsulates the thesis: The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III.

“Misunderstood” is, after one pages or so in, is an understatement. Queen Elizabeth granted Roberts access to 200,000, yes, two-hundred thousand, pages, never before released on King George. The collection includes nearly everything written by George III going back to when he was a boy, and letters of those in his circle. They are now public domain, but they were kept under lock and key since the 1700s.

George III was misunderstood, rather, slandered, before he was even born. His grandfather, King George II hated George’s father, Frederick. And hate is an understatement. The progeny, despite George III being the blood of George II, received disdain for being a product of Frederick. This contributed …

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I finished James Dickey’s Deliverance this weekend and debated whether to read one more book or begin The Last King of America by Andrew Roberts. Since the last two announcements of this book club, most readers seem interested in A History of the American People by Paul Johnson or A Patriot’s History of the United States by Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen (along with its companion reader). That’s no surprise. Paul Johnson’s book is iconic, and while Andrew Roberts is no less so, his most popular (and sexier) works are his biographies of Churchill and Napoleon. Given that I would be the lone reader of The Last King of America, I decided to get started. A few people have raised their hands to be flies on the wall.

Yet I wanted to see if anyone else is on the fence, so here’s the breakdown.

Book Club Basics

The Book Club is a new feature on my site. It’s available only to paying members.

I pick themes, topics, and authors. The last one was Machiavelli. I post videos that break down what I’m reading or how to tackle sections. I host livestreams where you can chat with me and other members. The chat also has a dedicated America thread. After getting feedback from members, I will also write some quick article riffs. The chat is great, but it doesn’t notify members, and with the number of members I have right now, it hasn’t yet come to life, with people checking in frequently.

You do not need to be reading any of the books. You can be a fly on the wall, ask questions, and engage however you like. This is for a few simple reasons. First, it would be silly to tell paying members they can’t ask questions when they see all the content they paid for. Second, and perhaps the biggest reason, I believe the book club will promote better reading. You’ll see how I or others dissect a book, whether easy or difficult. A goal of my site is to encourage better reading.

Naturally, I hope a few people will read along. For this “‘Merica” topic, I curated some big books. The first, The Last King of America by Andrew Roberts, is a behemoth.

The others:

• A History of the American People, Paul Johnson

• A Patriot’s History of the United States: From Columbus’s Great Discovery to America’s Age of Entitlement + The Patriot’s History Companion Reader: Essential Documents for Every American, Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen

• Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville (I’ll also read Pierre Manent’s book on Tocqueville, Tocqueville and the Nature of Democracy, as a primer)

And I’m almost certainly going to include:

• Ethnic America, Thomas Sowell

A few other books might be added as well.

All of the books listed above, except the Sowell volume I’m almost certain to include, are big books.

With the book club, while I hope you read along, you can set your own pace and reading schedule. We all have our own schedules and reading rhythms. The topic is open-ended for now. You can pick up The Last King of America in six months, and I’ll still be happy to discuss it if you raise your hand.

Again, you can be a fly on the wall or read along. The more activity from you on the site, the more activity from me.

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The Pace of America Book Club

Given the length of these books, I will likely not read them back to back. Experience tells me that would cause reading burnout. I want to stay fresh with each book. I will read one, finish it, then likely pick a few easier books to read in between. Some may even be Book Club picks on a different topic. Then I will jump back into the America theme. The time between books will be a feel thing for me. My guess is one to three weeks.

The Last King of America

Since it looks like I’m the lone reader for now, I will still post plenty of videos and some article riffs on this book. If people ask questions or get involved, I’m happy to do some livestreams.

A chat thread has been dedicated to America. It will cover all things America and the curated books. Since the Substack chat hasn’t yet come to life for me, I will also write some riffing articles to discuss the book.

I’m close to 70 pages into The Last King of America, and it’s excellent so far. Andrew Roberts makes even exhaustive detail exciting. He does so by showing the consequences of events and explaining why some seemingly random British tax or royal marriage mattered. He’s a special talent.

If you’d like to join in, become a paid member.

I’m looking forward to this topic. I love America. I’m a history dork, and I can’t wait to read these books. I hope some of you will join along or, if you’re curious but not planning to read, will be flies on the wall to learn a bit about the greatest country on earth.

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As mentioned in a previous article, the first book to read is The Last King of America by Andrew Roberts.

It’s a beast of a book. A whopping 675 pages in my hardbound edition. The knocks against the book pertain to its exhaustive detail. Andrew Roberts is a modern iconic historian by reputable accounts. I’ve read a number of his articles and have listened to him on interviews yet have not read one of his books. His biographies of Napoleon and Churchill are famous. The King George biography received wide praise and acclaim, yet George is not as sexy as Churchill and Napoleon, hence the less “fame” of this biography, if you could call it that.

This book will take time. After the last message, it was a bit crickets. Yet I know of one heavy hitter joining in on this topic. Keep in mind, you do not need to be reading any of the books to be a part of this book club. As long as you are a paying member, you can partake.

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The certain-to-read books of this curation are big books and will require patience to read:

• A History of the American People, Paul Johnson — 976 pages & smaller font

• A Patriot’s History of the United States: From Columbus’s Great Discovery to the Age of Entitlement + its companion volume The Patriot’s History Reader: Essential Documents for Every American, Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen — 867 pages + 427 pages for the companion reader

• Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville — 822 pages. Also, as a primer, I’m going to read Pierre Manent’s Tocqueville and the Nature of Democracy; people can join me if they wish on that.

I’m not here to scare you off. Breaks will exist between these books. I will not read one after the other. Given the size and depth of each, that, I surmise, would cause reading burnout. I will take breaks. How long a break lasts will be determined by how I’m feeling. It might be a week, it might be two weeks. I want to be fresh and ready for each book. I know that will get the best out of me for you.

My philosophy: I want you to read and enjoy them at your pace and in your own time. You do not need to read along. Though, I hope you do. And I want and hope to engage with you.

The Last King

An impulse arose, a strong one, to write a section to stoke curiosity to read The Last King. I announced this topic and the feedback was quiet. Like I said, I know of one heavy hitter joining. But that’s it. I’m still navigating and tinkering with the shape of the book club.

But I’m not going to try to bring out ye olde copywriting chops to sell you on reading this book.

A topic like this, with books like this, requires not just a motivated reader but a reader who would enjoy this topic, a reader with curiosity on this topic, and a reader who likes the challenge of a big book.

King George will not be an easy book. It’s a big book. It’s a book written by a historian of substance and depth. Yet it will not be beach-read history such as The History of Salt. It’s a doorstop book. Roberts is regarded as a great and compelling writer by many. In other words, he’s largely readable to smart people. Yet it’s a big book with a lot of detail. As any big book like this, it wil require someone deeply motivated to read it, and the idea of “getting through all of it” isn’t a worry to them.

Some of you will be interested but will not have the time to read it or simply might be too intimidated to pick it up. If that is you, you can still join in, watch the videos, ask questions in the chat, comment on the articles or riffs on the book, and join or offer up questions for the livestreams.

I’m excited to read this book. I have been for some time. Given the response to the last article, and it still being the nascent stages of my book club, it might just be me talking to the heavy hitter who said he was in and to a few flies on the wall. We’ll see what sticks. And it might be good practice since I’m thinking of adding in quick riffs or quick videos exclusive to members to discuss what I’m reading, book club topic or not.

In sum, this book is a serious one. It’s a big one. The takers will be few. But if you are a taker, whether reading or a fly on the wall, I plan to start next week.

I’m reading Deliverance by James Dickey currently. You may know it by the iconic movie. The book, so far, is superb. I can’t put it down. I will finish it in the next few days. I might read another fast-paced and short fiction before I begin The Last King.

If you are with me, first, you must be a member. Second, let me know if you’re reading this book or planning to. You can do that by commenting below. If you want to be a fly on the wall for this book and the topic, simply like the post.

I will write another announcement the closer I get to starting The Last King.

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Why America

Why not America?

A secret reason might be personal.

I was a history major in college. I love history. I’m a history nerd, As long time subscribers can probably tell, I read a fair amount of history. Back in college, I got in a bit of hot water for taking too many history classes. I had to scramble to find a minor, had missed some core classes I was supposed to take, which all made for a scrambled last quarter of college. But in that mess, I had to pick either American History or European History as my focus. I had equal credits and needed to choose one over the other. I’m of Irish descent, and had recently gotten back from Ireland when the history department told me this. Reflexively, I picked European. I wanted to write on Ireland, feeling it unrepresented in my studies. I picked, for a thesis paper, Ireland’s Troubles Represented In American Media Compared To English Media. A yawn fest. A bore fest. I was passionate in my history classes. I excelled at the exams and thought them fun. Yes, a bit weird, I know. I even liked writing papers. But I hated my thesis. I dragged through it. I knew a week going into it I should have switched. Yet I forged on, wrote a bore fest, and wished I picked American history.

It’s not that I dislike European history, I love it in fact. But my long love affair with history began via field trips as a kid to historical sites. For my birthday, I’d ask if we could do a Freedom Trail tour, yet again. My cousins in Virginia groaned when I visited because I’d want to go to Mt. Vernon, again. Without too much of a ramble, I’ve always loved American history. Each time my wife and I drive from Denver to Omaha, I wonder about that abandoned barn on the side of I-80. At rest areas, if a historical marker exists, I read it, and wonder.

Another reason, I want to do America as a background for future topics I have on the horizon:

• World War II (more overview, I have other topics around this as well like the Third Reich, Hitler, Stalin, etc.)

• The Vietnam War, particularly Mark Moyar’s works on it

• The Civil War, particularly Shelby Foote’s, The Civil War

• American Presidents

Maybe it’s a bit of an unscratched itch, but I’d like to dig into America. The American experiment is unlike any other in world history. America has become the dominant world power in a short period of time. The American Spirit is distinct, while Western, it is distinct in what it represents. I want to look into it, and I believe it's worthwhile. And for the 250th anniversary of the greatest country on earth, why not?

A Caveat Before Getting Into It

Other topics, themes, and authors will be discussed. Here’s what I mean. I’m not picking this topic and going to read all of it until finished.

Why?

I have some big books curated. I know I will need some easier reads in between to keep fresh. I also know that you of those who wish to join reading along with any of the bigger books will need some heads up and some time to plan to read any of these books. I want to afford both of us the space and time needed.

Also, I have a few other themes, authors, and topics burning in my reading pocket that I know I want to dive into. I will likely dip into those here or there. Especially after tackling a big book or two. For instance, I’ve recently returned to my spiritual home, my Catholic Faith. I’m intrigued to dig into a few authors, like G.K. Chesterton, or Raymond Ibrahim’s trilogy on the Crusades.

The topic of America will be ongoing, may have some breaks, but we can view it as a kind of semester. We dig in, take a vacation, then return back.

The Map of Curated Books

I only have a few books set in stone, I’m still curating the others, and am pondering and wondering what fiction to include, if I include it.

Here are the certain to be included:

• Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville (I will read Pierre Manent’s book, Tocqueville and the Nature of Democracy as a primer).

• A History of the American People, Paul Johnson

• A Patriot’s History of the United States, Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen, And I’ll read it’s companion The Patriot’s History Reader alongside it which includes the essential American documents detailed.

Democracy in America and A History of the American people are the most famous. Each is written by a non-American, which also drives the pick for the first work chosen for this topic. And each of those is a thick book. Each will take time.

Good Chance of Inclusion:

• Ethnic America, Thomas Sowell

• Dismantling America, Thomas Sowell

• The Good Country: A History of the American Midwest, Jon K. Lauck

• National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America, Michael Auslin

The Great American Novel

I’m eyeing fiction for this topic as well. We’ve all heard of the Great American novel. But it’s tough to pick here, because Melville’s Moby Dick is certainly great, but it’s big, and may take months, and is worthwhile of his own deep dive. But here are a few I’m eyeing:

• Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain

• The Scarlet Letters, Nathanial Hawthorne

• The Bostonians, Henry James

We shall see here. The Great American Novel in itself could be its own topic.

The First Book…

The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III, Andrew Roberts

Paul Johnson, Alexander de Tocqueville, and Andrew Roberts are all non-Americans. This is at one end coincidence and the other end specific. Coincidence because each is a heavyweight in its own way and I’ve long wanted to read them. Specific at the other because I want a bird’s-eye view of America. And sometimes the best bird’s-eye view comes from outsiders.

The Last King of America could be an odd place to start. But a recent 250th American anniversary themed article by Roberts graced the pages of The Claremont Review of Books. In it, he writes a compelling apologist article about George III. Roberts dissects the slander and myths Thomas Jefferson and others fabricated about King George. I had not really ever come across that angle. It made me insatiably curious. Recently, on a Victor Davis Hanson In His Own Words podcast, Hanson remarked how Roberts dissected the claims in Declaration of Independence regarding the King, and how great this book is. That naturally perked my interest more.

That unscratched itch since college of picking European History over American History, the topic of King George, are a kind of bridge. I know enough to be dangerous of our country’s founding, but sadly little on King George III. And he is the last King of America. Also, I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve never read an Andrew Roberts book. He’s a modern master. I’ve read a few of his articles and each has been superb. I’ve heard him on interviews and podcasts, and each time, he resonates.

It’s long overdue to read him.

This is a big book. I want to get going on it fairly soon, but want to give you a heads up. I’d like to get going on it by mid June. I have a family vacation coming up in June, and I hope to either start it right after or right before. That gives about 3 or 4 weeks of heads up.

If you are interested in reading along with me with this book comment below this article. Note you must be a paid member to join in on the discussion.

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A possible reading order, likely to change:

1. The Last King, Andrew Roberts

   1. A small break

2. National Treasure

3. A History of the American People

   1. A break

4. Ethnic America

5. A Patriot’s History

   1. A break

6. Democracy in America

That is subject to change and almost certainly will change.

How The Bookclub Works

The bookclub here is still in its early phases. I’m learning more each time I try it.

First, you do not have to be reading any of the books, it’s preferred, but it’s open to all paying members.

Any member can ask questions in the chat, which will feature a dedicated thread. And any member can join in on the livestreams.

Those reading along, the chat, comments, and videos, so far, get the most engagement. You can offer analysis, musings, questions, and observations. I work to do a weekly check-in for readers. Whether someone is struggling or has observations, I like to stoke those conversations. The more activity from the members the more activity from me.

You do not have to start when I start. All bookclub topics, for now, are always open. For instance, if you wish to read The Prince next month, which was the last topic, you can go ahead and ask me questions, offer musings, and I will engage with it.

I also understand that some books, like all picked for this topic, are big. Go at your own pace. No need to rush, no need to feel like you need to crank. Reading works best when you go through it at your pace. If you decide to start Last King tomorrow, have at it, let me know, and I will start the dedicated thread for it.

The goal is conversation, getting you inspired to engage with the work.

I will also do videos. I’m working toward a weekly video, it may not always be possible with travel or my daughter. The videos recap, add some thoughts, and so forth. I may include some article riffs. Those will be more unedited and raw. They will depend on the writing schedule and writing projects which I will share below.

I will do livestreams, I’d like to do more of these since the last one was a blast, and I believe people got a lot out of it, so I hope. I know I did, I enjoyed it, and when I found out I can bring people onto the video chat, it became a whole lot more fun.

With a topic like America, and it being mainly history, the questions are going to be more of an overview, like, “What is America?” And with this historical focus, what shaped it? What makes it unique?

With the book A Patriot’s History it’s more or less a counter, a correction in my opinion, to Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States. I read Zinn’s work. I read it twice. I studied it in college. Then read it once a few years after college. Each time it was no different, fabulist, full of holes, annoyingly full of Zinn’s heavy-handed agenda, and outright wrong in many instances. I’ve yet to read Patriot’s History but many thinker’s I respect admire it, and it is known as a robust counter to Zinn’s sophomoric yet famous work.

And Patriot’s might be the most intense read of this topic.

This topic may take over a year with given breaks and some jumps into other topics. And that’s ok, it has big books, it will naturally take time And we may need time post reading to chew over what we learned.

I will announce again as I get closer. But if you’re interested in either reading along or being a fly on the wall, comment below.

Again, it’s for paid members only.

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Article Style Update

As I’ve waded into the one man review books lane, I’ve sat on something for a bit. I have a few cultural riffs, a few essays, some percolating, some written, and one ready to publish.

Lately, I’ve been reading, then doing a Recommends. I’m playing with my own style of these versus a more traditional review of books style found in Claremont Review of Books or New York Review of Books.

Yet, I’m lacking in an area, but have been stewing over it. That is, the essays, the cultural pieces, the musings, and so on that makes a review of books stand out. I want to write them, but as soon as I finish a book, I begin a Recommends piece, and it gets long.

I need to give time to flesh out and publish the more essay type pieces. With that, I’m going to keep the Recommends, but will not do a piece for every book I read. I will do them for some books absolutely, but not all. I need to throw my hat in the ring for some pieces that will challenge me and possibly resonate or ruffle feathers. So, I will do a recap of books read, a quick blip, instead of a longer recommends. For instance, I will publish an article today or tomorrow that is a piece I’ve been shaping lately. Then I’m going to dig into a piece I wrote awhile ago (which might need a total rewrite, seeing how I wrote it when I was struggling with my sleep before I got a CPAP — it’s rambly, repetitive, and choppy) about The Iliad and masculinity. I cranked few a few books lately, and while I have those other articles in the works, I will do a brief recap of those books since they are worthy of reading.

Like standard review of book publications, I need to and am burning to get into those essays or opinion pieces. They need my focus. Some will outright be inspired by what I’m reading or what I have just read. I also want to do a few pieces on better reading. And to focus on on all that along with the essays and opinion pieces, the Recommends will likely be for exceptional books, or what I’m in the mood for. They will still come, but it got too much to do it with every book, and my site is in want of new colors.

For any of you still reading it, the chat is still open. All bookclub topics are always open. If you want to go back into a previous topic, author, or book, have at it. With any of the books featured in my Recommends you can ask me directly here. Maybe I should start a chat thread on those…

Also this bookclub is still early in its stages. I’m learning from you. I really enjoyed the livestream. I’d like to do a Machiavelli post mortem livestream. I do not have a date set yet, but if it interests you please like or reply to this message, and I’ll find a time.

I’ve been thinking on Machiavelli since finishing it. My first assessment of The Discourses: after Book I it gets redundant and repetitive. But, for the sake of posterity and for the clarity of understanding his theories, it’s good Discourses gets redundant. The redundancy, the repetitive rambles of his theories, his exegesis of Livy, all adds clarity and em…

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The Discourses, in my opinion, past book one gets redundant. I can’t not say it. Yet, while Machiavelli is redundant and contradicts himself, he is consistent. He injects his political theory in all chapters, and hammers his points. The more I read it, the more I get the gist of modern politics.

But I’ve noticed something else as well.

The “do something” cry of constituents, which is often a cry from the Left side of the spectrum, is inherently Machiavellian. An event happens, and then the “do something” wants to overhaul the current system and instill a new government system with new laws, new morals, and severe punishment for those opposing.

A similar impulse exists on the Right. Some call it the New Right, but I find the New Right label sometimes vague and sometimes way too online but more often than …

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I did a check-in on the chat and didn’t hear anything. The chat does not send a mass message like an article, and the message probably went into the empty airwaves.

With that, I’m curious where readers of The Discourses are at, what are you noticing, questions, analyses, insights, and observations.

Possibly this week, here or on video, likely on here after I finish editing an article, I’ll drop a kind of bullet point list of observations. A key feature of Machiavelli I’ve noticed is how repetitive he is with his themes. He has a consistency of putting his theory into every chapter. Discourses certainly expands his political theory laid out in The Prince, yet consistent themes are hammered over and over.

Given how political the work is, a question I’ve been wrangling with, is how Machiavellian became to be a comm…

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But if you’re joining me in The Discourses I’ve started it.

A note to those of you still reading The Prince or wanting to read it, I will still cover it. Likely I’m going to make a video on one of the chapters this week, I believe chapter 15. And The Discourses expands the concepts introduced in The Prince, so much of what’s discussed from The Discourses will apply.

The Discourses is a sizable book. It will take some time to go through. Do not worry about reading speed or falling behind. Chew what bites you can, enjoy what bites you can, and any analysis, observations, understandings, struggles, or questions, feel free to mention in the chat or in the comments.

Also, last week’s livestream was stellar. You can watch th…

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Livestream

This week, Friday, April 3rd, I’m going to do a Livestream right here on Substack.

If you can join me live, I would love to have you on. It looks like I can now host live via my desktop, I hope it’s a smooth experience. Come on, ask some questions, share some observations, or anything Machiavelli you got go right ahead.

If you can or cannot make it — questions or observations you’d like answered or addressed, go ahead and share those either by commenting here below or sharing it in the chat thread.

Schedule

Right now, I’m on Chapter 15. I’m changing my reading schedule a bit this week to get an hour on certain mornings. So I might make easy work of the rest of The Prince. If you’re planning to join me on the Discourses, let’s plan Monday, April 6th as the start. But I will still be…

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