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A Review of Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
Slaughterhouse Five, written in 1969, is overall an antiwar book in which war so messes with a person that they go in and out of imaginary dreams and experiences, time is totally disoriented, the traditional narrative of life is broken, … Continue reading
And shepherds were tending their sheep at night and behold . . .
The grinding movement of time toward the end was slow and steady, one day following another, night falling expectantly, darkness ruling the land until the hues of dawn foretold the beginning of a new day like all the others. The … Continue reading
Behold, A Virgin Shall Conceive
People throughout the ancient Mediterranean believed that the divine spoke to humans through dreams. Such was the experience of the young woman, which brought images so vivid, a conversation so easily recalled, that the sights and sounds etched on the … Continue reading
The Story of the Wise Men
The world was in need of a savior; then a star appeared, an astral phenomenon seen in the east. Those who witnessed the rising star on the endless desert horizon were seeking signs of the will of heaven, the … Continue reading
Reflections on Psalm 1
Happy is the person who does not walk in the way of sinners. . . . Happiness comes from acting according to God’s will. This simple truth is so obvious and necessary, it should so drive all human actions and … Continue reading
Posted in books, Christianity, Reflections on the Psalms
Tagged god, Love, Old Testament, psalms
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Ebenezer Hazard, Jeremy Belknap, and the American Revolution
My book, “Ebenezer Hazard, Jeremy Belknap, and the American Revolution,” has been republished by Routledge. Ebenezer Hazard was a surveyor of post roads and scientist during the War for Independence. Jeremy Belknap was a clergyman, scientist, and historian. Their epistles … Continue reading
Posted in American History, books
Tagged American Revolution, books, Ebenezer Hazard, Jeremy Belknap
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Metamorphosis
Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis is a strange story about a man who awakes one day to find himself transformed, or metamorphosed, into a bug-like creature with many small skinny legs, antennae, and a hard shell. His appetites change and he can … Continue reading
Posted in books, Christianity, European history
Tagged books, Jesus, Love, New Testament
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Montaigne’s Lesson about Life
“We are great fools,” Montaigne declared, in Of Experience. “I have done nothing today,” the fool says. “What! Have you not lived?” The living of life is a sufficient task. “Have you known how to . . . manage your … Continue reading
Posted in books, European history, Michel de Montaigne
Tagged Essays, history, Montaigne, philosophy
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Ebenezer Hazard, Jeremy Belknap, and the American Revolution
Routledge, a division of Taylor and Francis, will be reissuing this fall my 2011 book, Ebenezer Hazard, Jeremy Belknap, and the American Revolution. The letters of Jeremy Belknap and Ebenezer Hazard encompassed twenty years, from 1779 to 1798, during a … Continue reading
Posted in American History, Biography, books
Tagged American Revolution, Biography, Ebenezer Hazard, history, Jeremy Belknap
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Will Perkins, Family Historian
William Lennox Perkins, July 12, 1868-August 25, 1946. William Perkins, brother of Hattie Perkins Brown, who was the mother of Florence Brown Phillips and the grandmother of Milton Arnold Phillips, was the Perkins and Crawford family historian as well as … Continue reading
Posted in American History, Biography, books
Tagged Biography, books, genealogy, history, History of New Engand, Perkins Family
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The American Plutarch 