T. J. Stiles
@tj-stiles.bsky.social
American historian and biographer.
Pulitzer Prize for History for "Custer's Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America"
Pulitzer Prize for Biography & National Book Award for Nonfiction for "The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt”
Pulitzer Prize for History for "Custer's Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America"
Pulitzer Prize for Biography & National Book Award for Nonfiction for "The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt”
Pinned
“But are there not many Fascists in your country?”
”There are many who do not know they are Fascists, but will find it out when the time comes.”
—Ernest Hemingway, “For Whom the Bell Tolls”
”There are many who do not know they are Fascists, but will find it out when the time comes.”
—Ernest Hemingway, “For Whom the Bell Tolls”
Newly Unbound, Trump Weighs More Nuclear Arms and Underground Tests
www.nytimes.com
February 10, 2026 at 7:42 AM
Reposted by T. J. Stiles
The worst people in the world doing evil and stupid things.
Trump Allies Near ‘Total Victory’ in Wiping Out U.S. Climate Regulation
www.nytimes.com
February 10, 2026 at 6:48 AM
The worst people in the world doing evil and stupid things.
That is insanely great.
February 10, 2026 at 6:29 AM
That is insanely great.
Oh well then I take back everything I said about him. This is a very normal thing for a skilled diplomat and absolutely not an unstable, ignorant egomaniac to say.
Trump, in the middle of his latest unhinged Truth Social screed, claims that if Canada makes a trade deal with China, "the first thing China will do is terminate ALL Ice Hockey being played in Canada, and permanently eliminate The Stanley Cup."
February 10, 2026 at 6:16 AM
Oh well then I take back everything I said about him. This is a very normal thing for a skilled diplomat and absolutely not an unstable, ignorant egomaniac to say.
Reposted by T. J. Stiles
This is literally what CURRENT LAW requires. It’s in the Constitution! www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
February 10, 2026 at 3:18 AM
This is literally what CURRENT LAW requires. It’s in the Constitution! www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
I once met Peter Gabriel. I said, "You're Peter Gabriel!" He cheerfully replied, "Balder and fatter!"
February 9, 2026 at 9:11 PM
I once met Peter Gabriel. I said, "You're Peter Gabriel!" He cheerfully replied, "Balder and fatter!"
Post a banger that isn't in English.
youtu.be/odijGokxnoU?...
youtu.be/odijGokxnoU?...
February 9, 2026 at 7:35 PM
Post a banger that isn't in English.
youtu.be/odijGokxnoU?...
youtu.be/odijGokxnoU?...
Draconian, unpredictable tariffs and forced population loss will surely fix this.
February 9, 2026 at 6:11 PM
Draconian, unpredictable tariffs and forced population loss will surely fix this.
Good. Trump’s police state is hurting Texas too.
It’s worth reading this in light of today’s “The Daily” podcast. We need to legalize the undocumented and make lawful immigration easier beyond asylum-seeking—because, as this story shows yet again, we need immigrants.
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
It’s worth reading this in light of today’s “The Daily” podcast. We need to legalize the undocumented and make lawful immigration easier beyond asylum-seeking—because, as this story shows yet again, we need immigrants.
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Immigration Raids in South Texas Are Starting to Hit the Economy
Trade groups are raising alarms about aggressive immigration enforcement hurting businesses in the region.
www.wsj.com
February 9, 2026 at 5:09 PM
Good. Trump’s police state is hurting Texas too.
It’s worth reading this in light of today’s “The Daily” podcast. We need to legalize the undocumented and make lawful immigration easier beyond asylum-seeking—because, as this story shows yet again, we need immigrants.
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
It’s worth reading this in light of today’s “The Daily” podcast. We need to legalize the undocumented and make lawful immigration easier beyond asylum-seeking—because, as this story shows yet again, we need immigrants.
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
I feel like just this alone will say so much about this period to posterity. I mean, what it says is baffling, but it's pretty representative of life during Trumptime.
Doocy: "The new face of RealFood .gov is Mike Tyson. How did you settle on someone who was most famous for eating Evander Holyfield's ear?"
RFK Jr.: "Brett Ratner who helped produce the ad had a lifelong friendship with him."
RFK Jr.: "Brett Ratner who helped produce the ad had a lifelong friendship with him."
February 9, 2026 at 3:27 AM
I feel like just this alone will say so much about this period to posterity. I mean, what it says is baffling, but it's pretty representative of life during Trumptime.
Yes, I know, and I heartily apologize to everyone who suffers from it except for the arrogant crank who is doing his best to kill all the Americans he can in the time he has left.
February 8, 2026 at 10:36 PM
Yes, I know, and I heartily apologize to everyone who suffers from it except for the arrogant crank who is doing his best to kill all the Americans he can in the time he has left.
And I wonder why he sounds like a garbage disposal with a spoon in it.
RFK Jr on what he'll eat during the Super Bowl: "I am on a carnivore diet so I just eat meat and ferments, and I'm very happy with that. So I'm probably going to have yogurt."
February 8, 2026 at 10:23 PM
And I wonder why he sounds like a garbage disposal with a spoon in it.
There is nothing I can add to make this more perfect.
In 1979, the “New York Times” asked Isaac Bashevis Singer if he planned to watch the Super Bowl.
February 8, 2026 at 10:19 PM
There is nothing I can add to make this more perfect.
Reposted by T. J. Stiles
Here’s the situation in the Twin Cities:
Random Bovino-style tear-gassing: Way down
Relentless persecution of immigrants: Unchanged
Thuggish violence against observers: Way up
Random Bovino-style tear-gassing: Way down
Relentless persecution of immigrants: Unchanged
Thuggish violence against observers: Way up
February 8, 2026 at 9:30 PM
Here’s the situation in the Twin Cities:
Random Bovino-style tear-gassing: Way down
Relentless persecution of immigrants: Unchanged
Thuggish violence against observers: Way up
Random Bovino-style tear-gassing: Way down
Relentless persecution of immigrants: Unchanged
Thuggish violence against observers: Way up
Reposted by T. J. Stiles
So Trump fired a Cuban-American secretary of the Navy and replaced him with a white guy on the Epstein list. That tracks.
February 8, 2026 at 10:00 PM
So Trump fired a Cuban-American secretary of the Navy and replaced him with a white guy on the Epstein list. That tracks.
Reposted by T. J. Stiles
Something wrong Hon, you've barely touched your meat and ferments.
RFK Jr on what he'll eat during the Super Bowl: "I am on a carnivore diet so I just eat meat and ferments, and I'm very happy with that. So I'm probably going to have yogurt."
February 8, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Something wrong Hon, you've barely touched your meat and ferments.
BUT STILL! I am trying to imagine a scenario in which anyone would ever say, “Oh no, we have run out of crypto! Why oh why did the federal government not create a strategic reserve? Now there is none to be had for the no legitimate uses it has.”
February 8, 2026 at 5:21 AM
BUT STILL! I am trying to imagine a scenario in which anyone would ever say, “Oh no, we have run out of crypto! Why oh why did the federal government not create a strategic reserve? Now there is none to be had for the no legitimate uses it has.”
Why do we have a “strategic reserve” of digital doo-dads that have no purpose except speculation and money laundering? It is the single stupidest use of federal money ever.
Oh, right: the grift. It was all a part of the grift.
Oh, right: the grift. It was all a part of the grift.
U.S. BITCOIN RESERVE LOSSES NEAR $5B AFTER CRYPTO CRASH The U.S. government’s strategic Bitcoin reserve has lost nearly $5 billion in value since its creation last year, as Bitcoin has fallen 45% from its peak. The reserve, initially valued at about $18.5 billion, is now worth
February 8, 2026 at 5:18 AM
Why do we have a “strategic reserve” of digital doo-dads that have no purpose except speculation and money laundering? It is the single stupidest use of federal money ever.
Oh, right: the grift. It was all a part of the grift.
Oh, right: the grift. It was all a part of the grift.
It just guts me that the Washington Post lost a *quarter of a million* subscribers because of Bezos's sucking up to Trump, and his reaction is, "Obviously the Post should stop covering books and international affairs."
www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/...
www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/...
After non-endorsement, 250,000 subscribers cancel The Washington Post
Post staffers press for answers on loss of readers and trust after owner Jeff Bezos explained why the paper would no longer endorse presidential candidates.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 8, 2026 at 12:34 AM
It just guts me that the Washington Post lost a *quarter of a million* subscribers because of Bezos's sucking up to Trump, and his reaction is, "Obviously the Post should stop covering books and international affairs."
www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/...
www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/...
The trick of course, was not just to unearth facts, but to make sense of them. My editor is not a historian, but he sent back my early chapters with the comment, "You're missing something important. I don't know what it is." It sent me back to the historiography of the early republic to find focus.
February 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM
The trick of course, was not just to unearth facts, but to make sense of them. My editor is not a historian, but he sent back my early chapters with the comment, "You're missing something important. I don't know what it is." It sent me back to the historiography of the early republic to find focus.
At a certain point I knew I was in for a pound though it might leave me penniless. I started finding so much that had not been unearthed before—such a rare experience!—that I knew at the end this would be The Book on the guy. There's no Vanderbilt Papers anywhere, so no one tried it before.
February 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM
At a certain point I knew I was in for a pound though it might leave me penniless. I started finding so much that had not been unearthed before—such a rare experience!—that I knew at the end this would be The Book on the guy. There's no Vanderbilt Papers anywhere, so no one tried it before.
Today I'm offering the complete bibliographical essay from the backmatter of "The First Tycoon" to assist historians working on the 19th-c United States.
What I describe could not be done by AI. It's not just reading undigitized pages. It's judgment, interpretation, consultation—all creative acts.
What I describe could not be done by AI. It's not just reading undigitized pages. It's judgment, interpretation, consultation—all creative acts.
I had the rare experience of writing a "definitive" biography—the first thorough book on a major historical figure. I added a bibliographical essay to "The First Tycoon" to aid future historians and biographers. It explains my methods, assesses other works, & names key archives. I offer it here.
1/3
1/3
February 7, 2026 at 9:17 PM
Today I'm offering the complete bibliographical essay from the backmatter of "The First Tycoon" to assist historians working on the 19th-c United States.
What I describe could not be done by AI. It's not just reading undigitized pages. It's judgment, interpretation, consultation—all creative acts.
What I describe could not be done by AI. It's not just reading undigitized pages. It's judgment, interpretation, consultation—all creative acts.
Of course that's a drawing of his son William Henry Vanderbilt, the heir. Thank you very much!
February 7, 2026 at 9:05 PM
Of course that's a drawing of his son William Henry Vanderbilt, the heir. Thank you very much!
Not mentioned in the essay is the terrible struggle I went through to understand the significance of Cornelius Vanderbilt's early career, particularly his partnership with Thomas Gibbons in the landmark case Gibbons v. Ogden. I came to see it as a fatal blow to the 18th-c. culture of deference.
3/3
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February 7, 2026 at 8:43 PM
Not mentioned in the essay is the terrible struggle I went through to understand the significance of Cornelius Vanderbilt's early career, particularly his partnership with Thomas Gibbons in the landmark case Gibbons v. Ogden. I came to see it as a fatal blow to the 18th-c. culture of deference.
3/3
3/3
My look at other biographies and "biographies" includes a wild example that Dwight Garner of the New York Times called "biographical malpractice." But for historians of the 19th-century economy, political culture, U.S. involvement in Central America, and business, I found some essential sources.
2/3
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February 7, 2026 at 8:43 PM
My look at other biographies and "biographies" includes a wild example that Dwight Garner of the New York Times called "biographical malpractice." But for historians of the 19th-century economy, political culture, U.S. involvement in Central America, and business, I found some essential sources.
2/3
2/3