Hudson Valley/Capital Region people: I'll be speaking tomorrow at the Chatham (N.Y.) Public Library, 1:30 pm, about the great political backstory behind the Erie Canal, whose bicentennial we'll be celebrating next month. Hope to see you there ...

I'm thrilled to announce that my next book, a biography of Thomas Cooper (1759-1839), has been accepted by LSU Press as part of its distinguished Southern Biography Series. Cooper was ...

It's flattering to see that the Sex and the City people think that middle-aged historians look like this shirtless:

Some placards from today’s protests #nokings

The Wikipedia entry on the presidential election of 1796 refers to John Adams as "Lucifer" and his wife as "Lilith," the "first human woman in existence, and the Queen of Hell." Need a laugh? Read this ...

A new MVB biography was released a few weeks ago. The subtitle's illiterate and the text (from the sample I saw) isn't much better. The cover image looks nothing like him.

If this is what I suspect it is, I thought Amazon was cracking down on AI books?

This is the year I do it! Check in with me in 12 months.

This is William Leuchtenburg. He has a new book out called Patriot Presidents, which I'm reading now. It's the first of a multivolume history of the presidency. He's 102. "I recognize that this project maybe be too ambitious," he writes. "But I am resolved to carry it through."

An inspiration.

From today's New York Times. Right now I would like to institutionalize many in our government.

Step aside, Obama.

(I should add that Bill O'Reilly, Pete Hegseth, Roger Stone, and a few crackpot conspiracists are topping both of us)

Striking an unfortunate William F. Buckley pose at tonight's terrific talk at the FDR library with my Coe-host @alexiscoe.bsky.social.

Calling all history lovers in NY's Hudson Valley: Tomorrow I will be speaking at the Henry Wallace Center at the FDR house in Hyde Park at 6pm. My interlocutor will be the excellent @alexiscoe.bsky.social. It's free to the public but you need to register.

Do I have *another* public appearance to announce? Why, yes, I do. This one's a biggie. It's in Van Buren's hometown of Kinderhook. A talk, book signing, cake, drinks—a veritable bacchanal. Details below.

Hi, everyone! It's release day. I've been up since 4. I'm driving my wife crazy.

I have no idea how seriously to take this, but this is pretty neat.

This line from Colm Toíbín's excellent new book on James Baldwin really struck me. I think every historian feels the same way. It all starts with our grandparents.

One week from release day! I'm excited and terrified. I have several public events lined up for December, and I'll keep you all posted.

I picked the wrong week to give up sniffing glue.

I'm putting together a panel for Biographers' International Organization's annual conference next June in Washington, DC. Details below.