Historians

Paul Dickson

Bill Thompson

Tomorrow night is major league baseball’s All-Star game.

Did you ever consider how many words and phrases in our everyday language have their origins in baseball?

We all know what it means, for example, to be giving a big presentation and be a big success at it- they say you hit a home run.

Or if it fell flat, you struck out.

Those are just two of the thousands of baseball terms and slang that writer Paul Dickson found when he put together his definitive book called The Dickson Baseball Dictionary.

It’s been out for over 30 years, but it’s still the definitive book on the subject.

Paul and I go way back, and when we talked in 1989 about The Dickson Baseball Dctionary it was one of our several interviews over the years.

So here now, from 1989, Paul Dickson.

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Ron Luciano
Joe Garagiola

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Simon Winchester

Bill Thompson
Photo by Wes Washington

On Independence Day, the Fourth of July, most of the attention is paid to the men who founded the United States of America, and rightfully so.

The actual process of uniting the states didn’t end with the Declaration of Independence. Indeed, it was just beginning.

Actually creating a single nation out of multiple independent states required an infrastructure in addition to a political statement. And that has taken more than two centuries.

In his 2013 book The Men Who United the States, journalists Simon Winchester took a deeper dive into the stories of innovations as diverse as the telegraph, the interstate highway system, and the internet.

And perhaps the irony Is that Winchester was born in the very nation from whom we declared our independence.

So here now, from 2013, Simon Winchester.

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Richard Shenkman
Doris Kearns Goodwin

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Louise Meriwether

Bill Thompson

American history is a trove of compelling yet largely forgotten stories of courage and ingenuity and principle. Among them is the story of one African American slave who, during the Civil War, showed his true courage.

And in 1994, historian and writer Louise Meriwether used that story as the basis for a novel called Fragments of the Ark , a work of fiction meant to add flesh and blood the the dry bones of history.

With the political tied turning the way it is now in many places in America, it’s more important than ever. That stories like this be preserved.

So here now, from 1994, Louise Meriwether.

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James Cameron
Doris Kearns Goodwin

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Doris Kearns Goodwin

Bill Thompson

Happy Presidents Day.

Now, if you’re old enough, as I am, you may remember that this day was traditionally celebrated as Lincoln’s birthday. It was transformed into President’s Day in 1971, as part of the move toward more Monday holidays.

In 2005, noted presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, whose best selling books included volumes about Lyndon Johnson and John F Kennedy, took on a new subject: Abraham Lincoln.

Struck by the political acumen displayed by this simple country lawyer, Goodman titled her book
Team of Rivals.

So here now, from 2005, Doris Kearns Goodwin:

Richard Shenkman

Bill Thompson

As we head into the Independence Day weekend, it’s a good time to look back on American history.

For example, we all know that Christopher Columbus discovered America. No, wait, Leif Erikson did.

Abe Lincoln once walk 3 miles to return a library book.

George Washington had wooden teeth.

Are these things true, or are they Legends and myths?

In 1989, investigative journalist Richard Shankman wrote a book called “Legends, Lies, and Cherished Myths About American History.”

Here now, from 1989, Richard Shenkman. \

Rick Shenkman has written several other books debunking the myths of history. And he is founder and editor of the History News Network website.