There are two ways this can go: desperate attempt to defend this oh-so 1930’s take on historical drama, or dump all over it as the irritation it is. I will do the second thing. I do not like Gone With The Wind and never have. I don’t know why anyone does. I shall give a… Read More Let Us Now Discuss Gone With The Wind
This may sounds like the typical lament of social media, but I got into an argument yesterday that bored me. It was about history, and it involved an alternative history theory I’ve communicated in a number of ways. And I don’t mind the fact that people disputed it. Good points were made. What bothers me… Read More The Only Argument That Matters is Performance
Per historian A.J.P. Taylor’s The Origins of the Second World War, which was something of a classic when it came out, but has since passed on, due to its somewhat nuanced take. The first thing that Taylor argues, rather effectively, is that no one was more surprised than Hitler to find himself at war with Britain… Read More The Surprising Cause of the Second World War
In retrospect, both of the statements in this headline invite a “duh” response. HBO’s current stock-in-trade is prestige TV series, and it’s been apparent since the second season of True Detective that prestige television is an exercise in miserabilism. Nothing good can happen and everyone of value has to die or lose what they love unless… Read More HBO’s Chernobyl is Misery Porn, and Therefore Largely Inaccurate
Which is always assumed, but somehow never demonstrated. Paul got wealth and prestige and money by spreading the doctrine of Jesus, and the Jewish and Roman authorities anointed him with honors. Peter likewise was exulted and died a wealthy man, surrounded by children and grandchildren, and John retired to a small island in the Mediterranean… Read More John C. Wright on The Grand Christian Conspiracy
One of these days, I’m going to write one of these that’s not about the Stuart dynasty in some way. Queen Anne reigned briefly at the beginning of the 18th century, and spent most of her reign at war with France over who got to sit on the throne of Spain (that Hapsburg penchant for… Read More Quick Review: The Favourite
I have been sick and busy and sick these last few days, and am currently unable to even describe my current state as “like hot garbage” – barely warmed-over recyclables is more like it. So I’m going to link this one in. I admit that I have yet to actually watch Darkest Hour, despite having had… Read More Mark Steyn on Winston Churchill
Here’s a book with a great title: Mud, Blood, and Poppycock: Britain and the Great War. From the description: Laced with dry humour, this will overturn everything you thought you knew about Britain and the First World War. Gordon Corrigan reveals how the British embraced technology, and developed the weapons and tactics to break through… Read More World War I May Finally Start Getting It’s Due
No horse was going to save him. Read the whole thing, as it’s very interesting, and jibes with what accounts of Bosworth I have read. Of course, it bears pointing out that Richard fought like a mad boar at Bosworth, killing Henry Tudor’s standard bearer and very nearly getting to Henry himself before he was… Read More Richard III was Attacked All At Once, Died Swiftly
I don’t know if it’s my subconscious ruminating on the debased state of American politics, or just the idle curiosity to re-watch a train wreck, but I found myself viewing, for the second time, the 1979 film Caligulia with Malcolm McDowell on Netflix. I only got an hour or so into it before I decided that… Read More Madness in Great Ones Must Not Unwatched Go.
Content Blues 