May - 2019

Favorite Non-Fiction Books, #95: Blue Latitudes, Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before

Joe Pace

May 28, 2019

Favorite Non-Fiction Books, #95: Blue Latitudes, Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before

I was saddened this morning to hear of the passing of Tony Horwitz, the experiential travelogue author most probably recognize from his book “Confederates in the Attic”. I enjoyed the Pulitzer winner’s “Voyage Long and Strange” about pre-Mayflower America, but my favorite of his books was the one listed here. I’ve already described my fascination with Cook and his voyages, so Horwitz’s modern retracing of the legendary mariner’s nautical footsteps was a must-read. Horwitz is

Favorite Non-Fiction Books, #94: Shortest Way Home

Joe Pace

May 23, 2019

Favorite Non-Fiction Books

Favorite Non-Fiction Books, #94: Shortest Way Home

When it comes to the Presidency, I've always been partial to candidates who have had some executive experience in government. Some of our most effective modern Presidents have been former governors (both Roosevelts, Reagan, Clinton - we can argue about Carter and Bush). Having to balance competing interests and balance the budget, to make actual choices and engage in the sloppy and frustrating art of governing, to manage senior staff and work with legislators both friendly an

Favorite Non-Fiction Books, #93: Orr, My Story

Joe Pace

May 16, 2019

Favorite Non-Fiction Books

Favorite Non-Fiction Books, #93: Orr, My Story

When I was born in 1975, the Mount Rushmore of Boston Sports was Ted Williams, Bill Russell, Cy Young, and Bobby Orr. Orr was about to begin his final season with the Bruins though he was only 27 years old. His knees were already shot - he'd play only 26 more NHL games in his career following his move to Chicago. In only ten seasons with the Bruins, Orr established himself as the best defenseman of all time, and is in the argument for best hockey player of all time alongside

Favorite Non-Fiction Books, #92: American Aurora

Joe Pace

May 15, 2019

Favorite Non-Fiction Books

Favorite Non-Fiction Books, #92: American Aurora

When an autocratic President seeks to silence his critics by declaring their attacks "fake news" and journalism is cloaked in strident partisanship, when the federal government seeks to deport undocumented immigrants without due process, it might be 2019 in America. Or it might be 1798. The American capital of that time was in Philadelphia, awaiting the completion of the federal city on the swampy Potomac. The president was John Adams, an Anglophile who loved both democracy a

Favorite Non-Fiction Books, #91: Four Trials

Joe Pace

May 13, 2019

Favorite Non-Fiction Books

Favorite Non-Fiction Books, #91: Four Trials

A Cautionary Tale Folks, we've all heard the line before: Republicans want to fall in line, Democrats want to fall in love. Case in point, 2016 - against all common sense, rank and file GOP voters turned out for a nominee they admittedly weren't comfortable with, while their counterparts among Democrats lamented the far less significant (and often fallacious) shortcomings of their own candidate and stayed home or voted for a third party to allay their broken hearts. How did t

Favorite Non-Fiction Books, #90: Billy Joel, The Definitive Biography

Joe Pace

May 12, 2019

Favorite Non-Fiction Books

Favorite Non-Fiction Books, #90: Billy Joel, The Definitive Biography

It's popular to dismiss Billy Joel as a schlockmeister, a muzak maestro, a lesser light in American popular music. Like many other things that are popular, this is stupid and wrong. Billy Joel is indisputably one of the towering musical talents of the last half-century, a singer-songwriter of infinite influence. His success should not be held against him. In fact, let's go to the numbers: 33 Top 40 hits (all of which he wrote, too) Three #1 singles 23-time Grammy nominee and

Favorite Non-Fiction Books, #89: The Big Bam, The Life and Times of Babe Ruth

Joe Pace

May 10, 2019

Favorite Non-Fiction Books

Favorite Non-Fiction Books, #89: The Big Bam, The Life and Times of Babe Ruth

1. Boy, do I hate the Yankees 2. Boy, was this a fun read I can’t help but like the Babe. And Mickey Mantle, and Mariano Rivera. Ability mixed with authentic charisma and a boyish kind of delight in the game. Conversely, Derek Jeter and Joe DiMaggio and their corporate, smug, pretentious artificiality leave me cold. Funny how that works. Ruth is an icon a century after his playing days for a reason. The Bambino practically invented the home run, and his personality was even b

Favorite Non-Fiction Books, #88: William Henry Seward, Lincoln's Right Hand

Joe Pace

May 9, 2019

Favorite Non-Fiction Books

Favorite Non-Fiction Books, #88: William Henry Seward, Lincoln's Right Hand

In the 1850s the Republican Party emerged as a coalition of former pro-commercial growth Whigs and anti-slavery "Free Soil" Democrats. The nascent GOP embraced abolition and economic development as the surest path to freedom and prosperity for all Americans. We all know Abraham Lincoln as the first Republican president, but what many don't realize is that the Great Emancipator was a cautious liberal, a reluctant radical. Not so his Secretary of State. William Seward was alway

Favorite Non-Fiction Books, #87: Becoming Charlemagne

Joe Pace

May 8, 2019

Favorite Non-Fiction Books

Favorite Non-Fiction Books, #87: Becoming Charlemagne

I have a fascination with Middle Ages Europe, in particular with the period between the fall of Rome and the coming of the Renaissance. This was largely a time of decentralized authority and subsistence villages in western and central Europe, when the Church held sway alongside lawless robber barons. Modern American conservatives would dig it. Into this morass of fractured kingdoms and stunted progress strode the grandson of Charles the Hammer, scion of the Frankish Carolingi

Favorite Non-Fiction Books, #86: John Quincy Adams, A Public Life, a Private Life

Joe Pace

May 7, 2019

Favorite Non-Fiction Books

Favorite Non-Fiction Books, #86: John Quincy Adams, A Public Life, a Private Life

During the 2016 election, we often heard from supporters that Hillary Clinton was the most qualified candidate ever to run for president. Now, I voted for her (I would have voted for the contents of our compost bin against the grifter nominated by the other party), but we can settle down with that hyperbole. There are plenty of examples of more qualified candidates throughout our 230 years of history. Exhibit A: John Quincy Adams. At the age of fourteen, he was secretary to t

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