Podcast appearances and mentions of david laskin

5 Paleo-Christian Churches: A Suggested Itinerary for the Jubilee Year, with a focus on Rome's oldest churches....and nearby tasty eateries! Rome is a city of unparalleled history, where every cobblestone whispers tales of the past. As the Eternal City gears up for the 2025 Jubilee Year, it's already brimming with visitors. But amidst the grandeur of St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican, there lies another Rome—a quieter, more spiritual side that echoes the city's earliest Christian heritage. In a recent podcast interview, I had the pleasure of chatting with David Laskin, a renowned author and NYT travel journalist, about his suggested itinerary to explore five of Rome's oldest churches. These hidden gems offer a peaceful respite from the bustling crowds while immersing visitors in the city's rich Paleo-Christian history.

news birthdays/events party manners from David Laskin word of the day news 10 worst toys for 2023 (johnny bag-of-glass) game: more 6 year old trivia 3 healthy bedtime habits that give you a boost without really trying news game: guess that santa fine line of giving praise at work 2023 word of the year news game: mind the gap conde nast list of the friendliest cities in the world goodbye/fun facts....National French Toast Day...the thick, sweet or savory dish that's become a staple of the American breakfast...Most experts agree that French toast dates back to ancient Rome....coming from the desire not to waste food...in fact, the French do not call this French toast. It's called “pain perdu,” or “lost bread,” because you're supposed to use stale bread to make it. Irish settlers traveling to the U.S. and Canada may have brought the term with them in 1871 even though they also called it "spanish toast" and "german toast"...french is what stuck.  how do you make the best french toast? Set your bread out the night before and let it go stale... Don't use too much dairy (it should be mostly egg with a splash of mile)....Add something sweet like a squeeze of orange juice or a little sugar. When the sugar caramelizes, it will add a crispy texture to the edges of your French toast....and only use medium high heat...high heat will burn the outside and leave the inside too mushy

Chrissie tells the story of the Children's Blizzard. Read the essay here: https://historywiththeszilagyis.org/hwts174 Find us on Twitter:The Network: @BQNPodcastsThe Show: @HistorySzilagyi.Chrissie: @TheGoddessLivia. Jason: @JasonDarkElf.Send topic suggestions via Twitter or on our Facebook page History with the Szilagyis. For further information on this topic, read The Children's Blizzard, by David Laskin. History with the Szilagyis is supported by our patrons: Susan Capuzzi-De ClerckEd ChinevereLaura DullKris HillJoin these wonderful supporters by visiting patreon.com/historywiththeszilagyis. The BQN Podcast Collective is brought to you by our listeners. Special thanks to these patrons on Patreon whose generous contributions help to produce this podcast and the many others on our network! Jason AndersonVera BibleSusan Capuzzi-De ClerckTim CooperChrissie De Clerck-SzilagyiLars Di ScenzaThad HaitMatt HarkerPeter HongJim McMahonJoe MignoneGreg MolumbyMahendran RadhakrishnanTom Van ScotterDavid WillettCarl WondersAnonymousDavidYou can join this illustrious list by becoming a patron here: https://www.patreon.com/BQN

On this week's episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are discussing: Bookish Moments: derailed reading and theater nerdery Current Reads: We are exceptionally murdery today. Sorry, not sorry. Deep Dive: books about all kinds of disasters Book Presses: a cozy series we love and a parenting book of joy As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!  New: we are now including transcripts of the episode (this link only works on the main site). These are generated by AI, so they may not be perfectly accurate, but we want to increase accessibility for our fans! *Please note that all book titles linked below are Bookshop affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. If you'd prefer to shop on Amazon, you can still do so here through our main storefront. Anything you buy there (even your laundry detergent, if you recently got obsessed with switching up your laundry game) kicks a small amount back to us. Thanks for your support!*   . . . .   2:27 - Bookish Moment of the Week 2:40 - Novel Memphis 4:51 - The Day the World Came to Town by Jim DeFede 4:56 - Season 4: Episode 14 6:00 - Current Reads 6:14 - The Appeal by Janice Hallett (Meredith) 11:09 - Blackwell's UK 11:53 - Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach (Kaytee) 15:07 - Small Sacrifices by Ann Rule (Meredith) 15:12 - The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule  16:58 - Half Price Books 18:53 - The Yoga Store Murder by Dan Morse 18:55 - I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara 19:07 - Shelf Subscription Bookshelf Thomasville 19:19 - Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibanez (Kaytee) 23:31 - The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch (Meredith) 24:59 - Holly @birdbrainbooks on Instagram 25:02 - Hearts and Daggers Podcast on Instagram 26:51 - Dark Matter by Blake Crouch 27:32 - The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks Sarah Pekkanen (Kaytee) 27:44 - The Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks Sarah Pekkanen 27:45 - The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks Sarah Pekkanen 27:46 - You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks Sarah Pekkanen 30:53 - Deep Dive: Disaster Books We Love 33:34 - Ordeal by Hunger by George Stuart (Amazon link) 34:03 - The Hunger by Alma Katsu 35:44 - The Fifth Season by N.K Jemison  35:59 - The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner 37:00 - A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner 37:05 - As Bright As Heaven by Susan Meissner 37:53 - The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin 38:35 - We Are Unprepared by Meg Little Reilly 39:35 - After the Flood by Kassandra Montag  39:51 - Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy 40:02 - Seven Years of Darkness by You-Jeong Jeong 40:43 - Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink 41:25 - Salvage the Bones by Jessamyn Ward 42:20 - Paradise: One Town's Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire by Lizzie Johnson 44:36 - The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum 45:10 - Into the Drowning Deep by Jennifer McMahon 45:13 - Devolution by Max Brooks 45:35 - Parasite by Mira Grant 45:58  - Books We'd Like to Press Into Your Hands 46:26 - The Secret, Book and Scone Society by Ellery Adams (Meredith) 49:17 - How to Be A Happier Parent by Kj Dell'antonia (Kaytee) Connect With Us: Meredith is @meredith.reads on Instagram Kaytee is @notesonbookmarks on Instagram Mindy is @gratefulforgrace on Instagram Mary is @maryreadsandsips on Instagram currentlyreadingpodcast.com @currentlyreadingpodcast on Instagram currentlyreadingpodcast@gmail.com Support us at patreon.com/currentlyreadingpodcast

The 1970s were as turbulent as the 1960s were radical. In David Laskin's new novel, What Sammy Knew, this is the historical backdrop in which we find 17-year-old Sam Stein, a Long Island native raised in a cushy suburban life of live-in housekeepers and insular wealth. On New Year's Eve 1969, Sam is forced to come face to face with the uncomfortable truths about his place and privilege in the world. In conversation with Chief Correspondent Steve Scher, Laskin discusses his debut novel and the connections that can be made to the time we're living through now. David Laskin is a freelance writer who has contributed to the New York Times Travel Section, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian Magazine, American Ancestors, the Seattle Times, and Seattle Metropolitan. Steve Scher is a podcaster, interviewer, and teacher. He worked in Seattle public radio for almost 30 years. He has taught at the University of Washington since 2009. He is Senior Correspondent for Town Hall Seattle's In The Moment podcast. Buy the Book or visit DavidLaskin.com Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

The 1970s were as turbulent as the 1960s were radical. In David Laskin's new novel, What Sammy Knew, this is the historical backdrop in which we find 17-year-old Sam Stein, a Long Island native raised in a cushy suburban life of live-in housekeepers and insular wealth. On New Year's Eve 1969, Sam is forced to come face to face with the uncomfortable truths about his place and privilege in the world. In conversation with Chief Correspondent Steve Scher, Laskin discusses his debut novel and the connections that can be made to the time we're living through now. David Laskin is a freelance writer who has contributed to the New York Times Travel Section, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian Magazine, American Ancestors, the Seattle Times, and Seattle Metropolitan. Steve Scher is a podcaster, interviewer, and teacher. He worked in Seattle public radio for almost 30 years. He has taught at the University of Washington since 2009. He is Senior Correspondent for Town Hall Seattle's In The Moment podcast. Buy the Book or visit DavidLaskin.com Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

Author David Laskin, in a conversation from 2013 about his book. The Family: A Journey Into the Heart of the Twentieth Century (Penguin).  In March 2021, he published a novel, What Sammy Knew (Penguin). This week’s Write the Book Prompt is to write about someone who follows through on a bad idea, even though they know it will be a bad idea.  Good luck with your work in the coming week, and tune in next week for another prompt or suggestion.   Music Credit: Aaron Shapiro 677

After several successful works of narrative nonfiction, author David Laskin dove right into writing fiction, and the coming of age 1970s novel "What Sammy Knew" is the result. He and Nancy Pearl discuss the differences between writing fiction and narrative nonfiction, how he workshops his own writing, and his preferred method for writing the part of the book that comes between the beginning and the end.

A senior in the collegiate world, David Laskin is one of Arizona's finest golfers. In this episode of FFM Sports, Ethan and JR sit down with David to talk about his career and some of his most exciting memories. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ffm-sports-network/message

In this episode Matt Crawford speaks with author David Laskin about his book What Sammy Knew. A touching and engrossing novel about a young man's coming of age story in the turbulent 60's and 70's. Laskin tells the story of Sammy and brings us back to the politics, drugs and activism of the era through Sammy's eyes and actions. What really brings us back is the relationship between this young Jewish man and his African American housekeeper Tutu Carter. This is a fun, thought provoking and emotional read.

This episode of Warm Regards continues our exploration of the often unexpected stories behind climate data. First we explore historical climatology records with Dr. Cary Mock. These are the measurements and observations of things like wind, pressure, rainfall, and more found in archives and historical societies around the world. Then, we turn to the present and talk with Dr. Theresa Crimmins, Director of the National Phenology Network, about how volunteers can contribute their own climatological and ecological observations. In doing so, they can better understand not only how climate change is affecting their immediate environment, but also assist in large-scale climate change research. For a transcript of this episode, visit our Medium page: https://ourwarmregards.medium.com/historical-and-volunteer-climate-data-with-cary-mock-and-theresa-crimmins-a4f7f7370f23 Show Notes For more on the weather of The Long Winter and the work of meterologist Barbara Mayes Boustead, check out this Boing Boing article by Maggie Koerth: https://boingboing.net/2012/12/11/the-meteorology-of-little-hous.html You can also check out Barbara’s series of recorded presentations about the weather of the Little House books: http://www.bousteadhill.net/lauraslongwinter/ This essay on the Little House books and the “myth of white self-sufficiency” explores the ways that the authors’ political agendas heavily influenced the series: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/in-promoting-the-myth-of-white-self-sufficiency-the-little-house-books-rewrite-history/16545/?fbclid=IwAR3xRlBjiHUuqFoOxC71MqyCl-BRCmSI1z3AuA1mgf40uDrNWWh-1kYk-yM To learn more about the Schoolhouse Blizzard and its influence on weather forecasting, check out the following: David Laskin’s book, The Children’s Blizzard https://bookshop.org/books/the-children-s-blizzard/9780060520762 This interactive website by the National Weather Service (complete with historical accounts): https://noaa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=3b68adee4e9545b7abdd7355ab7fe367 To learn more (including some neat photos of historical documents) about the ‘Year Without a Summer,’ check out this website from the Massachusetts Historical Society: https://www.masshist.org/beehiveblog/2016/11/1815-the-year-without-a-summer/ You can learn more about Dr. Mock’s historical climatology work, including photos of the kinds of documents he works with, at his website: http://artsandsciences.sc.edu/geog/research/climatelab/historical/historical.html You can also follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cary_mock?lang=en Here are some other community and citizen science projects mentioned in the episode that you can get involved in: Zooniverse: https://www.zooniverse.org SciStarter: https://scistarter.org CoCoRHAS: https://www.cocorahs.org ISeeChange: https://www.iseechange.org Visit the National Phenology Network's website to learn more about the organization's history and current projects: https://www.usanpn.org Explore the data visualization tool mentioned in the episode: https://www.usanpn.org/data/visualizations To start contributing your own observations through Nature's Notebook, visit the project's website: https://www.usanpn.org/natures_notebook You can also download the app on the iOS App Store or Google Play: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/natures-notebook/id508465801?ls=1 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.usanpn.android.naturesnotebook Please consider becoming a patron on Patreon to help us pay our producer, Justin Schell, our transcriber, Joe Stormer, and our social media coordinator, Katherine Peinhardt, who are all working as volunteers. Your support helps us not only to stay sustainable, but also to grow. https://www.patreon.com/warmregards Find Warm Regards on the web and on social media: Web: www.WarmRegardsPodcast.com Twitter: @ourwarmregards Facebook: www.facebook.com/WarmRegardsPodcast

David Laskin's extraordinary book "The Children's Blizzard" chronicles the story of a monstrous blizzard that struck the midwest on January 12, 1888 and killed hundreds of people - including many children who were caught in the storm while trying to make their way home from school. The book is epic in its scope yet also deeply personal.

Happy Hanukkah!  Visiting the Barnes.  NBA talk with Granger.  The Weavers.  Christmas with Nina Stibbe.  Rome with David Laskin.  Dan and Christmas Trees.  Remembering Bertolucci. Tribute to the "inventor" of Mr. Whippy.  Bon mots from Jane Maas. Credits: Talent:  Tamsen Granger and Dan Abuhoff Special Guest: Granger Abuhoff Engineer:  Ellie Suttmeier Art:  Zeke Abuhoff

On the September 6, 2016 Boomer Generation Radio the focus is on the Creative impulse of aging and a examination of sleep apnea. In the first segment, Marilyn MacGregor of Art Smart Travel discusses how staying creative adds life to years. In the second half of the show, Dr David Laskin, a regular contributor to BGR, looks at the issue of sleep apnea as a rising concern among Boomers. Boomer Generation Radio is sponsored in part by Kendal Corporation, a Quaker-based provider of continuing care retirement communities in the Northeast and Midwest, airs on WWDB-AM 860 every Tuesday at 10 a.m., and features news and conversation aimed at Baby Boomers and the issues facing them as members of what Rabbi Address calls “the club sandwich generation.” You can hear the show live on AM 860, or streamed live from the WWDB website.

On the September 6, 2016 Boomer Generation Radio the focus is on the Creative impulse of aging and a examination of sleep apnea. In the first segment, Marilyn MacGregor of Art Smart Travel discusses how staying creative adds life to years. In the second half of the show, Dr David Laskin, a regular contributor to BGR, looks at the issue of sleep apnea as a rising concern among Boomers. Boomer Generation Radio is sponsored in part by Kendal Corporation, a Quaker-based provider of continuing care retirement communities in the Northeast and Midwest, airs on WWDB-AM 860 every Tuesday at 10 a.m., and features news and conversation aimed at Baby Boomers and the issues facing them as members of what Rabbi Address calls “the club sandwich generation.” You can hear the show live on AM 860, or streamed live from the WWDB website. The post Boomer Generation Radio 9/6/2016: The creative impulse of aging, and Boomer sleep apnea appeared first on Jewish Sacred Aging.

The May 17, 2016 Boomer Generation Radio show includes interviews with Steve and Marcia Plotkin on "flunking" retirement, and Dr. David Laskin, MD, on stroke-related issues. [spp-player] About the Guests Read about Steve Plotkin on his LinkedIn profile. Read Marcia Plotkin's LinkedIn profile. You can learn more about Dr. Laskin on his Facebook page, and in this video biography from Vitals.com. Boomer Generation Radio is sponsored in part by Kendal Corporation, a Quaker-based provider of continuing care retirement communities in the Northeast and Midwest, airs on WWDB-AM 860 every Tuesday at 10 a.m., and features news and conversation aimed at Baby Boomers and the issues facing them as members of what Rabbi Address calls “the club sandwich generation.” You can hear the show live on AM 860, or streamed live from the WWDB website. Subscribe to the RSS feed for Boomer Generation Radio podcasts.     Subscribe to the RSS feed for all Jewish Sacred Aging podcasts.   Subscribe to these podcasts in the Apple iTunes Music Store.

The May 17, 2016 Boomer Generation Radio show includes interviews with Steve and Marcia Plotkin on “flunking” retirement, and Dr. David Laskin, MD, on stroke-related issues. About the Guests Read about Steve Plotkin on his LinkedIn profile. Read Marcia Plotkin’s LinkedIn profile. You can learn more about Dr. Laskin on his Facebook page, and in this video biography from Vitals.com. Boomer Generation Radio is sponsored in part by Kendal Corporation, a Quaker-based provider of continuing care retirement communities in the Northeast and Midwest, airs on WWDB-AM 860 every Tuesday at 10 a.m., and features news and conversation aimed at Baby Boomers and the issues facing them as members of what Rabbi Address calls “the club sandwich generation.” You can hear the show live on AM 860, or streamed live from the WWDB website. Subscribe to the RSS feed for Boomer Generation Radio podcasts.     Subscribe to the RSS feed for all Jewish Sacred Aging podcasts.   Subscribe to these podcasts in the Apple iTunes Music Store. The post BGR 5/17/2016: David Laskin, MD on issues related to stroke; Steve and Marcia Plotkin on flunking retirement appeared first on Jewish Sacred Aging.

An award-winning classic of creative non-fiction, The Children’s Blizzard is the true story of an epic winter storm that hit the Upper Midwest on January 12, 1888. Laskin unfolds this blizzard of unprecedented suddenness and ferocity by focusing on half a dozen pioneer families – most of them immigrants from Germany and Scandinavia. Hailed by the Washington Post as “a vital addition to the lore of Western immigrant pioneering,” this national bestseller has sold over 100,000 copies and has been adopted in history and literature classes in high schools and colleges nationwide.

Dr. David Laskin, MD Coleen Kayden, R.Ph. Dr. David Laskin, a gerontologist specializing in boomer health issues, and Coleen Kayden, R.Ph, a pharmacist specializing in negotiating appropriate knowledge about drugs, are the June 10 guests on Boomer Generation Radio. About the Guests Read about Dr. Laskin at MDVIP.com. Coleen Kayden's LinkedIn Profile   Boomer Generation Radio airs on WWDB-AM 860 every Tuesday at 10 a.m., and features news and conversation aimed at Baby Boomers and the issues facing them as members of what Rabbi Address calls “the club sandwich generation.” You can hear the show live on AM 860, or streamed live from the WWDB website. Subscribe to the RSS feed for all Jewish Sacred Aging podcasts. Subscribe to these podcasts in the Apple iTunes Music Store.

South Jersey gerontologist Dr. David Laskin makes a return appearance on Boomer Generation Radio's December 3, 2013 program, this time talking with Richard about the newest medical thinking about the use of statin drugs to control cholesterol in Boomers and seniors. You can hear his previous (March 26, 2013) appearance on the show here. You can also visit Dr. Laskin's Facebook page. Dr. David Laskin, MD Boomer Generation Radio airs on WWDB-AM 860 every Tuesday at 10 a.m., and features news and conversation aimed at Baby Boomers and the issues facing them as members of what Rabbi Address calls “the club sandwich generation.” You can hear the show live on AM 860, or streamed live from the WWDB website. Subscribe to the RSS feed for all Jewish Sacred Aging podcasts. Subscribe to these podcasts in the Apple iTunes Music Store.

  On this weeks show, Fisher shares several stories making news this week.  He talks about latest discoveries concerning the “Boy King,” King Tut, who is still making news after all these years.  Also, the story of the Lee family, which has been doing business from the same location in New York City since 1888. […]

When we look at the emergence of the diaspora of any ethnic group, we realize how important immigration is. To the Jews of the 20th century it was everything.  Some would migrate to America and become pillars of both capitalism and communism.  Some would migrate to Palestine and birth the state of Israel out of the desert.  Others would be left behind in Europe and suffer the last full measures of the holocaust.  They to would impact history, both by their courage and even by what they might have accomplished.David Laskin, has written The Family: Three Journeys into the Heart of the Twentieth Century. It'sabout his own family, but it's also a history that incorporate all the strands of this journey and the history of the Jewish diaspora in the 20th Century.My conversation with David Laskin:

On this week's "Boomer Generation Radio" show on WWDB-AM 860, Rabbi Address chats with South Jersey gerontologist Dr. David Laskin about the trends in dementia and Alzheimers care as the Baby Boomers approach their 70s and 80s. [powerpress] Dr. David Laskin, MD Boomer Generation Radio airs on WWDB-AM 860 every Tuesday at 10 a.m., and features news and conversation aimed at Baby Boomers and the issues facing them as members of what Rabbi Address calls “the club sandwich generation.” You can hear the show live on AM 860, or streamed live from the WWDB website. Subscribe to the RSS feed for all Jewish Sacred Aging podcasts. Subscribe to these podcasts in the Apple iTunes Music Store.   You can learn more about Dr. Laskin in this biography from Vitals.com.

One night my wife and I were on the road, staying in a hotel in I-don’t-remember-where. I woke up in the middle of the night to find said wife missing. Happily, I saw a light under the bathroom door. There she is, I thought. I fell back asleep. I woke up again sometime later. It was still the middle of the night and that light was still on. Hmm…. What’s up with that? I wonder if she’s okay? I should check. So I got out of bed, lumbered over to the bathroom door, opened it and, well, there she sat. She was not, however, doing what one normally does in the bathroom (though I can’t say what you normally do in a bathroom). Nope. She was sitting on the john (lid down!) reading The Children’s Blizzard by David Laskin. “I just couldn’t stop and I didn’t want to wake you up.” So when I heard that David had a new book coming out–The Long Way Home. An American Journey from Ellis Island to the Great War (HarperCollins, 2010)–I jumped at the chance to read it and get him on the show. The book tells the stories of twelve Americans who immigrated from Europe to the US around 1900 and then returned to Europe to fight in the Great War for their newly-adopted country. It’s a tale of poverty, hope, escape, new beginnings, disappointments, hard work (for low pay), patriotism, bravery, suffering, death and redemption all told in wonderfully crafted prose. Through the lives of these men and their families David allows us to witness “ethnics” (as they were called) adopting an American identity, and often at a heavy price. They literally fought for the right to be Americans. For those of us born in freedom, their bravery is a reminder of what freedom is worth. (I know that sounds a bit dramatic, but I actually believe it…) Please become a fan of “New Books in History” on Facebook if you haven’t already. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One night my wife and I were on the road, staying in a hotel in I-don’t-remember-where. I woke up in the middle of the night to find said wife missing. Happily, I saw a light under the bathroom door. There she is, I thought. I fell back asleep. I woke up again sometime later. It was still the middle of the night and that light was still on. Hmm…. What’s up with that? I wonder if she’s okay? I should check. So I got out of bed, lumbered over to the bathroom door, opened it and, well, there she sat. She was not, however, doing what one normally does in the bathroom (though I can’t say what you normally do in a bathroom). Nope. She was sitting on the john (lid down!) reading The Children’s Blizzard by David Laskin. “I just couldn’t stop and I didn’t want to wake you up.” So when I heard that David had a new book coming out–The Long Way Home. An American Journey from Ellis Island to the Great War (HarperCollins, 2010)–I jumped at the chance to read it and get him on the show. The book tells the stories of twelve Americans who immigrated from Europe to the US around 1900 and then returned to Europe to fight in the Great War for their newly-adopted country. It’s a tale of poverty, hope, escape, new beginnings, disappointments, hard work (for low pay), patriotism, bravery, suffering, death and redemption all told in wonderfully crafted prose. Through the lives of these men and their families David allows us to witness “ethnics” (as they were called) adopting an American identity, and often at a heavy price. They literally fought for the right to be Americans. For those of us born in freedom, their bravery is a reminder of what freedom is worth. (I know that sounds a bit dramatic, but I actually believe it…) Please become a fan of “New Books in History” on Facebook if you haven’t already. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One night my wife and I were on the road, staying in a hotel in I-don’t-remember-where. I woke up in the middle of the night to find said wife missing. Happily, I saw a light under the bathroom door. There she is, I thought. I fell back asleep. I woke up again sometime later. It was still the middle of the night and that light was still on. Hmm…. What’s up with that? I wonder if she’s okay? I should check. So I got out of bed, lumbered over to the bathroom door, opened it and, well, there she sat. She was not, however, doing what one normally does in the bathroom (though I can’t say what you normally do in a bathroom). Nope. She was sitting on the john (lid down!) reading The Children’s Blizzard by David Laskin. “I just couldn’t stop and I didn’t want to wake you up.” So when I heard that David had a new book coming out–The Long Way Home. An American Journey from Ellis Island to the Great War (HarperCollins, 2010)–I jumped at the chance to read it and get him on the show. The book tells the stories of twelve Americans who immigrated from Europe to the US around 1900 and then returned to Europe to fight in the Great War for their newly-adopted country. It’s a tale of poverty, hope, escape, new beginnings, disappointments, hard work (for low pay), patriotism, bravery, suffering, death and redemption all told in wonderfully crafted prose. Through the lives of these men and their families David allows us to witness “ethnics” (as they were called) adopting an American identity, and often at a heavy price. They literally fought for the right to be Americans. For those of us born in freedom, their bravery is a reminder of what freedom is worth. (I know that sounds a bit dramatic, but I actually believe it…) Please become a fan of “New Books in History” on Facebook if you haven’t already. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark Meyer Briggs and Stratton  generator techie answers questions…….. Safety tips and repair issues…  "The Children's Blizzard"   David Laskin, January 12,  1888 huge blizzard,  then Newt Gingrich's  American Solutions for Winning the Future.   Oh,  another Culver "I Feel Good Update".