The Price of the Peculiar Institution

The Price of the Peculiar Institution

Unrequited Toil: A History of United States Slavery by Calvin Schermerhorn. Cambridge University Press, 2018. 264 pages; hardcover, $100; paperback, $25. Reviewed by Casey Chalk On a recent trip to the Tidewater region of Virginia to visit family, my appreciation for...
Ancient Walls and New Bridges

Ancient Walls and New Bridges

Eduard Habsburg “And thou, O Wall, O sweet, O lovely Wall …” “Why are you posting pics of walls all the time? Shouldn’t we rather … you know, build bridges?” a fellow Tweeter ironically suggested after I posted the umpteenth snapshot of my walk along the Aurelian Wall...
Haiti’s Role in the American Civil War

Haiti’s Role in the American Civil War

The Slaveholding Crisis: Fear of Insurrection and the Coming of the Civil War by Carl Lawrence Paulus. LSU Press, 2017. Hardcover, 328 pages, $49. Reviewed by Kyle Sammin In the teaching of American history, the United States is often portrayed as going it alone....
Persuasion in the Age of Twitter

Persuasion in the Age of Twitter

How to Win an Argument: An Ancient Guide to the Art of Persuasion by Marcus Tullius Cicero, translated and edited by James M. May. Princeton University Press, 2016. Hardcover, 288 pages, $17. Reviewed by David G. Bonagura, Jr. It is no secret that American public...
Two Cheers for Ultramontanism

Two Cheers for Ultramontanism

Vatican I: The Council and the Making of the Ultramontane Church by John W. O’Malley. Harvard University Press, 2018. Hardcover, 295 pages, $25. Reviewed by Tyler Dobbs After many long centuries, the papacy had finally met its end. No, we are not talking about the...