November/December 2014
In This Issue November/December 2014
H. L. Mencken as a Boy? Oh, Boy!
Mencken's memoirs show a softer side on the sardonic critic
By Danny Heitman
Volume 35, Issue 6
During the Great Depression, H. L. Mencken, pictured with cigar and quotations, regained the affections of the reading public by writing about his childhood.
–© Joe Ciardiello
-
Features
Jonathan Edwards in a New Light: Remembered for Preaching Fire and Brimstone, He Was Actually One of the Great Intellectuals of His Era.
New England's most famous preacher and the Great Awakening.
By Marilynne Robinson
Summer Camp for Book Nerds: Why I Keep Returning to Rare Book School
How to read a book: For starters, remember it's a physical object
By Nicholas A. Basbanes
Chattanooga versus the Supreme Court
The 1906 criminal case against Ed Johnson in Chattanooga, Tennessee
By Meredith Hindley
Scholar Stretches Truth: English Professor Bruce Holsinger on Writing Historical Fiction
Writers of historical fiction look for the plausible when manipulating the facts
By Bruce Holsinger -
Departments
Statements
How a City Stroll Can Become a Trip in Deep Geological Time
Touring with urban geology in mind
By David B. WilliamsThe Founder of the Appalachian Trail Imagined Something Even Grander
Utopian vision of a Harvard forestry grad
By Alex HansonMemories of a Neighborhood Movie Theater, from When There Was Such a Thing
Oral histories mark the role of the neighborhood movie house
By Julie YueOne-Off
Ben Franklin’s German-Language Newspaper
Foreign-language newspapers provided insights into immigration and cultural history
By Steve MoyerConversation
The Education of William Adams
The new chairman of NEH almost failed out of college. He joined the Army, was sent to Vietnam, and came back a different person.
Impertinent Questions
Sea Captains Changed the Pacific World. David Igler Explains How.
Western Americanist and native Californian David Igler on sea captains who sought their fortunes
By Anna Maria GillisExecutive Function
Chris Sommerich of Humanities Nebraska Is Taking an Unconventional Approach to Programming
Executive director works for long-term stability to bring the humanities to all Nebraskans
By Dawn M. GarciaEdNote
