Tag Archives: History
The Assassinations of Joseph Smith Jr. and Hyrum Smith
June 27th marks the anniversary of the 1844 assassinations of Joseph Smith Jr., the Mormon founding prophet, and his brother Hyrum Smith at the Carthage Jail in Hancock County, Illinois. It is usually a day of remembrance for those claiming … Continue reading
Wednesday’s Book Review: “Nauvoo Polygamy: ‘but we called it celestial marriage'”
Nauvoo Polygamy: “but we called it celestial marriage.” By George D. Smith. Signature Books, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2008. Introduction, photographs, appendices, footnotes, bibliography, index. ix + 705 pp. ISBN: 978-1-56085-201-8. Hardcover with dustjacket. $39.95. Plural marriage, or polygamy, among … Continue reading
Redirect: “How should we protect and preserve our history — on the Moon?”
Lucas Laursen has a good piece in ideas.ted.com entitled: “How should we protect and preserve our history — on the Moon?” I spoke to him about this story of preserving the lunar landing sites, as did others associated with pursuing … Continue reading
NASA’s Overestimates of Soviet Lunar Capabilities During the Moon Race
Many times NASA officials used the national security intelligence on the Soviet Union to sustain their case for an aggressive effort to complete Apollo by the end of the 1960s. In a few instances these public statements aroused within the … Continue reading
Wednesday’s Book Review: “A Little History of the World”
A Little History of the World. By E.H. Gombrich. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1985 ed. When A Little History of the World first appeared in 1942 it caused quite a stir. It was viewed as an excellent introduction … Continue reading
Mormonism and the Founding of Nauvoo
During the bitter winter of 1838-1839 some 5,000 Latter-day Saints crossed the Mississippi River from Missouri and settled in western Illinois. Since the organization of the Mormon church almost ten years before, this group of religious pioneers, led by Joseph … Continue reading
Wednesday’s Book Review: “The Whites of their Eyes”
The Whites of their Eyes: The Tea Party’s Revolution and the Battle over American History. By Jill Lepore. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010. There is a war being waged over American history. Sorry if you weren’t aware of it, … Continue reading
My Favorite Weird Baseball Promotions
My longtime friend Mike Green and I recently discussed the weirdest, strangest, most ridiculous promotions we could think of. Since we had collaborated on a biography of Charlie Finley, published last year by Walker and Co., we had a lot … Continue reading
Wednesday’s Book Review: “Keeping Score: The Economics of Big-Time Sports”
Keeping Score: The Economics of Big-Time Sports. By Richard G. Sheehan. South Bend, IN: Diamond Communications Inc., 1996. Although it is now more than 20 years old and sports have changed significantly since the mid-1990s, there are several important insights in this … Continue reading
Roger Launius's Blog 