Tag Archives: American exceptionalism
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
Mormon Militancy and the Conflict in 1840s Nauvoo?
The non-Mormons of Hancock County, Illinois, in the early 1840s probably disliked the Mormons from the first, in the same way that most Americans have generally disliked what they have viewed as religious fanaticism, but they were initially disposed toward toleration … Continue reading
Apollo 13 and Nostalgia for an Earlier Time
A cultural debate has raged during the first part of the twenty-first century over the meaning of the Apollo program. Much of the recollection of Apollo’s legacy revolves around ideas of ‘progress’ for the American nation. At the same time, Apollo … Continue reading
Chronology of Key Space Anniversaries for 2017
1942—75 Years Ago 3 October—Germany launched its V-2 rocket and is the first spacecraft to cross the Kármán line (100 km). 1947—70 Years Ago 20 February—The United States sent fruit flies into space. 1952—65 Years Ago 1 April—The U.S. Army … Continue reading
Wednesday’s Book Review: “White Protestant Nation: The Rise of the American Conservative Movement”
White Protestant Nation: The Rise of the American Conservative Movement. By Allan J. Lichtman. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2008. 570 pages. ISBN-10: 0871139847. $27.50 Hardcover with dustjacket. References, illustrations, index. This history of the evangelical Christian movement in the … Continue reading
Wednesday’s Book Review: “Red Moon Rising: Sputnik and the Hidden Rivalries that Ignited the Space Age”
Red Moon Rising: Sputnik and the Hidden Rivalries that Ignited the Space Age. By Matthew Brzezinski. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2007. The fiftieth anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, sparked the publication of … Continue reading
Wednesday’s Book Review: “Safe is Not an Option”
Safe is Not an Option: Overcoming the Futile Obsession with Getting Everyone Back Alive that is Killing Our Expansion into Space. By Rand Simberg. Jackson, WY: Interglobal Media, LLC, 2013. 242 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0989135511. $19.95 USD, paperback. Rand Simberg may state … Continue reading
The Power of the Past in American Consciousness and the Fight over History Curricula
The current flap over the right wing politics of Mary Lou Bruner, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the District 9 seat on the Texas State Board of Education, brought to mind the longer-standing debate over the nature of … Continue reading
Humanity and the Extreme Environment of Space
Although microbial life might survive the extreme conditions of space, for Homo sapien sapiens the space environment remains remarkably dangerous to life. One space life scientist, Vadim Rygalov, remarked that ensuring human life during spaceflight was largely about providing the … Continue reading
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