Episodes – History: By the Book

In this episode, Joe interviews Romulus Hillsborough about his recent book, Samurai Revolution: The Dawn of Modern Japan Seen Through the Eyes of the Shogun’s Last Samurai (Tuttle Publishing, ISBN 978-4805312353). Hillsborough writes a lively account of the painful transformation of Japan during the Meiji Restoration of the 19th century. Well-documented, Hillsborough had done extensive […]

In this episode, Joe interviews New York Times bestselling author, Stacy Perman about her latest book, A Grand Complication: The Race to Build the World’s Most Legendary Watch (Atria Books). She discusses the rivalry between gilded age tycoons, Henry Graves, Jr. and James Ward Packard, who commissioned some of the world’s most complicated watches. The […]

An interview with Matthew Algeo, author of Pedestrianism: When Watching People Walk was America’s Favorite Spectator Sport (Chicago Review Press). In this interview, Mr. Algeo recounts the origins of epic multi-day, nonstop footraces that captured the public imagination in 19th century Great Britain and the United States. Subscribe in a reader

An interview with Terry Golway, author of Machine Made: Tammany Hall and the Creation of Modern American Politics. Golway’s book is a new revisionist history of New York City’s political machine, Tammany Hall, which seeks to look at other aspects of the organization aside from corruption. Subscribe in a reader

An interview with Steven Ujifusa, author of A Man and His Ship: America’s Greatest Naval Architect and His Quest to Build the S.S. United States.       Subscribe in a reader