I read, almost exclusively, historical biographies and the classics. A few nights ago, my wife walks into the house with Chip Gaines’ new...

Circa 1997, the Newell household, Warrensburg, NY. I spend most of my evenings reading or working on my computer (my first PC). My wife,...

In the spirit of Benjamin Franklin's many pseudonyms, let's ask Hen Franklin* what she might have to say about our modern state. When any...

A reflective essay about modern times and old foundations. Newell © Perhaps the sentiments contained in the following pages are not...

I shared my post "Flipping Jefferson's Desk" with the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello to get their opinion on my theory. Their...

In June, 2015, the Clarke Auction Company, located in Larchmont, NY, listed a portrait of George Washington, Lot 12, after Rembrandt...

My mother is an astonishing person. She grew up in a small town, never went to college and worked as an office clerk at a factory for 40...

When I was 18 years old, I purchased my parent’s 1967 Cadillac sedan deville for $500. It was a massive car. The front grille, bumpers...

In June 1861, a young artist named George Henry Story was invited to observe and make sketches of President Abraham Lincoln for a...

I've been fascinated with Thomas Jefferson's revolving desk for a very long time. The arrangement is always the same with three elements:...

Essay by Dr. Benjamin Franklin. Recently published in WISDOM MAGAZINE, March 1958 It is WONDERFUL how preposterously the affairs of this...

The beacon of hope is bright at Hillsdale College. Their free online courses are the best I've ever taken. In fact, they're better than...

Notes from reading "Let's do it". (edited title) 33% New Ventures, 33% promoting, and 33% fighting fires (Taking care of business, a.k.a...

SOURCE: WISDOM MAGAZINE, March 1958 Dr. Carl Van Doren FRANKLIN HAD, I think, the most eminent mind that has ever I existed in America....

I wrote this letter to my daughter, Nicole, upon her college graduation in 2012. I recommended she read Art & Fear by David Bayles and...

A small collection. "A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once. It seems to me most...

Continued from Part II To know what you prefer, instead of humbly saying "Amen" to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to...

Continued from Part I Leadership is never inherited; sometimes learned , always earned. Simplicity is not an action plan; it's a state of...

I frequently take notes while reading. My note taking is an imperfect system but useful enough for me to have employed it for many years....

History is back in school at The History List. Founder Lee Wright delivers a great resources for us "history nerds" as he so...