History

I just received a copy of A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World by William J. Bernstein. He's got a website, and he's apparently a fan of Windypundit because he comped me a copy of the book. (I guess this blogging thing is finally starting to pay off.) A Splendid Exchange looks like it's going to be a history of long-distance trading, from a time when only … [Read more...] about In the Bookbag: A Splendid Exchange

Alex at Stillettos and Sneakers has a list of things that have changed during her lifetime. For this post I'm stealing her list of items and writing my own comments: The Remote Control All that fancy technology just to avoid getting up and walking across the room? It seemed extravagent. Nice to have, but not worth the expense when I could just get up and press the buttons on … [Read more...] about I’m Old Too

Slate's Eric Klinenberg writes about the worst U.S. natural disaster of the 1990's, at least in terms of the loss of life. It wasn't the Northridge quake or Hurricane Andrew. It was the heatwave that hit Chicago in July of 1995, killing 739 people. If this doesn't ring a bell, welcome to flyover country. Klinenberg's article discusses other reasons for the general lack of … [Read more...] about Death in Chicago