Teddy Roosevelt was a writer first, a soldier second and a politician third. He was, also, a husband and a father. He wrote books throughout law school and, eventually, dropped out to run for political office in New York. That set the formula for the rest of his life—writing and […]
The Job of the Novelist
The kid reached into the darkness and pulled the book from the closet. It was by an unknown French existentialist. It must be a translation, he thought. His confidence in it, thus, shaken, he began, nevertheless, to read: “The job of a novelist,” it said, “is to show people to […]
Our American Dilemma
American people, like people everywhere, have a nature. And human nature is such that, sometimes, we place too much value in what we don’t understand and, by not understanding it, invest it with some mysterious and unmerited quality which defies expression. And here, that is politics. Americans are doers and […]
No Smoking
They should have known people weren’t really reasonable when they saw they’d buy at a joint what they could get for 1/10 the price at the grocer. Maybe they go for the motion of the bottle lifted from the shelf and poured into piled saucers and brandy glasses. Maybe the […]
Lucy Dreams
“Dad, the news is on.” “Isn’t it always? I can’t watch that.” “Why don’t you like the news?” “I don’t hate the news I just know what it is.” “I didn’t say you hated it.” “Ok I hate it.” “Why do you hate it.” “Because someone I trust who worked […]
Hemingway’s Reading List
This is the reading list Earnest Hemingway recommended to a kid in 1934. The kid told him he wanted to be a writer and asked him what he should, therefore, read. Hemingway would have been 35 at the time and had authored numerous novels including The Sun Also Rises copyrighted […]
A Watery Eclipse
He ordered huevos rancheros and a beer for breakfast. Above the outdoor bar, a basketball game played on the TV which no one watched. He angled his barstool to face her. After inquiring further, the bartender clasped both hands and hinted at a bow. Several goldens ranging from deep red […]
Other 2018 Articles
Click below to read other articles from 2018 published at thelatest.com. Thank you very much! https://thelatest.com/tlt/more-questions-in-politics-please-wall-street-politics-history-1512249568 https://thelatest.com/tlt/silicon-valley-and-the-jobs-revolution-to-come-technology-business-economics-1513088650 https://thelatest.com/tlt/the-revolution-will-not-be-televised-politics-media-tech-1513696954 https://thelatest.com/tlt/dostoevsky-american-exceptionalism-government-media-literature-1539129426 https://thelatest.com/tlt/the-front-lines-of-taxes-taxes-business-law-1514907871
Hemingway’s Comeback
Click below to read my take on Ernest Hemingway and WWI. Merry Christmas! https://thelatest.com/tlt/hemingway-timely-resurgence-hemingway-wwi-peter-jackson-1545429273
Knowing vs Understanding
William B. Yeats—Irish poet—said John Stuart Mill—philosopher of democracy—had a good handle on where good prose comes from when he said—I’m paraphrasing—”rhetoric is spoken but poetry is overheard.” I think he means that poetry is what you get when you’re not trying too hard. Have you ever said “wow, I […]