Category Archives: Uncategorized

Yesterday I went to the California State Library in Sacramento to look at a variety of Rancho Chico ledgers. I had no idea that there were so many! I only wanted ledgers from 1865-1868 because I wanted to see if … Continue reading →

If you like books, this is the place to be next Saturday. Peruse books, meet authors, and enjoy a bookish day in Sacramento. I’ll be there with my books, so I hope I’ll see you. The festival is sponsored by … Continue reading →

Hugh Trevor-Roper (1914-2003) was a British historian best known as the author of The Last Days of Hitler (1947). He wrote extensively on Nazi Germany and on England in the 16th and 17th centuries. His Ten Commandments for History Writers … Continue reading →

I was listening to a podcast from This American Life (April 20) about the Ten Commandments in today’s world. The host, Ira Glass, began the story with examples of other versions of the ten commandments that people have come up … Continue reading →

One last story from Amy Likins, the lady book agent— One day in 1872 she was going about her rounds in Stockton, filling orders that she had taken on a previous trip. (Every sale required two trips for a book … Continue reading →

Amy Likins must have gotten used to dealing with drunks and mashers. In San Jose she had this encounter– While working there, I met on the street one day a widower; he was a Missourian, a fair specimen of southern … Continue reading →