By Jim Heffernan I ran across this title and was immediately intrigued by why a serious historian would write about wonder woman. Turns out it’s a good story about women’s progress in…
Category: Guest Column
BUTCH’S BLOG: Community Counts
By Butch Freedman I grew up in a big city (Philadelphia) and spent most of my life as an urban dweller. And, for the most part, I enjoyed city life, even with…
WORDS OF WISDOM: A Message For Our Times
By Neal Lemery In these challenging times, I have been looking for some moral guidance and inspiration, seeking both wisdom and solace, as well as direction on how we as a society…
BUTCH’S BLOG: My Political Heroes
By Butch Freedman In this frightening period of time where our political “leaders” demonstrate their disregard of all legal and moral guidelines, I feel the need to remember those former politicians who…
BOOK REVIEW: The Case for The Nation by Jill Lepore
By Jim Heffernan I loved this little book written by the woman I consider to be America’s best historian. The book was written in 2019, a year after her 933 page These…
BOOK REVIEW: HumanKind – Changing the World One Small Act at a Time by Brad Aronson
By Jim Heffernan Two years ago, I reviewed a book with a similar title, “Human Kind-A Hopeful History.” That book was historical and philosophical in nature and was built around the concept…
Butch’s Blog: Red Meat
By Butch Freedman My wife and I recently decided to give up red meat. We’ll eat more fish, and go vegetarian some days. Health, you know. It’s important at our advancing age….
BOOK REVIEW: Science Under Siege by Michael E. Mann and Peter J. Hotez
By Jim Heffernan Michael E. Mann, a distinguished climate scientist professor, and Peter J Hotez, a noted scientist and pediatrician, got together to produce a very good book about anti-science, which threatens…
I’VE BEEN THINKING … From Thomas Paine to Timothy Snyder
By Jim Heffernan Suddenly, I’m thinking a lot about Thomas Paine. He was the man who 250 years ago wrote the famous words: “THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The…
THE BUTCH BLOG: What I’m Hoping For
By Butch Freedman So, here we are—2026. Scary but hopeful. If you’re still hanging on. Which I am, though with great trepidation. 2025 was such a brutal and outrageous slide for the…