Politics - really not rougher now than then
Every now and then someone starts talking near me in public about the lowered modern tone of civil discourse and I have a hard time not laughing so hard up my sleeve that I choke.
C'mon people. Really? We are So Much Nicer Now Than We Were Then. Just for example, nowadays we hardly ever have one Senator beating the other with a stick on the senate floor and then challenging him to a duel. If you like American humorous political anecdote, and you enjoy light popular history, may I commend Barbara Holland to your attention? In addition to the stellar "Hail To The Chiefs" she is also the author of the charming "Gentlemen's Blood: A history of dueling from swords at dawn to pistols at dusk."
( She has some choice things to say about senators and duelling... )
I think I've burbled about Holland before, but every time I re-read her books I burble again. What can you do.
C'mon people. Really? We are So Much Nicer Now Than We Were Then. Just for example, nowadays we hardly ever have one Senator beating the other with a stick on the senate floor and then challenging him to a duel. If you like American humorous political anecdote, and you enjoy light popular history, may I commend Barbara Holland to your attention? In addition to the stellar "Hail To The Chiefs" she is also the author of the charming "Gentlemen's Blood: A history of dueling from swords at dawn to pistols at dusk."
( She has some choice things to say about senators and duelling... )
I think I've burbled about Holland before, but every time I re-read her books I burble again. What can you do.