Ill Literacy: Books with Benson

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Paul Kennedy, J. Richardson Dilworth Professor of History at Yale University, to discuss his new book, Victory at Sea: Naval Power and the Transformation of the Global Order in World War II. They chat about the six major naval powers of the war and their individual strengths, weaknesses, and challenges, and how the war was won and lost in the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Mediterranean. They also talk about how the strategic landscape for naval affairs was completely altered by the war and the rise of American economic and military hegemony.

Get the book here:  https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300219173/victory-at-sea/

Show Notes:

Engelsberg Ideas: Lincoln Paine – “A marriage of the geopolitical, the military and the material”
https://engelsbergideas.com/books/a-marriage-of-the-geopolitical-the-military-and-the-material-victory-at-sea-naval-power-and-the-transformation-of-the-global-order-in-world-war-ii-by-paul-kennedy-review/

Foreign Policy: Alexander Wooley – “The Navy Made America a Superpower Once. Can It Again?”
https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/05/30/us-navy-victory-at-sea-review-paul-kennedy-history/

The New Criterion: Jeremy Black – “A new ruler of the waves”
https://newcriterion.com/issues/2022/9/a-new-ruler-of-the-waves

The Sunday Times: Max Hastings – “Victory at Sea by Paul Kennedy review — did the navy win the Second World War?”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/victory-at-sea-by-paul-kennedy-review-did-the-navy-win-the-second-world-war-bd7tft0l9

Wall Street Journal: Brendan Simms – “‘Victory at Sea’ Review: Ruling the Waves in World War II”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/victory-at-sea-book-review-ruling-the-waves-in-world-war-ii-11650634290

Washington Free Beacon: Mike Watson – “How We Achieved Naval Supremacy—And How We Could Lose It”
https://freebeacon.com/culture/how-we-achieved-naval-supremacy-and-how-we-could-lose-it/

Washington Post: Robert D. Kaplan – “How the naval battles of World War II reshaped the global order”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/05/20/how-naval-battles-world-war-ii-reshaped-global-order/

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Christopher M. Reali, assistant professor of music at Ramapo College, to discuss his new book, Music and Mystique in Muscle Shoals. They chat about the Muscle Shoals music scene in the 1960’s and 1970’s, what exactly is the “Muscle Shoals Sound,” and how that sound became such a potent cultural power that still means something even up to the present day. They also talk about the overlooked history of Muscle Shoals' impact on country music and describes the region's recent transformation into a tourism destination and something of a pilgrimage stop for musicians from all over the world.

Get the book here:  https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=45zfd3qs9780252044519

Blues Blast Magazine: Mark Thompson – “Christopher M Reali – Music And Mystique In Muscle Shoals | Book Review”|
https://www.bluesblastmagazine.com/christopher-m-reali-music-and-mystique-in-muscle-shoals-book-review/

Deep South Magazine: Erin Z. Bass – “Music and Mystique in Muscle Shoals”
https://deepsouthmag.com/2022/07/19/music-and-mystique-in-muscle-shoals/

Southern Review of Books: Lacey Lyons – “Music and Mystique in Muscle Shoals” Chronicles a Legendary Music Scene
https://southernreviewofbooks.com/2022/08/08/music-and-mystique-in-muscle-shoals-christopher-reali-interview/

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by all-time surf god Shaun Tomson to discuss his new book with Noah benShea, “The Surfer and the Sage: A Guide to Survive and Ride Life's Waves.” They chat about purpose, loss, hope, faith, the importance of doing nothing, what lessons surfing has to give about living a fulfilling life, and the power of “I Will.” Tim also tries to not geek out and ask too many surf fanboy questions about Pipeline.

Get the book here:  https://www.familius.com/book/the-surfer-and-the-sage/

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Jonathan W. White, professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University, to discuss his new book, To Address You as My Friend: African Americans' Letters to Abraham Lincoln. They chat about the personal connection many blacks felt to Abraham Lincoln and how that gave them confidence to write to the president and to seek redress of their grievances. They also talk about how the act of writing to Lincoln for blacks was, in a small way, an act of civic participation and allowed them to claim the rights of American citizenship in a wide range of circumstances.

Get the book here: https://uncpress.org/book/9781469665078/to-address-you-as-my-friend/

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Mark A. Noll, Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame, to discuss his new book, America's Book: The Rise and Decline of a Bible Civilization, 1794-1911. They chat about how the Bible decisively shaped American national history even as that history influenced the use of Scripture, and how a strongly Protestant Bible civilization was fractured by debates over slavery, contested by growing numbers of non-Protestants, and torn apart by the Civil War. They also talk about how the more religiously plural period from Reconstruction to the early 20th Century saw Scripture become a much more fragmented, though still significant, force in American culture.

Get the book here:  https://global.oup.com/academic/product/americas-book-9780197623466?q=america%27s%20book&lang=en&cc=us

Show Notes:

Wall Street Journal: D.G. Hart – “‘America’s Book’ Review: The Word Out of Season”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/americas-book-review-the-word-out-of-season-11651009649

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Brian P. Levack, John E. Green Regents Professor Emeritus in History at the University of Texas at Austin, to discuss his new book, Distrust of Institutions in Early Modern Britain and America. They chat about how distrust in institutions was an important theme of public discourse in Britain and colonial America during the early modern period, why trust in these institutions is more tenuous and difficult to restore once it has been betrayed than trust in one's family, friends, and neighbors, and how this distrust shaped the political, legal, economic, and religious of Britain and its American colonies.

Get the book here:  https://global.oup.com/academic/product/distrust-of-institutions-in-early-modern-britain-and-america-9780192847409?q=distrust%20in%20institutions&lang=en&cc=us

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Ryan T. Anderson, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, to discuss his new book, co-authored with Alexandra DeSanctis, “Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing.” They discuss how the post­-Roe experiment with unlimited abortion has harmed everyone and corrupted our political system, medicine, and the media, while undermining the rule of law. They also chat about what abortion in the United States will look like post-Dobbs, and what abortion opponents can do to help foster a culture of life.

Get the book here:  https://www.regnery.com/9781684513505/tearing-us-apart/

Show Notes:

The American Conservative: Emile Doak – “Abortion and the Clash of Moral Visions”
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/abortion-and-the-clash-of-moral-visions/

The Heritage Foundation: Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing (VIDEO)
https://www.heritage.org/life/event/tearing-us-apart-how-abortion-harms-everything-and-solves-nothing

National Review: Ryan T. Anderson & Alexandra DeSanctis – “We Must Acknowledge That Abortion Harms Women”
https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/06/we-must-acknowledge-that-abortion-harms-women/

The Public Discourse: Charles C. Camosy – “A Clarion Call for the Pro-Life Movement’s Heavy Lift”
https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2022/07/83558/

Washington Free Beacon: Nicholas Tomaino – “A Post-Roe Playbook”
https://freebeacon.com/culture/a-post-roe-playbook/

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by William B. Allen, resident scholar and the former chief operating officer of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE) and emeritus dean of James Madison College at Michigan State University, to discuss CURE’s new book, “The State of Black America: Progress, Pitfalls, and the Promise of the Republic.” They discuss the character, shape, and tendencies of life for black Americans, their astounding success in integrating into mainstream American culture, and why black patriotism is the key to overcoming what problems remain.

Get the book here:  https://www.encounterbooks.com/books/state-black-america/

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by James Kirchick, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and columnist for Tablet, to discuss his new book, “Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington.” Benson and Kirchick discuss how homosexuality came to be seen as potential national security threat, the Lavender Scare, the irresponsible homophobia of Oliver Stone’s film JFK, the tragedy of the closet, and how gay Washingtonians fought a multi-decade fight for civil rights.

Get the book here:  https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781627792332/secretcity

Show Notes:

Commentary: Bruce Bawer – “A Capital History”
https://www.commentary.org/articles/bruce-bawer/gay-washington-james-kirchick/
 

New York Times: Alexandra Jacobs – “‘Secret City,’ an Epic Narrative History of the Closet in the Capital”
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/22/books/review-secret-city-history-gay-washington-james-kirchick.html
 

The New Yorker: Michael Waters – “What Made Washington, D.C., the ‘Gayest and Most Antigay City in America’”
https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/what-made-washington-dc-the-gayest-and-most-antigay-city-in-america

Reason: Walter Olson – “Secret City Recounts the Gay History of D.C.”
https://reason.com/2022/06/01/gay-history-in-the-city-of-secrets/

The Spectator World: David J. Garrow – “The rise of gay Washington”
https://spectatorworld.com/book-and-art/queer-streets-secret-city-gay-washington-james-kirchick/

Washington Examiner: River Page – “James Kirchick's history of gay power”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/james-kirchicks-history-of-gay-power

Washington Free Beacon: Douglas Murray – “Life in a Closeted Capital”
https://freebeacon.com/culture/life-in-a-closeted-capital/

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Glenda Sluga to discuss her new book, “The Invention of International Order: Remaking Europe after Napoleon.” Sluga is the professor of international history and capitalism at the European University Institute as well as a Kathleen Fitzpatrick Laureate Fellow and professor of international history at the University of Sydney. They discuss how the Congress of Vienna planted the seeds for today's international order, how new conceptions of the politics between states were the work not only of European statesmen but also of politically ambitious aristocrats and bourgeoisie, and how the leading statesmen of the age operated in the context of social networks often presided over by influential women who had their ear.

Get the book here:  https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691208213/the-invention-of-international-order

Show Notes:

Lapham’s Quarterly: Glenda Sluga – “Only That I Were an Official Person!”
https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/only-i-were-official-person

London School of Economics: Glenda Sluga – “The invention of an international order: Lessons from 1814”
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2022/02/01/the-invention-of-an-international-order-lessons-from-1814/

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Jed Perl of the New School of Social Research and long-time art critic for The New Republic to discuss his new book, “Authority and Freedom: A Defense of the Arts”. They discuss how the interplay between authority and freedom are the lifeblood of the arts, how the essence of the arts is their ability to free us from fixed definitions and categories, and what is the future of the arts in a democratic society.

Get the book here:  https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/673724/authority-and-freedom-by-jed-perl/

Show Notes:

The Bulwark: Daniel Lelchuk – “A Defense of Art for Art’s Sake”
https://www.thebulwark.com/a-defense-of-art-for-arts-sake/

First Things: Kyle Smith – “Great Art Can Be Propaganda”
https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2022/02/great-art-can-be-propaganda

Law & Liberty: Mark Judge – “Art Without Tradition is Dead”
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/art-without-tradition-is-dead/

Literary Hub: Jed Perl – “How Artists Navigate the Interplay of Authority and Freedom”
https://lithub.com/how-artists-navigate-the-interplay-of-authority-and-freedom/

The New Criterion: Michael Mosbacher – “Art versus anachronism”
https://newcriterion.com/issues/2022/3/art-versus-anachronism

The New York Review of Books: John Banville – “The Imaginative Imperative”
https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2022/04/21/the-imaginative-imperative-authority-and-freedom-jed-perl/

The New York Times: John Adams – “Does Art Have to Be Relevant? One Prominent Critic Says No.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/12/books/review/authority-and-freedom-a-defense-of-the-arts-jed-perl.html

Quillette: Franklin Einspruch – “Authority and Freedom: A Defense of the Arts—A Review”
https://quillette.com/2022/01/12/authority-and-freedom-a-defense-of-the-arts-a-review/

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Richard Overy, Professor of History at the University of Exeter, to discuss his new book, “Blood and Ruins: The Last Imperial War, 1931-1945.” They discuss why the Second World War should be considered the last imperial war, why the war needs to be looked at with a broader, more global perspective, and why it’s protracted, messy aftermath goes far beyond 1945.

Get the book here:  https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/529350/blood-and-ruins-by-richard-overy/

Show Notes:

The Atlantic: Daniel Immerwahr – “A New History of World War II”
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/05/world-war-ii-empire-colonialism/629371/

The Critic: Rana Mitter – “Truly global view of World War II”
https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/october-2021/truly-global-view-of-world-war-ii/

Irish Times: Geoffrey Roberts – “Blood and Ruins: Masterly overview of the ‘long’ second World War”
https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/blood-and-ruins-masterly-overview-of-the-long-second-world-war-1.4643053

Literary Hub: Andrew Keen – “Has the Second World War Ended Yet? Richard Overy in Conversation” (AUDIO)
https://lithub.com/has-the-second-world-war-ended-yet/

Literary Review: Adam Zamoyski – “The World Ablaze”
https://literaryreview.co.uk/the-world-ablaze

New York Times: Josef Joffe – “World War II, Ukraine and the Future of Conflict”
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/04/books/blood-and-ruins-richard-overy.html

The Times: Saul David – “Blood and Ruins by Richard Overy review — the Second World War began in 1931. Discuss”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/blood-and-ruins-by-richard-overy-review-bkfhbslvx

Times Literary Supplement: John Darwin – “End of empires”
https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/blood-and-ruins-richard-overy-book-review-john-darwin/

Wall Street Journal: Michael F. Bishop – “‘Blood and Ruins’ Review: World War II and the Ends of Empires”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/blood-and-ruins-book-review-history-world-war-ii-and-the-ends-of-empires-11648217702

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Jonathan Butcher, the Will Skillman Fellow in Education in the Center for Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation, to discuss his new book, “Splintered: Critical Race Theory and the Progressive War on Truth”. They discuss the hijacking of K–12 education by Critical Theorists, what exactly is and what isn’t Critical Race Theory, and how this battle over our national identity is a cultural battle. They also chat about the best methods for parents and policymakers to fight back against CRT.

Get the book here:  https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Splintered/Jonathan-Butcher/9781637582664

Show Notes:

C-SPAN: “Discussion on Critical Race Theory and Victimhood” (VIDEO)
https://www.c-span.org/video/?519180-1/discussion-critical-race-theory-victimhood#!

The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal: George Leef – “The Origins and Impact of Racially Divisive Curricula”
https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2022/07/the-origins-and-impact-of-racially-divisive-curricula/

Washington Free Beacon: Alex Nester – “The Plot To Undermine America’s Institutions”
https://freebeacon.com/culture/the-plot-to-undermine-americas-institutions/

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Penelope J. Corfield, professor emeritus of history at Royal Holloway, London University and president of the International Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, to discuss her new book, “The Georgians: The Deeds and Misdeeds of 18th-Century Britain.” They discuss many aspects of Georgian life, including politics and empire, culture and society, love and violence, religion and science, and industry and towns. They also discuss the elements of deep continuity that persisted even within major changes in Georgian society.

Get the book here:  https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300253573/the-georgians/

Show Notes:

Financial Times: Ruth Scurr – “The Georgians — the age that shaped Britain, for good and bad”
https://www.ft.com/content/5802c43c-5548-4a96-a527-b8b55dd16e95

History Today: Penelope J. Corfield – “The Lure of the Georgian Age”
https://www.historytoday.com/archive/lure-georgian-age

Lapham’s Quarterly: Penelope J. Corfield – “What Driveling Times Are These!”
https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/what-driveling-times-are-these

Literary Review: Freya Johnston – “Squalor & Sublimity”
https://literaryreview.co.uk/squalor-sublimity

The Spectator: Wynn Wheldon – “The Georgians feel closer to us now than the Victorians”
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-georgians-feel-closer-to-us-now-than-the-victorians

Sunday Times: Dominic Sandbrook – “The Georgians by Penelope J Corfield review — a colourful history of life in Georgian England”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-georgians-by-penelope-j-corfield-review-a-colourful-history-of-life-in-georgian-england-2tz92lpmd

Times Literary Supplement: Judith Hawley – “The age of light, libel, levity and lead”
https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/the-georgians-penelope-corfield-book-review-judith-hawley/

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Brendan J.J. Payne, chair of the Department of History at North Greenville University, to discuss his new book, “Gin, Jesus, and Jim Crow: Prohibition and the Transformation of Racial and Religious Politics in the South.” They discuss how prohibition helped realign the racial and religious order in the South by linking restrictions on alcohol with political preaching, the disfranchisement of black voters, and how prohibition only retreated from the region once the racial and religious order it helped enshrine had been secured.

Get the book here:  https://lsupress.org/books/detail/gin-jesus-and-jim-crow/

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Noah Rothman, associate editor of Commentary magazine to discuss his new book, “The Rise of the New Puritans: Fighting Back Against Progressives' War on Fun.” They discuss how progressives have returned to their shrewish and humorless norm after an interregnum of free-spirited hippiedom. They also chat about how progressives are sucking the joy out of food, sports, hobbies, fashion, movies, and television in their pursuit of a better world. Limiting happiness is a feature, not a bug, of 21st Century progressivism.

Get the book here:  https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-rise-of-the-new-puritans-noah-rothman?variant=39727623471138