Twelve years ago, we built a Little Free Library in front of our house. Ever since, it’s been a busy spot in the neighborhood. Thousands of books have appeared on its shelves and changed hands, including around 3,000 unwanted books from my own bookcases.
I did not expect it to get me thinking about history and historical artifacts, but it has. People sometimes leave objects other than books in the Little Library. They think these donations are worthy of preservation and passing on. I often disagree, so I remove plenty of them.
Over the years, I have found and disposed of these items, among many others:
• Adult education class schedules from years long past.
• A set of old Lands’ End catalogues.
• Anti-gay religious tracts.
• Used crayons.
• A bowl of cooked macaroni and cheese, still warm.
• Snapshots of unknown people.
• A rubber ducky.
• Century-old high school notebooks, with notes.
• A hip flask, empty.
Each time I see one of these objects, I must choose: keep, recycle, or trash. Isn’t that the essence of considering history? All of us, including writers and readers of popular history, have our own ideas of what merits the status of valued history. I feel fortunate to be able to act upon mine.
In Damn History you'll find, as usual, recommendations on good and popularly accessible historical reading, with tips on writing and updates on my own work.
Follow me on X at @Jack_ElHai, on Bluesky at @jackelhai.bsky.social, and on Threads at @jackelhai1.
Contact me by email at [email protected]
Personal Notes
Nuremberg Diary by psychologist Gustave Gilbert, reissued in July by Picador, contrasts with the findings of psychiatrist Douglas Kelley, the subject of my book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist and the movie Nuremberg. (Gilbert appears in both.) It’s worth reading!
For my recommendations of popular-history books, search X, Bluesky, or Threads for #popularhistory.
Recent Popular History from All Over
You may find some of these articles behind a paywall if you’ve exceeded the publisher’s allowance of free views.
Congrats to the three Italian teens who discovered ancient Roman ruins in their school’s basement.
A once-lost 131-year-old movie by George Méliès is found. [video]
This history of restaurant menus will make you hungry, or will revolt you.
“Frankie, are you there?” A once-notorious cold criminal case fades from memory.
A failed train robbery in 1923 transformed American forensics.
The post-Civil War voting rights promise has been betrayed for 156 years.
Few living people have witnessed a log drive. A newly digitized documentary captures the spectacle. [video]
Remember this name: Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja.
Occupiers used leprosy as a weapon against Hawaii’s native people.
Resources
The U.S. Supreme Court decided not to intervene in the case of a reporter forced to reveal her source.
“Human authorship is what earns copyright protection.”
If AI chatboxes embedded in books are what’s missing in your reading, Google Play ebooks have them.
Discover high-quality nonfiction books that are the antithesis of AI sludge.
Most Confederate monuments still stand. Why?
Fresh take: “Alas, I have no reminiscences worthy to be recorded!” – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo
Housekeeping
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About me: I'm a history and science writer. I've contributed hundreds of articles to such publications as Smithsonian, The Atlantic, The Washington Post Magazine, Wired, Scientific American, Discover, GQ, Longreads and many others. My books include The Lost Brothers: A Family’s Decades-Long Search, The Lobotomist: A Maverick Medical Genius and His Tragic Quest to Rid the World of Mental Illness, Non-Stop: A Turbulent History of Northwest Airlines, and The Nazi and the Psychiatrist: Hermann Goering, Dr. Douglas M. Kelley, and a Fatal Meeting of Minds at the End of WW2.
I frequently give talks and lead workshops on the topics of my books as well as on the craft of nonfiction writing. To book me for your event or for media inquiries, please contact Ann Aronson at [email protected].
Please feel free to get in touch.
