Reflections on the Risks of Writing about the Civil War
Frederick Buechner writes in The Clown in the Belfry, “How can anybody writing a novel or a story know for sure where it will lead and just how and with…
Civil War Monitor review of Iowa Confederates in the Civil War
Codie Eash is the author of this review. * * * * * * * Iowa Confederates in the Civil War by David Connon. Arcadia Publishing, 2019, Paper, ISBN: 978-1634991551.…
An invisible killer stalks a small Iowa town: Civil War edition
What a day! The cornet band was making straitlaced Congregationalists, Methodists, and Baptists tap their toes – almost in spite of themselves. On the final note, a politician speechified about…
How do you discern motives after 150 years? My 39-question checklist
A very short question led to today’s blog post. A few weeks ago, I spoke at The Civil War Museum in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Education Manager Doug Dammann had asked me…
Thanksgiving treats: Turkey, pumpkin pie, and a taste of my new book
Dear Readers, Today’s blog post is the introduction to my new book, Iowa Confederates in the Civil War. I hope you’ll enjoy it! If you do, I hope you’ll consider…
GOT REVIEWS? Why they Matter!
Publisher Theodore P. Savas wrote this guest blog post. His company, Savas Beatie, publishes high-quality Civil War and general history books. I have long appreciated his insights into Civil War…
O Happy Day! The Release of my Long-Awaited Book
Foreword to Iowa Confederates in the Civil War Although the reaction to the September 2017 airing of Ken Burns’s and Lynn Novick’s The Vietnam War – a T.V. Mini-Series was…
Every story has a backstory: The struggle of writing a book
Back when I only dreamed of writing a book, I loved Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. I plugged along, turning collections of facts into rough drafts,…
From Detective to Gardener: My Journey of Writing a Book
The bloodhounds are straining against the leash in my hand, yelping in the dead of night. Turning on my flashlight, we plunge into the woods on a 150-year-old manhunt. It's…
Handshake across history: An encounter in the State Historical Museum in Des Moines
Sitting at the wooden table in the hushed museum archives, I fought to keep my eyes open. Closing my eyelids would help, I thought. Just a little rest for the…