Few people know anything about the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, even though it marked a turning point for Western philosophy, religion and science. The quake, estimated to have been between 8.0 and 9.0 on the Richter scale, devastated the city of Lisbon, destroying 85% of its buildings outright. To escape the debris falling in aftershocks, many of the survivors congregated at the docks only to . . . more »

February is Black History Month. It was begun in 1926 as Negro History Week by Carter G. Woodson, who is considered the Father of Black History and who founded The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). Today the Association “continues his legacy of speaking a fundamental truth to the world--that Africans and peoples of African descent are makers of history.” . . . more »

Just in time for Presidents' Day, here is a list of recent biographies of American presidents. The popular interest in the lives of our presidents can be seen in the almost instantaneous bestselling status of such books as Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot and by the enduring popularity of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. Our Presidents' Day list of titles . . . more »

"If you give me a week, I might think of one." - President Eisenhower's response to a reporter's question when asked to give an example of a major idea of Vice President Nixon's that his administration adopted. What was the true nature of the relationship between President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Vice President Richard Nixon? Jeffrey Frank's new book, Ike and Dick: Portrait of a . . . more »