You Can’t Make This Stuff Up: The Siege of Antioch and the First Crusade Part Two
Release Date: 10/05/2020
Underrated Overrated: The Gettysburg Address Part 2
Edge of History
In Part 2, I cover the speech itself, line by line, why it’s remarkable all by itself and why its legacy is even more so. It is hard to understate the impact of Lincoln himself and this speech in particular on how America still remembers the war and why it was fought.
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Remembering the 5th New York Infantry Regiment: "Duryee's Zouaves"
Edge of History
The 5th New York Infantry Regiment "Zouaves" were drawn, dressed, and drilled for success in the American Civil War. A volunteer company that drew as many college graduates and businessmen as it did dock and factory workers, it was destined to briefly show its greatness... and then disappear. On this Memorial Day, I tell their story to honor their service and ultimate sacrifice.
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Underrated Overrated: The Gettysburg Address Part 1
Edge of History
Many of us in America know a few phrases of it here and there because we all had to read it in high school. We know it was a good speech, totally reaffirming freedom while honoring war dead, yadda yadda. But lost in the cliches is how significant it was that Lincoln was able to make such a speech at such a time, and make it stick. He had a LOT riding against people even taking the speech seriously, let alone holding it up later as an example of everything America stands for. In part 1, I explain why.
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Arminius and the Triumph of the Teutoburg Forest
Edge of History
All appeared well as the Romans had the “pacification” of modern-day Germany underway in A.D. 9. The early Principate Roman Army had driven the “barbarians” before it, as it had done many times before. Then revolt stirred and Rome relied on a charismatic German prince, raised as a hostage and then proven auxiliary commander in Roman civilization, to help reaffirm the Empire’s authority in his country…
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Aterui: The Guerrilla Who Helped Create the Samurai
Edge of History
The image of the samurai is almost synonymous with Japanese history for many people: the honor-bound, bow and sword wielding individual warrior on horseback. It could have been very different. When the early Japanese Court was trying hard to adopt the massed infantry tactics of China, a series of defeats to an impressive “barbarian” guerrilla warrior from the north changed the military culture of the country.
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Underrated Overrated: Hannibal and the Battle of Cannae
Edge of History
Part 3 of a series on historical events that are widely overrated in aspects of their impact and yet actually underrated and deeply misunderstood. The decisive victory Hannibal Barca won over the Roman Republic at Cannae in 216 BC was the crown jewel of his many achievements, and has been studied so often that perhaps it’s now cliché. I retell the story to focus on why it was so significant in that war and why it still has lessons for us, despite what modern scholars might think.
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Underrated Overrated: The Roman Legion and the Will to Win
Edge of History
Part 2 of a series on historical events that are widely overrated in aspects of their impact and yet actually underrated and deeply misunderstood. The Roman civilization is famous all over the world, but few people know just how unlikely and unique their rise to power was. Through an uncommon combination of ruthlessness and humility, Rome built a culture and a war machine that learned from mistakes, adapted to circumstances, and relentlessly pursued total victory.
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Underrated Overrated: The Legacy of the Emancipation Proclamation
Edge of History
Part 1 of a series on historical events that are widely overrated in aspects of their impact and yet actually underrated and deeply misunderstood. President Abraham Lincoln 's landmark Emancipation Proclamation is known popularly as what "freed the slaves," but its story is far more complex. Skeptics correctly point out that it did very little to change the legal and actual status of slaves anywhere in America at that time, but I break it down here for the brilliant practical strike at the institution of slavery that it was. Honest Abe for the win, and within the limits of his Constitutional...
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Why Chechnya Should Matter to You
Edge of History
Chechens have been in an almost 200-year struggle against Russian imperialism. While they remain in an occupied state, the spirit of their people is very much alive. Through their struggle, we can see the consequences of brutality, the power of evil, the heart of a people, the early buds of radicalization, the way misinformation shifts focus and spreads lies. Ultimately, this episode is a reflection on how small events can have a huge ripple effect on the modern world and how we ALL have a role to play in that, either through silent consent, ignorance, or informed action.
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Chechen Wars Part 9: End of the Line and End of an Era
Edge of History
The last of the rebel “old guard” are hunted down, killed, or driven into exile. Chechen traitor/Russian puppet Ramzan Kadyrov rules Chechnya through fear. A generation of traumatized and/or radicalized children remain. Some depart for the bloodbaths of Ukraine or Syria in a tragic epilogue. What’s next? How do we evaluate the legacy of the struggle?
info_outlineThe (double) Siege of Antioch in 1098 has all the stuff a Hollywood movie is made of: two different cultures (and their military approaches) clashing in the style of your favorite old school tournament fighting game, starvation, giant ancient fortresses, disease, hardship, miracles real and imagined, betrayal, sword fights, massacre, and a final, heroic charge against impossible odds. Too much stuff, really: I feel like any script with this much jammed into it would be dismissed as corny and over-the-top. Except it’s true! I hope I do it a measure of justice.