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Dear Reader:

The following information is for anyone who may be interested (or knows anyone who may be interested):

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Dear Reader:

Various and sundry items that may be of interest:

>  Here’s a link to an interesting article brought to my (and others’) attention by historian John Maass at the National Museum of the U.S. Army. It’s more about battlefields of our second civil war than our first (AKA the Revolution) but has relevance for both.

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Dear Reader:

The following is excerpted from a column by Bret Stephens in The New York Times (August 4):

What, uniquely, does writing do? It compels thought. It compels thinking in ways that silent contemplation or spoken language rarely can. It compels us to subject our thinking to the effort of articulation, the rigor of grammar, the tests of intelligibility and coherence, the inspection of others. In doing so, it also enjoins us to be clear, logical, accurate — and accountable. People may easily forgive a word said in anger but not so easily one written in anger, precisely because the fact that it was written tells us that it was considered.

The considered word matters. It has staying power and moral weight. We use the expression “I want that in writing” not only so there’s no mistaking the exact words that have been agreed upon but also as proof that the words are meaningful in the first place.

Now, the writer, who is an opinion columnist for the Times, employed the above wording in an effort to plead for originality in written communication rather than relying on artificial intelligence, not so much for ethical reasons as because reliance on A.I. is—as he puts it—”mentally enfeebling.” Stephens argues that the use of this high-tech crutch (my words, not his) is “an escalator toward a result when you really need to make a daily habit of taking the stairs.” And “as it becomes ubiquitous,” he warns that “it undermines not only our individual ability to write but also a society’s collective ability to reason, a culture’s inner capacity to create and everyone’s reason to care.”

As someone who spends a lot of time at a keyboard, the above really resonates. In my current literary endeavor, I’ve resorted to A.I. a number of times to check on certain technical minutiae that I would then corroborate by reference to another source; and I’ve really appreciated the convenience of being able to do that. But the satisfaction one derives from crafting a well-reasoned and coherent agglomeration of words is, to me, foundational to the whole experience of conveying ideas and facts in writing. It’s (ahem) key to any literary activity and is, I think, what’s fun about doing this sort of thing.

Unfortunately, I have the distinct feeling that Mr. Stephens’s plea is the functional equivalent of trying to halt an ocean wave by yelling at it to stop. Writing about it won’t be any more effective, but at least that process makes you think in greater detail about your message and its delivery (unless you’re using A.I. to make the argument for you).

Best regards,

dp

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Dear Reader:

Hope you’re enjoying your summer.

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Dear Reader:

Hope you’re enjoying your summer.

I wanted to make note of three books that will soon be released and should garner interest among Rev War aficionados (listed in order of their anticipated publication):

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For anyone who may be interested, you can view an image of the preliminary cover design for my next literary enterprise at the bottom of this post.

The focus of the book’s content will be twofold:

(1) to explain and analyze twelve significant choices by General Washington that preserved the Continental Army and shaped how the American rebellion survived over the course of eight long years; and

(2) to place these decisions within the larger context of an array of factors that impinged on the outcome of the war for independence, including British logistical and administrative weaknesses, the challenges of distance and terrain, growing American military competence, civilian resistance, and the decisive impact of foreign intervention.

The purpose of this work is to explain how Washington’s judgment and the limits of British power determined the outcome of the Revolutionary War. Along the way, the reader will (hopefully) be treated to a measured reassessment of the ongoing historiographic debate over the question of Washington’s indispensability and a credible analysis of whether it was ever truly possible for Great Britain to win a military or political victory that would have restored the status quo ante in colonial America before the Revolutionary spirit embedded itself “in the minds and hearts of the people” (to quote John Adams).

I hope to submit the manuscript to Brookline Books (an imprint of Casemate Publishers) early next year, in which case I believe it will be released in the second half of 2027—perhaps as early as August.

Stay tuned, and have a great semiquincentennial 4th!

dp

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“. . . the willingness to engage in self-sacrifice in the national interest has been, and always will be, indispensable to the defense of a free society in war and the furtherance of its democratic tradition and values in peace.”

From John Haslet’s World

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Dear Reader:

I’m pleased to report that Brookline Books, an imprint of Casemate Publishers (which produced my last book, Winning the Ten Crucial Days), has agreed to take on my next “cerebral” project. The terms and conditions have been agreed to, so I should be signing the contract within the next few days.