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Our young fans, particularly of the Samurai Detective Novels, have done some amazing videos (see this, this, and this for some examples — and of course the Lego stop motion version!) as they do virtual book reports and trailers for the book. Please upload your version to our Guest Book — we love to see these!!
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Are You Prepared for the Storm of Lovemaking
Releasing from Simon and Schuster 6-Feb-2024, Are You Prepared for the Storm of Lovemaking?
On this day, February 10, 1899, Herbert Hoover married Lou Henry. The next day they left for China, where they planned to be missionaries. They spent the rest of their lives together.![]()
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Image: Harris & Ewing, photographer. Herbert Hoover and Lou Hoover on viewing stand. United States, 1932. [March or April] Photograph. www.loc.gov/item/2016879552/.
Yesterday, January 30, but in 1882, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born in Hyde Park, New York. He would become the only American elected four times for President. His first term came during the country’s greatest economic depression. Later, he led the country to its greatest war–World War II. Throughout his terms, he fought off crippling polio that made it difficult for him to walk without aid.![]()
In the photo of his inauguration, you can see that FDR has a cane and is holding the arm of the photographer next to him – FDR seems to have managed to project an air of strength to try to make the public forget his disability, but we know that in private, walking was nearly impossible for him alone, and he worked very hard to strengthen his upper body to compensate. ![]()
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Image: Harris & Ewing, photographer. (1933) Franklin D. Roosevelt inauguration. Eleanor Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt and photographer outside White House, Washington, D.C. District of Columbia Washington D.C. Washington D.C. United States, 1933. [March 4] [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/2016883348/.
Happy birthday to William McKinley! Today (January 29, 1893) is William McKinley’s birthday. He was born in Niles, Ohio and became the 25th president of the United States. He was the last president to serve in the Civil War. While shaking hands with visitors to the Pan-American Exposition in 1898, he was shot by an anarchist. Doctors could not save him and he lingered for eight days before passing away while he sang "Nearer My God to Thee" with his wife.![]()
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Image: Print shows William McKinley, seated between his wife, on the left, and his mother, on the right. Also shows busts of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln on the wall in the background. Kurz & Allison, C. C. (1896) W. McKinley, wife, mother, 1896. [Place not identified: Publisher not identified] [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/2003656927/.
Exciting news: we’ll be speaking virtually at the Woodrow Wilson house next week, on Wilson’s relationships with his two wives (he was a widower who re-married), and presidential love letters. Find out more and sign up here: ![]()
fareharbor.com/embeds/book/woodrowwilsonhouse/items/599316/calendar/2025/01/?flow=325398&full-ite…
On January 22 in 1973, Lyndon B. Johnson died, aged 64. He had led the United States in the Vietnam War, which conflicted with what he called "The Great Society." However, before he his "arm twisting" persistence made him a success as a president, he persevered in winning the heart of Claudia Alta Taylor, better known for her childhood nickname of Lady Bird. ![]()
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As we detail in our book, out in paperback on February 6th, Johnson wanted constant affirmation from Lady Bird. Here’s a snippet of a longer letter from our book, which LBJ wrote to Lady Bird during their courtship in 1934:![]()
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"I could read and reread a letter from you which contained![]()
just one central idea, [if ] that idea concerned itself only with![]()
expressions of your love. I wait to hear you say over and over![]()
again that “I love you”. You may remember that one time you![]()
told me, “Someday I may feel that way and when I do— I shall![]()
very likely tell you of my own volition.” That should have been![]()
enough— ordinarily it would have been too much— but even![]()
the strongest of men sometimes don’t follow their judgment but![]()
submit to a dictate from elsewhere. Tell me soon, dear, just how![]()
you know you do feel— if feel you do…."![]()
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Photo credit: Lady Bird Johnson poses in the formal gown she wore to the 1961 Inaugural Ball. Jan. 20, 1961. LBJ Library photo by Frank Muto. From LBJ Library website – www.lbjlibrary.org/object/photo/lady-bird-johnson-formal-gown-worn-1961-inaugural-ball