On the 75th anniversary of the legendary Battle of Chosin Reservoir, Steve Vogel tells the little-known story of the Army soldiers who gave all during the Korean War’s most consequential battles and then were denigrated for their sacrifice. A Task Force Called Faith: The Untold Story of the U.S. Army Soldiers Who Fought for Survival at Chosin Reservoir—and Honor Back Home delivers a fresh perspective on Chosin, where 150,000 Chinese soldiers trapped 20,000 U.S. Marines and soldiers in the frozen mountains of North Korea in November and December of 1950. For seven decades, the Marines who successfully broke out from Chosin have been justly hailed as heroes, but the Army soldiers who fought alongside them have been reviled as cowards. In A Task Force Called Faith, Steve Vogel sets the record straight. What he’s learned is the culmination of twenty-five years of digging into the story, first as a reporter for The Washington Post and now as a leading military historian. Steve Vogel is a historian and former military correspondent for the Washington Post. His coverage of the US war in Afghanistan was part of a package of Washington Post stories selected as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2002. He reported on the US war with Iraq in 2003 as an embedded journalist with an Army airborne brigade. Based in Germany from 1989 through 1994 and reporting for the Washington Post and Army Times, he covered the fall of the Berlin Wall and the first Gulf War, as well as military operations in Somalia, Rwanda, and the Balkans. Vogel covered the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the Pentagon and was the first journalist to get inside the building’s most damaged sections. He wrote the definitive history of the building, The Pentagon, and is the author of two other acclaimed histories, Betrayal in Berlin: The True Story of the Cold War’s Most Audacious Espionage Operation and Through the Perilous Fight: Six Weeks That Saved the Nation. He lives in Maryland.
A BIOGRAPHY OF A MOUNTAIN: The Making and Meaning of Mt. Rushmore, by Matthew Davis (St. Martin’s Press), is a powerful comprehensive history of Mt. Rushmore, written in light of recent political controversies, and a timely retrospective for the monument’s 100th anniversary in 2025. Davis has penned an impressive work of narrative nonfiction, combining history with reportage, bringing this complicated and nuanced story of the famous, and infamous, mountain to life.ABOUT THE AUTHORMatthew Davis is the author of When Things Get Dark: A Mongolian Winter’s Tale. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and Guernica, among other publications. He has been an Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fellow at New America, a Fellow at The Black Mountain Institute at UNLV, and a Fulbright Fellow to Syria and Jordan. He holds an MFA in nonfiction writing from the University of Iowa and an MA in International Relations from The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Davis lives in Washington DC with his wife, a diplomat, and their two young kids.#mtrushmore #authorpodcast #speakingofwriterspodcast
Rhineland: Hitler’s Last Defence, 1944–45 by Anthony Tucker-Jones is a dramatic retelling of the desperate battle of the Rhineland during World War II from the German perspective.The Rhineland was where Adolf Hitler sowed the seeds for the Second World War when he remilitarized it in breach of the Treaty of Versailles in 1936, and by late 1944 the Rhine provided the last major obstacle to the advancing Allied armies that were threatening the Fatherland itself.In this new history of this vital campaign, respected military historian Tucker-Jones describes the race against time as the Germans fought to stave off the inevitable. It was essential that the Germans held the west bank in order to protect the Rhine crossings at Cologne, Bonn, Koblenz and Remagen, but Hitler was intent on counter-attacking in the Ardennes in the winter of 1944 and this meant there was little left to bolster the defences of the Rhine.Rhineland relates the course of this desperate defence, describing the build-up of forces and operational plans before going on to tell the story of the campaign from the point of view of the forces involved, from the ordinary German soldier through to the high command.Anthony Tucker-Jones, a former intelligence officer, is a highly prolific writer and military historian with well over 50 books to his name. His work has also been published in an array of magazines and online. He regularly appears on television and radio commenting on current and historical military matters.#rhineland #worldwar2 #hitler #podcast #authorpodcast #anthonytuckerjones #speakingofwriterspodcast
On this episode, Steve Richards interviews book publicity veteran Brian Feinblum, founder of Book Marketing Buzz Blog. and one of the most respected voices in book marketing. They discuss today's publishing landscape, how authors can get published, and what promotional strategies still deliver results.
Brian Feinblum, the creator and author of BookMarketingBuzzBlog, was the chief marketing officer for the nation's largest book promotions firm, Media Connect, and has been involved in book publicity and marketing since 1989. He has served several book publishing companies as a publicist, book editor, and acquisitions editor. Brian, who earned a BA in English from Brooklyn College, became a published author in 1995 when he penned The Florida Homeowner, Condo and Co-Op Handbook. He resides in Westchester, New York with his wife, two children, and an 80-pound American Bulldog.#bookmarketing #bookmarketingbuzzblog #podcast #speakingofwriterspodcast
When a tainted drug starts claiming lives across the city, Detective Harriet Foster and her team race to track down the source…before it takes one of their own.About the Author Tracy Clark is the award-winning author of the acclaimed Detective Harriet Foster series. She is also the author of the Chicago Mystery series featuring Cassandra Raines, a hard-driving, African American PI who works the mean streets of the Windy City, dodging cops, cons, and killers. Clark is the 2024 winner of both the Anthony Award and the Lefty Award, as well as the 2020 and 2022 winner of the G.P. Putnam’s Sons Sue Grafton Memorial Award, and the 2022 Sara Paretsky Award. She is also a multi-nominated Macavity, Edgar, Shamus, and ITW Thriller Award finalist. Her 2024 novel, Echo, was named one of the 10 Best Mysteries of the Year by The Washington Post, and her debut novel, Broken Places, was short-listed for the American Library Association’s RUSA Reading List and named a CrimeReads Best New PI Book of 2018, a Midwest Connections Pick, and a Library Journal Best Book of the Year. Broken Places has since been optioned by Sony Pictures Television. A Chicago native, Clark roots for all Chicago sports teams equally. She is a member of Crime Writers of Color, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime, and she sits on the boards of Bouchercon National and the Midwest Mystery Conference. You can find the author on Facebook (/tclarkbooks), Instagram (@tclarkwrites), Bluesky (@tracyc1.bsky.social) and her website (tracyclarkbooks.com). #tracyclark #chicagoauthor #speakingofwriterspodcast #authorpodcast #books
Structured in two almost novella-like sections, “Hard Margins” follows Wyoming’s Towuk tribe. The story begins in the spring of 1958 and is told by Danny Hubbard, a Korean war veteran, who has taken this remote BIA position for a chance to remake his life...Out of a mixture of duty and boredom, Hubbard begins to read the reports written by his BIA predecessors, dating back to the 1870s, looking for answers. It’s here he discovers the record left by Agent Dorrance, who almost religiously believed in his mandate, to work “for the welfare and improvement of the Indians.”
Dorrance is an amazing creation, a man who can be admired and reviled on the same page. A Civil War veteran turned correspondent for Horace Greeley’s New York Tribune, he quickly becomes a devotee of Greeley’s idea of an agrarian utopia in the West, made famous with the phrase, “Go West, young man.”
We often think that ideas such as Manifest Destiny and the needs of a growing population made western expansion a fait accompli, but Delaney’s novel reminds readers about the mood of the country after the Civil War.
The long, bloody conflict gave rise to a generation who wanted to believe their sacrifice meant something, which led many to utopian philosophies about how the spiritual connection of men to the land could undo the corruption of governments and cities. For many, the supposedly unpopulated West could be a chance to reinvent America, and leave behind the worst aspects of human nature.
Edward J. Delaney is an award-winning author, journalist, and filmmaker. His books include the novels Follow the Sun, Broken Irish, and Warp & Weft, and the short story collection The Drowning and Other Stories. His short fiction has also been published in The Atlantic and Best American Short Stories, and featured on PRI’s Selected Shorts program. Among other honors, he has received the PEN/New England Award, O. Henry Prize, and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. He is also the co-author of Born to Play, by Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. As a journalist, Delaney has written for publications including the Denver Post and Chicago Tribune, received the National Education Reporting Award, and has served as an editor at the Neiman Journalism Lab at Harvard University. As a filmmaker, he has directed and produced documentary films including The Times Were Never So Bad: The Life of Andre Dubus and Library of the Early Mind.
Born and raised in Massachusetts, Delaney has also spent time in Georgia, Florida, and Colorado, and now lives in Rhode Island, where he teaches at Roger Williams University and edits the literary journal Mount Hope.
#authorpodcast #podcast #edwardjdelaney #speakingofwriterspodcast
Set in present-day, a disgraced former Secret Service office and a Jesuit professor join forces to delve into the mysteries surrounding the events of November 22, 1963. Fixated on deciphering the conspiracies behind the history-changing assassination, they are oblivious to the fact that the cabal is still active—and may face an end as bloody as the carnage in Dealey Plaza. Will they be able to uncover the truth in time? Or will they become two more footnotes in history? Chris Hauty was born in 1956 in San Antonio, Texas, and raised in Delaware, a geographic and cultural relocation made more tolerable by virtue of his relative youth and an obsession with Greek mythology. He graduated from Reed College, in Portland, Oregon, then moved to New York, where he supported his playwriting habit as a bike messenger and graphic artist. His plays produced Off-Off-Broadway included South of American Business and Shut Eye, Big Mouth. The sale of his first screenplay, Don Coyote, to 20th Century Fox prompted a move to Los Angeles. Employed for the last thirty years as a screenwriter, he has worked for every major movie studio, in nearly all genres, and in collaboration with Hollywood professionals ranging from Mel Gibson to Jessica Alba. #chrishauty #authorpodcast #speakingofwriterspodcast #podcast
At the height of America’s postwar boom, no region was more vital to the nation’s economic strength than the Great Lakes. It was the beating heart of the global economy—possessing all the power and prestige that Silicon Valley enjoys today. This industrial dominance depended on Great Lakes freighters getting iron ore from the shores of Lake Superior to the factories in Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland.Few endeavors have bound time so mercilessly to money as Great Lakes shipping did at its peak, and no vessel had been more perfectly designed to maximize both than the S. S. Edmund Fitzgerald. At 75 feet wide and 729 feet long, the Fitzgerald was at the time of her launch the largest ship on the lakes, and she repeatedly broke her own records for the largest loads, the fastest runs, and the biggest season hauls throughout her career. She was a champion heavyweight, sprinter, and workhorse, all in one.But on November 10, 1975, when the “storm of the century” threw 100 mile-per-hour winds and 50-foot waves on Lake Superior, the Mighty Fitz found itself at the worst possible place, at the worst possible time. When she sank, she took all 29 men onboard down with her, leaving the tragedy shrouded in mystery for a half century. In THE GALES OF NOVEMBER, award-winning journalist John U. Bacon presents the definitive account of the disaster, drawing on more than 100 interviews with the families, friends, and former crewmates of those lost. Bacon explores the vital role Great Lakes shipping played in America’s economic boom, the uncommon lives the sailors led, the sinking’s most likely causes, and the heartbreaking aftermath for those left behind—“the wives, the sons, and the daughters” as Gordon Lightfoot sang in his unforgettable ballad.Focused on those directly affected by the tragedy, THE GALES OF NOVEMBER is both an emotional tribute to the Fitzgerald’s captain and crew and a propulsive, page-turning narrative history of America’s most-mourned shipwreck.About the Author:John U. Bacon has authored fourteen books on sports, business, and history, the last seven of which are critically acclaimed national bestsellers, including five New York Times bestsellers. He lives in Ann Arbor and Northern Michigan with his wife and son.#edmundfitzgerald #authorpodcast #podcast #johnubacon
Drawing on vivid contemporary accounts, this is a fascinating exploration of how and why the Revolutionary War descended into a brutal existential struggle.This engrossing history of the Revolutionary War conclusively shows that those caught up in it believed they had nothing to lose by fighting without regard for the rules of so-called “civilized warfare.” The clarion call to arms “Liberty or Death” was far more than just rhetoric. At its grimmest level, it was a conflict in which military restraint was more the exception than the rule, a struggle in which combatants believed their very existence was in question. This led to an acceptance of violence against persons and property as preferable to a defeat equated with political, cultural, and even physical extinction. It was war with an expectation and acceptance of ferocity and brutality – anything to avoid defeat.A number of historians have previously concluded that United States' founding struggle reached a level of ferocity few Americans now associate with the movement for independence. However, these studies have described what happened, without looking in detail at why the conflict took such a violent a turn. Written by two esteemed Revolutionary War historians, War Without Mercy does exactly that. Based on years of research and enlivened by little known primary sources, this is an intriguing and fresh look at a period of history we thought we knew.Mark Edward Lender is Professor Emeritus of History at Kean University. He is author or co-author of more than a dozen books including, with James Kirby Martin, the acclaimed A Respectable Army: The Military Origins of the Republic, 1763–1789 (Wiley, 2015) – which for several years was required reading at West Point – and, with Garry Wheeler Stone, the award-winning Fatal Sunday: George Washington, the Monmouth Campaign, and the Politics of Battle (University of Oklahoma Press, 2016). He served on the design team for the Army’s special 250th Anniversary Exhibit at the National Museum of the U.S. Army. He lives in Richmond, Virginia.#americanrevolution #americanrevolutionarywar #1776 #authorpodcast #speakingofwriterspodcast
REAR WINDOW: The Making of a Hitchcock Masterpiece in the Golden Age of Hollywood examines this complex, fascinating film, its multiple layers and subsequent cinematic impact. Made at his creative peak, Hitchcock’s Rear Window influenced filmmaking in the years that followed, and its timeless themes now align with today’s digital culture. This deep dive will also strike a chord with cultural history buffs fascinated by the turbulent politics of Hollywood and America in the 1950s.Jennifer O’Callaghan has worked as a reporter for Metro News, Shaw TV, and CKUA radio in news, entertainment, and lifestyle beats. She has also appeared as a red-carpet reporter for the web entertainment site MyBroadway.com, and as host on Paradetown USA on NYC-TV. She has interviewed celebrities including Will Ferrell, Meryl Streep, Liza Minnelli, and Cameron Diaz, and appeared as a featured model on The Today Show and The View. She currently lives in Toronto.#speakingofwriterspodcast #alfredhitchcock #authorpodcast #podcast #jennifer O'Callaghan #books #bookpodcast
Tim McGrath, award-winning author of James Monroe: A Life, brings readers an epic, revelatory account of the Battle of Gettysburg in THREE ROADS TO GETTYSBURG. He shines a light on George Meade, Lincoln’s unexpected choice to lead the Union army and not often mentioned historical figure today, who defeated Robert E. Lee and changed the course of the Civil War and the path to reunification for our country.#gettysburgbattlefield #gettysburg #civilwar #speakingofwriterspodcast #authorpodcast
When Frank Leahy retired from Notre Dame after the 1953 season, he had the second-best record in the history of the game (107-13-99, .864). Seven decades later, he still does.Award-winning sportswriter Ivan Maisel brings the forgotten legend of Notre Dame head football coach Frank Leahy back to life, based on rare and complete access to Fighting Irish football historical archives and the Leahy family. Ivan Maisel has covered college football for more than four decades, most prominently at ESPN from 2002 to 2021, where he wrote for the network. com, appeared on television, ESPN Radio, and on podcasts. He also served as Editor-at-Large for ESPN College Football 150, a multi-platform history project that commemorated the sesquicentennial of the sport in 2019. Before joining ESPN, Maisel covered national college football for Sports Illustrated, Newsday, and The Dallas Morning News. Most recently, he served as Vice-President, Editorial, and part-owner of On3, the college sports website/app. Maisel left the site in June 2023 to focus on writing books, but retains his share of ownership. He has been honored nine times for Best Story by the Football Writers Association of America and twice by The Associated Press Sports Editors. He is a member of the Sports Hall of Fame in Mobile, his hometown, and in 2025 began a three-year term as a member of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. Maisel earned a bachelor’s degree in American Studies at Stanford University in 1981. #notredamefootball #notredame #ivanmaisel #collegefootball #podcast #authorpodcast
Rattlesnakes on the practice field, fist fights on the team plane, bounced checks, paternity suits, house bombings by the Ku Klux Klan, stadium fields covered in circus elephant dung, one-legged trainers, humiliating defeats, miraculous wins, All-Pro quarterbacks getting drunk at halftime, sex in a phone booth, and even a future Hall of Fame coach stealing a taxi cab. Sounds like the craziest football fiction movie that Hollywood could come up with. Well, it was all true. The 1952 Dallas Texans are nearly lost to history. This single season in the most football-mad region of the U.S., is a kaleidoscope of every larger-than-life Texas football folktale. David Fleming perfectly captures the zaniness of the zaniest team in NFL history with his new book, A BIG MESS IN TEXAS: The Miraculous, Disastrous 1952 Dallas Texans and the Craziest Untold Story in NFL History,#nfl #dallastexas #dallascowboys #davidfleming #authorpodcast #speakingofwriters #books #bookpodcast
In its duration, geographical reach, and ferocity, World War II was unprecedented, and the effects on those who fought it and their loved ones at home, immeasurable. The heroism of the men and women who won the war may be well documented, but we know too little about the pain and hardships veterans endured upon their return home. Drawing from veterans’ memoirs, oral histories, and government documents, acclaimed historian David Nasaw illuminates a hidden chapter of American history—one of trauma, resilience, and a country in transition in THE WOUNDED GENERATION: Coming Home After World War II. Nearly 16.4 million Americans served in the U.S. Armed Forces in World War II. This book “is an account of the aftereffects that lived on in the bodies, hearts, and minds of those who fought, those who awaited their return, and the nation that had won the war but had now to readjust to peace.”As Nasaw makes evident, the veterans who returned to America were not the same people as those who had left for war, and the nation to which they came back was not the one they left behind. Contrary to the prevailing narratives of triumph, here are the largely unacknowledged realities the veterans—and the nation—faced, radically reshaping our understanding of this era as a bridge to today, as we mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.Nasaw presents a complicated portrait of those who brought the war home with them, among whom were the period’s most influential political and cultural leaders, including John F. Kennedy, Robert Dole, and Henry Kissinger; J. D. Salinger and Kurt Vonnegut; Harry Belafonte and Jimmy Stewart. In The Wounded Generation, Nasaw illustrates the indelible stories of veterans and their loved ones as they confronted the aftershocks of World War II.David Nasaw is a historian, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, and bestselling author of The Last Million, named a best book of the year by NPR, Kirkus Reviews, and History Today; The Patriarch, a New York Times Five Best Non-Fiction Books of the Year; Andrew Carnegie, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and the winner of the American History Book Prize; and The Chief, winner of the Bancroft Prize. He was the Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. Professor of History at the CUNY Graduate Center and the president of the Society of American Historians. In 2023, he was honored by the New York Public Library as a “Library Lion.” Nasaw’s father served in the Army Medical Corps in Eritrea during World War II. He lives in New York City.#worldwar2 #authorpodcastPhoto Credit: Alex Irklievski
The epic of the American West is America’s great creation myth—and one whose telling is now as contested as oncewas the land. From a widely accepted tale of progress, redemption, and glorious conquest a new, darker story emerged: one of ghastly violence, racism, and environmental exploitation. In THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY: Triumph, Tragedy, and the Shaping of the American West (Dutton),acclaimed historian Paul Andrew Hutton gives readers a masterful narrative of both soaring triumph and terrible tragedy to reveal a new, surprising epic that defines America and its people.
Paul Andrew Hutton, the author of The Apache Wars and Phil Sheridan and His Army, is an American cultural historian, award-winning author, documentary writer, film consultant, and television personality. He is also Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus atthe University of New Mexico, a former executive director of the Western History Association, and former president of the Western Writers of America. He currently serves as interim curator of the Buffalo Bill Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, in Cody, Wyoming.
In Running Deep: Bravery, Survival, and the True Story of the Deadliest Submarine in World War II, Clavin profiles the USS Tang—the one submarine that outfought all other boats in the Silent Service. Its captain, Richard Hetherington O’Kane, long an overlooked war hero, also gets his due. This is the true story of death and survival in the high seas—and of the submarine and her brave captain who would become legends.Tom Clavin is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and has worked as a newspaper editor, magazine writer, TV and radio commentator, and a reporter for The New York Times. He has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, and National Newspaper Association. His books include the bestselling Frontier Lawmen trilogy—Wild Bill, Dodge City, and Tombstone—and Blood and Treasure, The Last Hill, and Throne of Grace with Bob Drury. He lives in Sag Harbor, NY. #authorpodcast #podcast #worldwar2 #submarine
Donald Rumsfeld was a major player in American history. In this riveting alternative history, he's put on trial for his role in the United States 2003 invasion of Iraq. The story charts Rumsfeld's rise to fame and power, the fight with President Donald Trump that leads to his prosecution, and his spellbinding trial at the International Criminal Court. Told through the eyes of a mysterious narrator whose identity—and pivotal role in Rumsfeld’s downfall—are eventually revealed, The Trial of Donald H. Rumsfeld is a tale of politics, betrayal, and the explosive mix of unbridled ambition and absolute power.William Cooper is an attorney, national columnist, and award-winning author. His writings have appeared in hundreds of publications around the world including the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Newsweek, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Sun-Times, HuffingtonPost, Toronto Star, and Jerusalem Post. Publishers Weekly calls his commentary about American politics “a compelling rallying cry for democratic institutions under threat in America.” He is the author of How America Works … And Why It Doesn’t, and A Quiet Life, a novel.#donaldrumsfeld #williamcooper #authorpodcast #podcast
Life often appears darkest just before the dawn of a new day.In Menagerie in the Dark, Chris Kauzlarich immerses us in a speculative journey that explores the darker aspects of the human condition before bringing us back to the surface with the light of a new day. Through fourteen stories, this menagerie of characters faces trials of sorrow, death, loneliness, regret, deception, murder, delight, wonderment, and bliss, revealing what will either strengthen them enough to survive or plunge them to their demise. A boy’s home burns down, forcing him to confront a terrifying new world. A man enters a door where he witnesses his wife’s death, leaving him devastated; yet, he cannot stop returning to the scene, convinced he can save her. A nurse’s patients continue to perish under her care, but she harbors a dark secret—an administered cocktail for nefarious purposes. These and other stories will stretch the limits of your emotions, from heartbreak to horror, leaving you yearning for more.
Chris is the author of the short story collection, Menagerie in the Dark, and the suspense horror novella, LAZARUS. He is also a member of The Authors Guild, AWP, and the Chicago Writers Association. In addition to writing and reading extensively, he enjoys hiking, playing video games, binge-watching a good show with his husband and daughter, and simply being a dad. He graduated from Purdue University and lives between Chicago, IL, and Naples, FL, or on the open road in their RV.#ChrisKauzlarich #shortstories #podcast #authorpodcast #authors #speakingofwriters #books
WILLING PREY is the perfect mix of spicy and sweet, making it the ultimate dark romance that’s easy to dive into for newcomers to the genre. Allie expertly balances intense, kinky chase scenes with clear, consistent consent and boundaries. The heroine knows exactly what she wants, and her love for primal play creates a sizzling, erotic dynamic. Allie Oleander writes spicy contemporary, dark, and monster romances with kink exploration and characters ages thirty-five and up. She loves anything with chase scenes, the marriage-in-trouble trope, and monsters (of both the spicy and un-spicy variety). When she's not writing, she's in the woods, trying to arrange a meet-cute with Bigfoot.#allieoleander #willingprey #authors #novels #romance #romancebooks #podcast #authorpodcast
Between May 21 and June 16, 1791, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison went on a trip together through Upstate New York and parts of New England on horseback. This "northern journey" came at a moment of tension for the new nation, one in whose founding these Virginians and political allies had played key roles. The Constitution was ratified, and President Washington was in his first term of office. Whether the country could overcome regional and political differences and remain unified, however, was still very much in question. Hence why some observers at the time wondered whether this excursion into Federalist New England by the two most prominent southern Democratic-Republicans, both future presidents, had an ulterior motive.In A Journey North: Jefferson, Madison, and the Forging of a Friendship, Louis Masur writes that Madison maintained that the journey was for "health, recreation, and curiosity." That he and Jefferson needed a break from their public responsibilities, so off they set. #thomasjefferson #jamesmadison