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FEATURED WORK
THE NEW YORK TIMES
George Washington Would Hate President's Day
"I have a confession to make: I’m a presidential historian who dislikes Presidents’ Day."
THE NEW YORKER
What the Least Fun Founding Father Can Teach Us Now
"James Madison, who wrote the first drafts of the U.S. Constitution, sponsored the Bill of Rights, and served as the fifth Secretary of State and the fourth President, was America’s least fun Founding Father."
Some lessons for Joe Biden from the ’70s presidents who lived it.
Sure, the American Revolution was hard on England. But this declaration of independence has Instagram.
If the Anti-Flirt activists of the early 20th century had gotten their way, cheeky advances and drive-by flirting would today be things of the past.
PACIFIC STANDARD
Dispatches of the Russian River: Homer of the Redwoods
After a car rolls off the road and into the river near Alexis Coe's cabin, the neighbors mobilize to save the driver and clean up the mess. The scene is reminiscent of another tragedy in the redwoods, which dates all the way back to 1947. Turns out that when a tree falls in the forest, it makes a long-lasting community.
Included in The Best American Travel Essays
THE NEW REPUBLIC
Striking Out
Rolling through the West in search of the American dream.
Included in The Best American Essays
THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE
Letter of Recommendation: Presidential Biographies
"As an American historian, I’ve long relied on presidential biographies for edification and pleasure."
TOWN & COUNTRY
Who Will Be Our First Woman President?
What will it take for a woman to obtain the highest office in the land? While pundits debate Nikki Haley's chances, historian Alexis Coe looks back at a speech former President Gerald Ford gave to a group of children and wonders if he—and whole bunch of film and TV writers—was right all along.
"Presidential history is lousy with ne’er-do-well sons."
THE NEW YORK TIMES
William Howard Taft Is Still Stuck in the Tub
"But there’s a much bigger problem with the bathtub story: It’s not true — and yet we seem to be totally fine, if not downright overjoyed, repeating it."
NEW YORK MAGAZINE
I Think About This a Lot: This Photo of an Immigrant Family Arriving at Ellis Island
“'Are they Jewish?' my grandfather asked. It was his favorite question, and one of his most frequent, even when 'they' were complete strangers who had been dead for half a century or more — as was the case with the photograph of an immigrant family of ten, with one daughter and seven sons."
THE WASHINGTON POST
Review: How Lincoln Became Lincoln, One Tough Conversation at a Time
In Differ We Must, Steve Inskeep traces the evolution of the Great Emancipator by showing how he learned from others
Every group of literary ladies needs a leader...
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