James D. Best

The story of the greatest rivalry in American History.   Buy at Amazon

  This post deals with two books on the “Lost Cause.” Thomas J. DiLorenzo presents the case for the Lost Cause in The Real Lincoln: A New ...

Modern Americans are hazy about our history. With the Fourth of July on the horizon, I thought a cowboy could bring clarity to the origins o...

I loved to ski, and my favorite mountain is Mammoth, California. When a friend owned a condo, I also skied the perfectly groomed slopes a...

I write historical fiction. I chose this genre because I enjoy the research and a historical novel can last forever. My first book was a no...

Many years ago, in what seems like a prior life, I wrote a nonfiction book on enterprise computing. At the time, I was a Chief Technology Of...

Harry Truman is an interesting character, and David McCullough presents an engaging picture of our 33 rd president. McCullough is thor...

Last post I wrote that Mark Twain, Owen Wister and Wells Drury portrayed Westerners as particularly fond of pranks and practical jokes. Her...

During the time of America's Wild West, there was also a wildness in the civilized East. It wasn't a range war; it was ruthless...

Mark Twain in Virginia City by Andy Thomas My favorite Western writer is Mark Twain. Owen Wister is second. These are probably not name...

Images is a great site for film and popular culture. They have a number of articles on Westerns, but I suggest you start with "The W...

This Youtube video is excerpts from a Sage Society reading of Tempest at Dawn . The Sage Society is a continuing education organization asso...

"Branding cattle" Six cowboys branding cattle in front of a house. 1891 Last week I posted "Preserving Western cult...

SAGE in Northridge, CA is doing a dramatic reading of Tempest at Dawn . The SAGE Society is a learning-in-retirement organizat...

In an article titled "Books: An Observation," The Cajun writes: "The only new title that knocked my socks off is ...

The following is excerpt from my essay on the 27th Amendment for Constituting America. "We often hear laments that our politicians n...

Martin, at What Would the Founders Think  reviews Principled Action, Lessons from the Origins of the American Republic. (Martin...

I've been asked why I chose to write a non-fiction book about the Founders’ principles. Steve Dancy fans seem especially irked that I ...

"There is no more important time in our present times to learn the how and why of the founding of our great republic. This highly ...

Today is the 261st anniversary of the birth of James Madison.  Madison was the Father of the Constitution, the Father of the Bill of Ri...