Damn History
Damn History is my free monthly brief covering what’s new, intriguing, and useful for readers and writers of popular history. By popular history, I mean history written to attract general readers, although popular history can be a worthwhile genre for professional historians.
I began compiling and sending out Damn History because I couldn’t find a newsletter that met my own interest in popular history – one that combined links to compelling reads with resources for nonfiction writers.
Damn History is also a valuable resource for film, TV, streaming media, and podcast producers looking for material to option and develop.
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Recent Articles
The Sisterly Bonds Forged by Nudism
Three sisters drifted apart after a tough childhood. A nudist club brought them back together.
The ’70s Swingers Club and the Secret Archive It Left Behind
The most unorthodox aspect of this swingers club wasn’t the partner-swapping. It was the notes that two members kept.
Homeland Insecurity
Mystery surrounds the life of alumnus Homer Smith, who spent decades on an international odyssey to find a freedom in a place he could call home.
The Shaming of the Cherry Sisters
“Vaudeville’s worst act” fought for fame and respect on the stage.
How Railway Surgeons Advanced Medicine
A 19th-century medical specialty added to our knowledge, saved lives, and vanished form the face of the Earth
Amphibious Assault
In 1952, a plague of frogs struck a small Wisconsin town. Then the tide turned against Lithobates pipiens.
The Bomb in the Bag
How America’s first suicide attack changed one man’s fortune forever
The New Urban Hermit
What does it mean to seek the contemplative life in a modern and increasingly connected world?
Reel Life
In the depths of the Great Depression, Louise Thompson led a group of aspiring African American actors to the USSR
The Killer Who Haunts Me
Was a notorious Victorian Era killer the first known serial killer in the US?
An Elemental Quest for the Building Blocks of the Universe
Element collectors love the thrill of the chase but tread carefully when necessary
Outlaws’ Resurrection
How two notorious outlaws, the Younger Brothers, became celebrated ex-cons
Booze, Blood, and the Star Spangled Banner
to replace the National Anthem with a winner
