This Day in History: Jena-Auerstädt

The Napoleonic wars have a magnetic pull, and I often find myself studying them when I should be doing other things, like taking a shower, or cutting down trees. The magnetism is due in part to the grand scale of the battles, the magnificent uniforms, and the fact that the wars were part of the…

Death, censorship, and reality

This morning I was sent a link to this article in The Atlantic, which describes a photo taken by war photographer Kenneth Jarecke at the end of Operation Desert Storm. The photo was not chosen for publication in the U.S., based on its graphic nature. This prompted me to examine more closely how Americans view…