Historian Ron Chernow takes the time to dispel the many rumors, innuendos, and flat-out misinformation campaigns levied against President Grant

Sholem Aleichem was a famous Jewish author and playwright who wrote in Yiddish, Hebrew, and Russian. He is known for his play Fiddler on the Roof

Bookish quotes roundup from this week, including Mark Twain and several others.

Bernard Augustine DeVoto (11 January, 1897–13 November, 1955) was an award winning historian, teacher, essayist, editor and reviewer. He is known for his Pulitzer Prize winning series on the American West.

Captain Frederick Marryat (10 July, 1792 – 9 August, 1848) was a Royal Navy officer, and a novelist who pioneered historical naval fiction.

The author follows several people throughout the book, some famous, some well-known, and others are just trudging day to day trying to survive.

Harriet Beecher Stowe (14 June, 1811 – 1 July, 1896) is an American author, known for her novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin but she was an avid writer all of her life.

Bernard DeVoto was an American writer, historian, editor, and teacher. Mr. DeVoto is remembered as a champion of public land conversation and civil liberties.

We happened to be in Connecticut this weekend, so we thought a nice side trip would be to Mark Twain’s House in Hartford. We wanted to visit the house, but didn’t have a chance before now. While the neighborhood around the famous attraction is not the best, the house itself is magnificent. The house, built by money from his in-laws, designed by Livy Clemens and architect Edward Tuckerman Potter and decorated by Louis C. Tiffany & Co. The huge home has 25 rooms, 3 floors and over 11,000 square feet. Before the tour we visited the museum, currently it is about Twain’s daughters. Our kids got to play dress up, like the family and look at many interesting artifacts (dresses, books, etc.) and learn about the family in general. The kids were impressed with the Mark Twain Lego statue, and Daddy was impressed with a cool statue featuring characters from Twain’s books (Twain and his characters model). Click on image to view large image Click to view legend Click to view key We opted for the Living History Tour with the maid Lizzie Wills, which was a great choice. The costumed member was both entertaining and knowledgeable, answering questions and making history come alive…

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, who is more famous under his nom de plume – Mark Twain – was born today in 30 November, 1835 in Florida, Missouri. Twain was an interesting man, a talented writer / author, a keen observer of life and a possessed a biting sense of humor.