Erstwhile Contributing Editor Travis R May looks at how the Alt-History of The Man in the High Castle and Wolfenstein: The New Colossus has responded to the rise of the Alt-Right in America. This post does contain spoilers for The Man in the High Castle Season 3 and Wolfenstein: The New Colossus See also our earlier coverage of The Man…
Contributing Editor Travis R May delves into the history behind Operation Finale, a recent film depicting the capture of notorious Nazi war criminal Adolph Eichmann in Argentina in 1960. This post does contain spoilers for the film. The historical record and the 2018 film Operation Finale agree on the basic facts: on the night of May…
As part of our coverage of Native American Heritage Month, Erstwhile guest author Kerri Clement takes us inside the 2017 Indigenous Comic Con, held November 10-12 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This annual event brings together self-proclaimed “Indigenerds” from around the country to celebrate nerd life and their Indigenous heritage. Attendees show off elaborate costume constructions…
Erstwhile editor Graeme Pente reviews the historical content and engagement of Drive-By Truckers’ well-regarded eleventh album, released in 2016. “Even in times of vast upheaval, things just don’t change enough.” — Patterson Hood, American Band liner notes The Drive-By Truckers’ eleventh studio album American Band (2016) topped numerous best-of lists last year for its fine compositions…
Erstwhile‘s editorial board offers recommendations for good fiction the members have recently read or hope to get to this summer. Last year, Rebecca Kennedy wrote a good reminder about the value of reading fiction. The post proved a good segue into summer, so we have decided to offer some fiction suggestions again. Here are some…
Erstwhile editor Julia Frankenbach has been recognized for the outstanding quality of her writing in the Center of the American West’s Thompson Writing Awards contest. Two of her Erstwhile blog posts “I Remember You: Wildness, Gratitude, and Western History on Horseback” and “The True Tale of Periquillo: Early Borderlands Literature, American Memory, and the Space Between” were honored this year. Erstwhile…
Graeme Pente reviews Reinhard Kleist’s graphic novel surveying the life of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro in Erstwhile‘s Graphic Histories series. “No one fears that we should transform ourselves into dictators. Only he who does not have the support of the people becomes a dictator.” — Fidel Castro, January 1959 Few figures of the twentieth century…
This week, Erstwhile editor Beau Driver interviews historian, blogger, and educator Kevin Gannon. Gannon is Professor of History and Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa. He teaches and writes on race and politics in US and Latin American history and is a consultant…
This week, Erstwhile editor Sam Bock chimes in with a light-hearted summary of the history of beer in Denver. No matter which side of the political divide you may be on, odds are good that the phrase “I need a beer” has passed your lips at some point in the last five weeks. But for…
Erstwhile editor Beau Driver returns to the Graphic Histories series with his review of Wobblies: A Graphic History of the Industrial Workers of the World (2005), edited by Paul Buhle and Nicole Schulman. Author’s note: In the wake of the recent shooting of an IWW member and apparent anti-fascist demonstrator at the University of Washington…
Erstwhile: A History Blog 