Praeger has sent me the cover art for my next book, due out in December. Right now, I am in the midst of writing it, producing what I hope will be the natural companion to The Rise of the Blogosphere: American Backgrounds, which appeared last month (and can be ordered here).Chapter One will be an … Continue reading Blogging America: The New Public Sphere
Category: aaron barlow
The Rise of the Blogosphere
My latest book, The Rise of the Blogosphere: American Backgrounds is now available. A couple of years ago, on re-reading parts of Alexis de Toqueville’s Democracy in America, I was shocked by the similarity between his depiction of the press in America around 1830 and contemporary descriptions of the blogs. A little exploration showed me … Continue reading The Rise of the Blogosphere
Memories of Appalachia
In reaction to the recent renewal of disparaging remarks about Appalachian culture (some nearly calling the “Scots-Irish” the basis for all that’s wrong with this country) by way too many people (including the novelist Jane Smiley), I want to begin to share here my boyhood memories of life in the mountains of North Carolina. Though … Continue reading Memories of Appalachia
Self Censoring or Common Decency?
A bit more than thirty years ago, I spent a little time as a reporter for a small daily in Rhode Island. Most of what I did involved school committees and village councils in outlying communities, but sometimes I was allowed feature assignments. For me, the plum of these left me wandering around a county … Continue reading Self Censoring or Common Decency?
Troop Buildup: An Analogy and a Rant
Among my other activities, I am a business owner. I've a store/gallery in Brooklyn, New York. It doesn't make much money (not since the blows of the dot-com bust and then 9/11), but we get by.Almost eight years ago, before things began to go sour for small retail (and believe me, they are sour, no … Continue reading Troop Buildup: An Analogy and a Rant
"The Art of the Slur"
My article “The Art of the Slur: From Joe McCarthy to David Horowitz” has come out in the Fall 2006 edition of The Public Eye. It is also available online.In a callous attempt to pique interest, I’ve quoted a few passages below:In his latest book, Dangerous Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America, and … Continue reading "The Art of the Slur"