President's Day Lecture at Paragraphs

Daniel Ruddy
Lecture and Discussion of
Theodore Roosevelt's History of the United States

Paragraphs On Padre Boulevard
February 21 at 7pm

If you could talk with any living or dead person about American history, who would it be?

For historian Daniel Ruddy the answer to that question is Theodore Roosevelt. As he states in the introduction to his book "Theodore Roosevelt's History of the United States", published by Harper Collins,

Knowing I could not resurrect the dead, I decided to do the next best thing and create Roosevelt's part of the conversation. The result is this book, which is based exclusively on Roosevelt's own words. I have not added a single word of my own to the main text, reserving my comments for the Explanatory Notes.

Beginning with Herodotus and Thucydides men have chosen to write about history with the hope that studying the great deeds of the past and the characteristics of the great men who performed them will be of service to the present.

Roosevelt claimed to be a historian and he did publish numerous books on history. His one wish was to write a history of the United States. While he never had the time to actually accomplish this goal, this volume, compiled by Mr. Ruddy, is just that, Theodore Roosevelt's History of the United States.

Ruddy, invites us in his Introduction to

..transport yourself back in time to a pleasant summer evening in the year 1918, to Roosevelt's home, Sagamore Hill, high on a hill in Oyster Bay, New York. Pull up a rocking chair and join TR on the veranda, with its fine view of Long Island Sound. after you settle in you can engage him in the topic that interests you most -- American history. It is a good topic to bring up because it interests him, too; in fact, it is one of his passions.

So I am pleased to welcome Daniel Ruddy to Paragraphs on Monday, February 21, in recognition of President's Day, for an informative evening celebrating the fine mind and astute observations of the 26th President of the United States.

Daniel has appeared on BookTV and been featured on Fox and friends. It is truly a pleasure and wonderful opportunity to welcome him to South Padre Island and Paragraphs.

Daniel Ruddy grew up on Long Island, New York, where a childhood trip to Roosevelt's home, Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay triggered a lifelong interest in TR. He is a marketing consultant for Fortune 500 companies, and he holds a master's degree in international relations from the London School of Economics He is an avid researcher into U.S. history and the presidency.

Common-place: A Site for History Buffs

I have thoroughly enjoyed hearing from a few of you patient souls who take the time to read my blog and then to comment. My subject matter has certainly wandered far astray, at times, from the original intent. But, that is how my mind works and if a blog is to be representative of its creator than the peripatetic nature of this site meets that criteria.

From comments and feedback received, I sense there is an interest in history and particularly American History among my readers and I would like to recommend this online journal to anyone fascinated with life in America prior to the 1900s. I especially like it because it combines the study of history with a discussion of worthy ideas and does so while emphasizing the use of language.

Common-place is a common place for exploring and exchanging ideas about early American history and culture. A bit friendlier than a scholarly journal, a bit more scholarly than a popular magazine, Common-place speaks--and listens--to scholars, museum curators, teachers, hobbyists, and just about anyone interested in American history before 1900. Common-place is a common place for all sorts of people to read about all sorts of things relating to early American life--from architecture to literature, from politics to parlor manners.

Common-place also aims to be a place for elegant prose and worthy ideas. Not perhaps, as elegant and worthy as the snippets of prose early Americans liked to jot down in their own commonplace books but more elegant, we hope, than much purely scholarly writing, particularly the kind that comes chock full of jargon. And, unlike much popular writing about history, which tends to focus on great men and great events, Common-place embraces the commonplace, or ordinary, in American life.

Our features, reviews, and columns track the lives of ordinary men and women, embracing new scholarship, teaching, and exhibits that explore all aspects of America's past and its many peoples.

With the exception of a few daguerrotypes (invented in 1839) Common-place won't dazzle you with snazzy graphics. But it will take you on a tour of what's best in early American scholarship, teaching, and curatorship--and it will take advantage of the web's most important feature: bringing people together to discuss ideas.

Common-place readers can join in the discussion of any of our features, reviews, and columns by visiting the Republic of Letters, an on-line messageboard.

The Common-Place Coffeeshop offers readers a place to discuss the contents of the articles and although it hasn't had much activity I think we could help generate some interesting and worthy discussion.

This online journal is sponsored by the American Antiquarian Society in association with the Florida State University Department of History. It is published quarterly, in October, January, April, and July. Previous issues can be viewed at the website.

Happy reading !!