iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 9h

We need more essays ad reviews of nonfiction, and the early returns are great. I loved this review from @lollardfish.bsky.social, especially the final paragraphs: www.draftingthepast.com/waking-up-fr...

draftingthepast.com

Book Review: Waking Up From a Carolingian Dream

A new history of Charlemagne’s empire dethrones the usual narrative of its rise and fall

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 9h

Drafting the Past, a terrific podcast that talks to historians as writers, is expanding into a website that reviews nonfiction. You can follow them at @draftingthepast.bsky.social or check out the site: www.draftingthepast.com

draftingthepast.com

Drafting the Past

Reviews, craft essays, news and more for readers and writers of history.

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Reposted by Craig Fehrman

Megan Kate Nelson 📚 @mkn.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

It's the day before the official launch of the expanded @draftingthepast.bsky.social! What's a founding editor to wear?

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I wrote about getting to see some rare Lewis and Clark items at Yale. Included lots of pictures, too! craigfehrman.substack.com/p/a-secret-p...

craigfehrman.substack.com

A secret peek at the Beinecke’s Lewis and Clark holdings

Hi there!

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Thank you for checking out my book! I also read Country People this summer and loved it. I see we are fellow Hoosiers. You might try @isaacfitzgerald.bsky.social's new book on Johnny Appleseed -- lots of cool Indiana history in there.

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

thanks for sharing the essay! TREES! is so good.

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I've been thinking about this comment from the new Substack piece on nonfiction's collapse. This is a real problem, if also a chicken-and-egg problem, and I wish I had better ideas on what we could do to help younger authors get started -- presumably the best way to help younger readers, too.

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

I loved this essay and can second Joel's point about the insights (and fine recommendations) of a number of the booksellers quoted herein -- at Rainy Day, Left Bank, Downbound, Third Place, and Porter Square. Five amazing and very different places. Drop by a bookstore! You'll be glad you did.

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Thanks for reading (even the endnotes!). I'm glad you liked it.

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

It is such a wonderful and melancholy review!

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

no problem -- it's one of the great essays of the last couple decades. if you read it, email me what you think!

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Great point! I'm sure you've already read it, but her famous "On Pandering" essay has some Columbus cameos. I hope you like her new book.

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

This is my novel of the year so far, and this review really captures why. Only thing I'd add is I found the end of the book, especially a chapter with a Melville cameo, incredibly moving.

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

So glad you're enjoying it! I think the second half is better than the first, mostly because Sacajawea shows up. :) Hope you continue to enjoy!

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Eli Deep in the Abyss of Doom @elideep.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

I’m halfway through, and it’s already one of my fav books of the year. If you’ve ever been interested in Lewis and Clark and the Corp of Discovery, particularly in the perspectives that are often ignored, check out This Vast Enterprise.

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

We packed my new book with more than a hundred maps and color images, including this painting of what many Newfies looked like in the early 19th century:

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

Thanks for checking it out! And thanks for noticing the quality of the book as a book. We worked really hard on that, along with the maps and the illustrations. This is a book built to last.

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Reposted by Craig Fehrman

Colleen Mondor @chasingray.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

This Vast Enterprise by @craigfehrman.bsky.social really is that good. I know it's a big book (500+ pages) but easy to read in chapter-sized chunks & so worth it. I learned a ton from this about the Lewis & Clark expedition & about how to research. www.simonandschuster.com/books/This-V...

simonandschuster.com

This Vast Enterprise

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A major revisionist history of the Lewis and Clark expedition: For the first time in a generation, This Vast Enterprise...

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

I love Kate's podcast, and it was so cool to go deep on how I wrote (and researched) my Lewis and Clark book.

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Thanks for reading! Got some great edits from @barryp.bsky.social

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

My book is debuting at #6 on the NYT nonfiction best seller list. I am stunned and so grateful that readers are embracing not just Lewis + Clark but York, Ordway, Black Buffalo, and more. This goes especially for @defector.com readers -- the response to my dog attack essay has been incredible.

NYT best seller list with This Vast Enterprise at #6

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

thanks for the shout out -- some great company to be in!

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

My Lewis and Clark book came out this week! If you're still on the fence, the best overview is the NYT review written by (!) Andrea Wulf: www.nytimes.com/2026/04/19/b...

nytimes.com

Who Really Wore the Pants on the Lewis and Clark Expedition?

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Thank you for suggesting this! I avoided it while writing because I didn't want my brain to misfire and remember a detail from the book. But I really wanted to read it, and you've given me a nudge to do so now.

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Thank you! It was tough but I am doing much better now. Mostly just glad my kids weren't on the walk that night!

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Thank you so much! Our shared state has great libraries. Let me know if you like the book!

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

Thank you so much! Let me know what you think.

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

thanks for reading -- got some great edits from @barryp.bsky.social as well!

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

No problem. I'll keep an eye out for what others suggest as well. I wish we had more books like this!

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Failed State of Enlightenment @fsoenlightenment.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Fantastic read. Makes me think about every history book I've ever read. If you aren't already subscribed, I believe Defector is running a sale and the $1 for a month is worth a go to give it a try. You can read this story and a lot of others.

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Thank you for sharing my story! This is a great question. Some academics study emotion and felt experience directly. (I just read Nicole Eustace's Passion is the Gale, which was great.) Among pop historians, I have always thought Stacey Schiff and Hampton Sides do this really well.

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Thank you. I am doing much better now!

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Thank you so much! Ambrose's book is great, but I found a lot of new stuff -- give it a try and let me know what you think!

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Craig Fehrman @craigfehrman.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

A few years ago, I was attacked by a dog. It changed a lot about me, including the book I was writing. I tried to describe it all here:

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