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David J. Snyder

@fractalpast9.bsky.social

1.1K followers 991 following 1.8K posts

Historian, writer, editor. Author of "American Power in the Netherlands" (Bloomsbury, 2026). I blog about history and writing at fractalpast.com. Working on a biography of Pittsburgh's Daisy Lampkin. For editing inquiries: www.fractalpast.com.

Posts Replies Media

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 16/10/2026

marvelous

Reposted by David J. Snyder

Nils Gilman @nilsgilman.bsky.social · 16/10/2026

Elon Musk‘s companies have directly milked $21 billion from the US government (between carbon credits and direct contracts, so far) — about $160 from each federal income tax-paying household in America. That’s how he’s made his fortune: off of our tax dollars.

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

With all the talk about what's wrong with publishing these days (and there is a lot wrong with publishing these days), it is encouraging to know that there are still some independents doing it the right way: www.fractalpast.com/blog/from-th...

fractalpast.com

From the Editor's Desk: Meet the Books of Savas Beatie

I wouldn’t typically highlight the books of one publisher with whom I work, but over time it’s become clear to me that the books published by Savas Beatie really stand out. Publishing is a very...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Daisy Lampkin's direct political career preceded her historic work with the NAACP, but it placed her at the juncture of the most significant political realignment in 20th century US political history: www.fractalpast.com/blog/daisy-l... and www.fractalpast.com/blog/the-myt...

fractalpast.com

Farewell to the Party of Lincoln: Daisy Lampkin and US Political Realignment, Part I

Among my goals for this blog is not merely to introduce the world to the tragically underappreciated Daisy Lampkin, but also to demystify for lay readers and novice historians what historical...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Wherein I explain how my peeves are not my pets: www.fractalpast.com/blog/from-th...

fractalpast.com

From the Editor’s Desk: Avoid Idiomatic Writing

Most writers are aware to avoid cliches, which in nonfiction writing often appear in the form of metaphor: blind eyes, cold shoulders, hearts of stone, and the like. We know not to make all of life...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Do you know Daisy Lampkin? The synopsis for my WIP biography of her: Suffragist, community leader, business executive, power broker, intrepid national organizer, and cultural doyenne, Daisy E. Lampkin may be the civil rights figure of greatest influence about whom we know the least.

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

The Nobel prizes have reminded me that it's never a bad time to celebrate an award. Here's a list of some of the book awardees on which I have worked recently: www.fractalpast.com/blog/from-th...

fractalpast.com

From the Editor’s Desk: Award Winners

The awards keep coming for Calvin Stovall. Last year Calvin’s Hidden Hospitality: Untold Stories of Black Hotel, Motel, and Resort Owners from the Pioneer Days to the Civil Rights Era (Brown...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

A meditation on the sources of American global power, and the influence we are willingly and precipitously surrendering these days: www.fractalpast.com/blog/the-end...

fractalpast.com

The End of American Global Preeminence?

The dismantling by the Trump administration of venerable foreign policy agencies such as the USAID, and the hobbling of venerable multilateral institution such as NATO, the World Health Organization,....

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Mom passed away 49 years ago today. I am not quite, but rapidly approaching, twice the years she was able to see. I wrote a little reflection earlier this year: www.fractalpast.com/blog/a-mothe...

fractalpast.com

A Mother's Day Reflection

It's a strange world we live in, where things often don't seem real unless they've been represented or replicated in the virtual world. Mom died well before the internet became a fact of our lives....

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

The Nobel Peace Prize will shortly be announced. The prize has a long, fascinating, and often controversial history: www.fractalpast.com/blog/the-nob...

fractalpast.com

The Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize has long fascinated, perplexed, even bewildered observers. Nobody has ever been as obsessed with the prize as President Trump, however. Trump’s weird fixation has forced...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Yesterday I offered some thoughts about why it's best to avoid passive sentences in your writing. Today is the follow-up: if your sentences ain't poppin', it's almost certainly because of your verb choice: www.fractalpast.com/blog/from-th...

fractalpast.com

From the Editors Desk: On the Singular Importance of Verbs

In previous posts I encouraged readers to avoid adverbs when possible , and to construct active rather than passive sentences . Today I’ll show you how and why to follow that advice. A great, or...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Today is the birthday of #vaclavhavel. About a decade ago I had my own kind of Prague summer, inspired by Havel and several generations of Czech democracy activists: www.fractalpast.com/blog/neodvol...

fractalpast.com

Neodvolám: Our Summer of Czech Dissent

Prague is a beautiful city under any circumstances, but sometimes the universe determines to speak with even greater magic, and purpose. Ten years ago this month I accompanied my ex-wife an on...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Is your writing overburdened with passive sentences? Do you know what a passive sentence is? Do you know why you should avoid them? www.fractalpast.com/blog/from-th...

fractalpast.com

From the Editor’s Desk: Why to Avoid Passive Sentences

One of the very first pieces of formal writing advice I ever received in college was to avoid use of the infinitive verb “to be” in all its conjugations: is, am, are, were, was, etc. I didn’t...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I posted a little story about how my book came to be, or how a nice boy from Pittsburgh ended up speaking Dutch: www.fractalpast.com/blog/why-my-...

fractalpast.com

Why My Book Exists: Christmastime in a Cemetery

When I entered my PhD program, I was primarily interested in the history of the far left in American political life, notably the history of the Communist Party of the USA (CPUSA), including the...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced shortly. I hope someone has started to secure all the ketchup bottles in the White House.

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Already I would write some of this different today, as a result of ongoing research, but I still invite interested readers to learn more about this utterly fascinating and driven woman: www.fractalpast.com/blog/introdu... and www.fractalpast.com/blog/introdu...

fractalpast.com

Introduction to Daisy Lampkin, Part I

Despite the fact that at least one historian has described organizer, activist, and community builder Daisy Lampkin as “legendary,” not much is known about her. No full-scale biography has been...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

What's the quickest fix for weak or meandering analytical writing? I got you: www.fractalpast.com/blog/from-th...

fractalpast.com

From the Editor’s Desk: There are No Quick Fixes, But . . .

How to be a more effective writer? Well, there are emotional and psychological cadences that are important for effective writing: confidence, perseverance, perhaps courage. One must be able to tread.....

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Second time in my lifetime the Padres have broke my heart. I'm starting to take it kind of personal like.

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Writers write for any number of ends or to achieve any number of goals. But most of them are outside of our control. If you're a writer, make sure you're focused on what you can control: www.fractalpast.com/blog/from-th...

fractalpast.com

From the Editor’s Desk: What is the Problem?

I’ve come to believe that many authors, especially the less experienced and novices among us, are focused on the wrong problem. They’re trying to achieve something, but what they want to achieve...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

"If we speak out, we are bound to offend somebody. If we do not speak out, we offend everybody." -- W. E. B. DuBois, April 23, 1932

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I put into every editing project for which I am hired the same care and consideration that I put into my own book projects. Here's a brief introduction to my four little babies: www.fractalpast.com/blog/my-four... (Fifth book, my biography of the great Daisy Lampkin, is loading!)

fractalpast.com

My Four Sons--er, Books

My fourth book , and the first book I have written myself, came out last month. I’m very proud of it. Its close examination of American power within the postwar Netherlands is something no...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

If you're not writing history, the use of epigraphs may not be of utmost concern. But a situation came up on an editing project not long ago that I thought offered an opportunity to reflect on how and why to offer quotations in a history book more broadly: www.fractalpast.com/blog/from-th...

fractalpast.com

From the Editor’s Desk: Recycling Epigraphs?

An interesting style question materialized the other day that, on its face, seems to carry only a little significance. It was an idiosyncratic matter that may apply to only select manuscripts, but...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Just in case anyone needs a break from the relentless politics, here's a piece I did on someone who may be America's most valuable public historian: www.fractalpast.com/blog/jay-len...

fractalpast.com

Jay Leno: An Appreciation

Whatever you think of Jay Leno’s comedy—and to my mind the commercial dictates of late-night mass culture made him less interesting as he got more popular—one thing is certain: he has now...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I've sidelined my work on American empire for the time being in favor of Daisy Lampkin. But every now and then I dip back into one of my favorite subjects, the myth of the frontier, especially as depicted by Hollywood: www.fractalpast.com/blog/the-okl...

fractalpast.com

The Oklahoma Kid

My work on Daisy Lampkin has preempted a previous project, a cultural history of American empire. But I stir the pot on that project occasionally. Here is a fun little rumination on US culture,...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

If you're a young writer or just starting out, you've probably been advised to avoid passive sentences. There are times and places for the passive, but most of the time we want to be active. Here's why: www.fractalpast.com/blog/from-th...

fractalpast.com

From the Editor’s Desk: Why to Avoid Passive Sentences

One of the very first pieces of formal writing advice I ever received in college was to avoid use of the infinitive verb “to be” in all its conjugations: is, am, are, were, was, etc. I didn’t...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

No slight to Pope Leo, who I appreciate as an extraordinary leader and spiritual model. But I wonder how much of the emotion we seeing today in Paris represents a pent-up yearning for an American leadership that many people around the world found inspiring in the last century.

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

As the great @slangsonsports.bsky.social would say, "Baseball is the best!"

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Some years ago I gave a lecture at the Norwegian Nobel Institute where I introduced the themes of my book: How European allies expropriated US power to domestic ends in a relationship I call "clientelism": www.youtube.com/watch?v=Clvd... (Same lectern behind which MLK once lectured!)

David Snyder, A European Encounter with the American Century

YouTube video by The Nobel Peace Prize

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Currently US diplomacy is comprised of little more than bullying, posturing, and caprice. But we once practiced a nuanced diplomacy that sought to persuade rather than coerce. Hence the Cold War's characteristic "public diplomacy," as I detail in my book: www.fractalpast.com/blog/book-ex...

fractalpast.com

Book Excerpt: US Propaganda in the Netherlands

I take an expansive view of what scholars call “public diplomacy”: the information and cultural outreaches that governments make to the people of other nations. Most scholars understand that...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

David Brooks, on the coming midterms: "I think we're looking at a wave." Brooks is closer to God than I am, so this gives me some comfort.

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Spent the day revising my website. If you need an editor, want to follow my Daisy Lampkin project, or curious about some compelling micro-histories on the blog, check it out: www.fractalpast.com Suggestions welcome!

fractalpast.com

David J. Snyder, PhD | Professional Editing: Meticulous, Expert, Timely

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I barely graduated high school (the subject of a later post), so it's a bit paradoxical that I ended up in a literary career as an editor and author. It took me a long time to reflect on the fact that I have been embedded in literary culture my whole life: www.fractalpast.com/blog/books-a...

fractalpast.com

Books: A Family Affair

I feel myself growing more and more passionate about books, about publishing books, about writing books myself, and about helping others craft powerful and moving narratives. No doubt it’s a...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I don't do this too often, but let me take a moment to introduce you to the books of Savas Beatie, one of the best values in publishing these days: www.fractalpast.com/blog/from-th... (Seriously, haven't you had enough romantasy? Put a little non-fiction in your life!)

fractalpast.com

From the Editor's Desk: Meet the Books of Savas Beatie

I wouldn’t typically highlight the books of one publisher with whom I work, but over time it’s become clear to me that the books published by Savas Beatie really stand out. Publishing is a very...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

A little photo album of the people in Daisy Lampkin's life, representing the extensive local and national networks through which she built her organizational and political power: www.fractalpast.com/blog/the-peo...

fractalpast.com

The People in Daisy's Life: A Photo Album

I've been running a series over on Bluesky , a photo album of the people in Daisy Lampkin's life. The breadth of her social connections, her activist allies, and her political networks is...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I never thought I would ever come out in favor of what used to be called a "vanity press" and is now called "hybrid publishing," but for a lot of writers, it's an absolutely viable strategy: www.fractalpast.com/blog/from-th...

fractalpast.com

From the Editor’s Desk: In Praise of . . . Hybrid Publishing?

A few weeks ago I wrote a post on the three types of publishing : traditional trade presses (both the big five as well as small independent presses), hybrid publishing, and self-publishing. I want to....

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Seems to be a lot of this sacrificing one's child on the altar of one's politics going around these days.

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

What does "FractalPast" mean? I am drawn to the concept of the fractal as a metaphor for how I think about narrative, how narratives can be constructed, and the power they have. My concern for narrative flows through both my editing work and my own writing: www.fractalpast.com/blog/why-fra...

fractalpast.com

Why “FractalPast”?

I get asked from time to time why I call my business and my website “FractalPast”? A fractal is a mathematical concept, a geometry that comprises “ a never-ending pattern.” According to the...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

To some writers, an editing pass can feel deeply personal: a judgment or a verdict on a writer's worth, talent, and value. I understand that. But it isn't, and shouldn't be seen that way: www.fractalpast.com/blog/its-an-...

fractalpast.com

It's an Edit, Not an Audit

I imagine for some people being edited feels like a kind of assault, one’s deepest failings and frailties laid bare for the judgment of others. I know that I have edited authors who are awaiting my...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Daisy Lampkin was riding high after her marked contributions to Herbert Hoover’s winning campaign for the presidency in 1928. She had successfully leveraged her chairmanship of the executive board of the National Association of Colored Women to

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I edit a lot of #CivilWar books and they're all quite good. This one has the chance to force a rethink about a lot of what we think we know about that awful war: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNMk... www.savasbeatie.com/the-indispen...

Indispensable Man George Rains, the Confederate Powder Works, and the Civil War You Never Knew Savas

YouTube video by Savas Beatie

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

If you are an aspiring author, you may not know what an editor does for you or your book, or if you need one (Hint: Yes, you do. If you do not hire one, an editor will be assigned to you . . .) Here's a little primer to help get you started: www.fractalpast.com/blog/from-th...

fractalpast.com

From the Editor’s Desk: Know Your Edits and What They Do

Several weeks ago I surveyed the multitude of steps it takes to publish your book. Most of those steps occur once you submit your manuscript and may be opaque to first-time writers. Let’s talk a...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Daisy Lampkin’s legacy runs deep throughout Pittsburgh’s civil rights history. One long-term Pittsburgh-ally of Daisy Lampkin was Homer S. Brown (shown here with his wife, Wilhelmina and son, Byrd). Brown was the founder and first president of

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

When the Trump administration shuttered USAID last year it ended a policy tradition that began with the Marshall Plan. Here is a primer for those unfamiliar with the initiative most specialists regard as the greatest US foreign policy in history: www.fractalpast.com/blog/book-ex...

fractalpast.com

Book Excerpt(ish): The Marshall Plan

It pains me to observe the dismantling of a US-led global order that took decades to build. Institutions such as USAID have been razed, often in mere days. NATO is evaporating before our very eyes....

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Why is my editing business called "FractalPast," you may wonder? Here is why I call it that: www.fractalpast.com/blog/why-fra...

fractalpast.com

Why “FractalPast”?

I get asked from time to time why I call my business and my website “FractalPast”? A fractal is a mathematical concept, a geometry that comprises “ a never-ending pattern.” According to the...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I am increasingly convinced that Daisy Lampkin is the 20th century suffrage and civil rights leader of greatest consequence about whom we know the least. Let me introduce you to this fascinating woman: Part I: www.fractalpast.com/blog/introdu... and Part II: www.fractalpast.com/blog/introdu...

fractalpast.com

Introduction to Daisy Lampkin, Part I

Despite the fact that at least one historian has described organizer, activist, and community builder Daisy Lampkin as “legendary,” not much is known about her. No full-scale biography has been...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

New writers: Do you know the difference between a developmental edit, a line edit, and a copyedit? In this post I explain the difference and why you can't do all three in one pass: www.fractalpast.com/blog/from-th... #writinglife #editing

fractalpast.com

From the Editor’s Desk: Know Your Edits and What They Do

Several weeks ago I surveyed the multitude of steps it takes to publish your book. Most of those steps occur once you submit your manuscript and may be opaque to first-time writers. Let’s talk a...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I am less an NFL fan these days than I was in the past, but growing up in Pittsburgh it's hard to escape the pull of the black-and-gold. I was delighted to learn that there is a link between the Steelers and Daisy Lampkin: www.fractalpast.com/blog/the-pit...

fractalpast.com

The Pittsburgh Steelers, the NFL Draft, and the Connections that Bind a Community

With each new discovery, my Daisy Lampkin biography gives me some new cause to celebrate my hometown of Pittsburgh. Now, for the next few days, the whole nation can join in on the love: the National.....

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

In this post I explore the connections between US empire and the psycho-dramas of American frontier mythology: www.fractalpast.com/blog/frederi...

fractalpast.com

Frederick Jackson Turner's Frontier

In 1893, at the famed World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, a young historian from the University of Wisconsin offered what might still be the most influential history lecture ever given in...

David J. Snyder @fractalpast9.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

“You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read.” --James Baldwin

Reposted by David J. Snyder

Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

We need at some point to talk about American Evangelicalism as a heretical movement. We should not indulge the delusion of a bunch or nuts who cherry-pick the Bible to rationalize otherwise indefensible 21st century bigotries that they are representatives of a global faith.

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