American Iliad

Published: 12/28/20

Goodbye to All That

By: Mark Grimsley

Category: Columns

In his final "American Iliad" column, southern-born historian Mark Grimsley reflects on his tangle of loyalties.

Published: 9/4/20

A Man of Sorrows

By: Mark Grimsley

Category: Columns

Abraham Lincoln suffered from depression for most of his adult life. A look at the origin and significance of Lincoln’s melancholy.

Published: 7/10/20

The Greatest Bards: Part 2

By: Mark Grimsley

Category: Columns

When I was 12 I found a mass market paperback of Bruce Catton’s A Stillness at Appomattox, and it yanked me so deep into the world of the Civil War...

Published: 5/18/20

The Greatest Bards: Part 1

By: Mark Grimsley

Category: Columns

Asked to name the writer whose work had the greatest influence on their early love for the Civil War, most lay students of the conflict would offer one of two...