American Writers (One Hundred Pages at a Time)

Part two of my review of THE CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC by Francis Parkman Jr. Here I look at the causes of Pontiac's War as described by Parkman.

In episode 5 of the HP Lovecraft Book Club, we jump into Lovecraft's love for 18th century British culture by looking at his 1917 story "A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson". Perhaps it is one most Lovecraft readers skip, but it is worth a few minutes of your time if you want to appreciate our author's worldview.

Part 1 of my review of THE CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC by Francis Parkman Jr. The opening chapters of the book describe the lives of Native Americans east of the Mississippi, the French empire in the Americas, and the interactions of the British and French with the Indians. All important background.

In this episode, I take a deep look at "Dagon" by H. P. Lovecraft. This story, set in the Pacific during World War I, explores the possibilities of ancient cultures and long-enduring mystical traditions. The narrator's discovery and exploration of a recently raised landmass from below the Pacific is not forgettable.

In this episode I conclude my thoughts on Francis Parkman Jr.'s THE OREGON TRAIL and I sum-up the themes of empire, ecology, and the capitalist expansion into the "Great West". Up next, Parkman's first work of history THE CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC.

Episode three of the H. P. Lovecraft Book Club takes a look at "The Tomb" and Lovecraft's fascination with deviant subcultures.

Part two of my review of THE OREGON TRAIL by Francis Parkman Jr. This book is a travel memoir, but is full of great material on American empire, Native American life, ecology, and transformation of the "Great West".

In "The Alchemist" (1908) Lovecraft establishes one of his most important themes: vernacular networks of knowledge opposing esoteric forgotten tomes. This fascinating story is his first mature work of fiction.

We will begin looking at one of the greatest historians of the 19th century, Francis Parkman Jr. But this first book is not a history, but a memoir of his travels in the prairie and Rocky Mountains. An interesting look at a changing, dynamic, and often cruel frontier.

In this inaugural episode of the H. P. Lovecraft Book Club, I introduce the series and talk about four stories Lovecraft wrote as a child: "The Little Glass Bottle," "The Mystery of the Grave-Yard," "The Secret Cave," and the (much more mature) "The Beast in the Cave".