A weekly report on things I’ve read, heard and seen since last Wednesday. 

Book Review: Republic and Empire: Crisis, Revolution, and America’s Early Independence by Trevor Burnard and Andrew Jackson O’Shaughnessy (2025). In honor of the US Semisesquincentennial, this book presents the American Revolution from the British perspective. Seen from there, it was a worldwide fight for empire that involved India, the West Indies, Ireland, Canada and many other colonies in addition to the 13 that rebelled. In 1763, England had prevailed in the Seven Years War and was not magnanimous in victory. Instead, England engaged in policies that annoyed almost every other country in Europe. When the 13 colonies revolted, France was delighted to support them as a way to pay back England, and many other countries – Spain and Holland especially – provided substantial aid to the rebels and fought the English in other parts of the world. This book shatters our American-centric view of the Revolution. One reason that England gave up on the 13 colonies was that other possessions, India and the West Indies especially, were more important. Many in England were disappointed to lose the 13 colonies but the newly-born Industrial Revolution in England left little time for mourning. Between that, and policies that strengthened the allegiance of other colonies, England thrived in the aftermath of the war. 

Article: “Lobel and Lynch” by Chad Finn, Boston Globe Magazine, August 9, 2026. Back in the 1980s, before the internet and when cable was still new, Boston television news ruled the airwaves. Anyone who was alive and of age back then can attest to that with a fair degree of nostalgia. Local sports was a big deal, and all three Boston TV stations, channels 4, 5 and 7 had top notch sports anchors. But Bob Lobel of channel 4 and Mike Lynch of channel 5 really stood out. They competed vigorously for stories and viewers. This article catches up to them now. Both experienced physical challenges: Lynch had a stroke that limits the use of his right side and Lobel has a degenerative nerve condition in his spine that has him wheelchair bound. Several years ago, they joined together to launch a podcast called UnAnchored Boston. I was happy to learn both are still around and active notwithstanding their physical challenges, and this story really stoked some nostalgic feelings for me.

Book Review: The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (1920). During my recent trip to the Berkshires (mentioned last week in my review of the Norman Rockwell Museum), we had some spare time at the end of the day. Someone suggested visiting The Mount which was the summer home of the author Edith Wharton (1862-1937). While there are set hours and an admission fee to tour the house, the gardens, grounds and outdoor sculptures are freely accessible from dawn to dusk. We skipped the house and enjoyed the beautiful grounds and public art. On past vacations, I’ve sometimes paired a book set in the vacation spot with the trip which can make both more enjoyable. Struck by that impulse, I ventured into the gift shop. Never having read anything by Wharton, I asked Gemini to identify her most popular book. It replied, The Age of Innocence, so I bought a copy and was not disappointed. The book, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1921, is about upper class New York City in the 1870s. It focuses on a young man who just before marrying meets and falls in love with his fiance’s cousin. He goes through with the marriage but is torn between his attraction to the cousin and his loyalty to his wife. Spoiler Alert: He stays with the wife and lives a successful, admired life which, near the end of that life, is left with a big What If. I’ve long been interested in life in Gilded Age America so that made this book especially interesting, but it’s also a compelling and timeless story of human nature. 

Obituary: “Bill Rasmussen, 93, TV Visionary Who Co-Founded ESPN, is Dead” by Dan Shanoff and Mark Puleo in The Athletic on August 20, 2026. For many years I was a casual fan of ESPN. In the years before all the world’s information was instantly available at your fingertips on a smartphone, I relied on ESPN for scores and highlights, all delivered with good humor. However, I don’t remember the last time I watched something on ESPN – or on cable for that matter. Which is why earlier this week I went to the Xfinity store and turned in my cable box. I’ve officially joined the ranks of cordcutters. Rasmussen’s obituary was coincidental to that, but the obit shared some interesting stories. For instance, in 1978, Rasmussen was a PR guy working for the Hartford Whalers NHL hockey team (which moved to Carolina to become the Hurricanes). He was fired so he and his son decided to launch a 24/7 sports network. Since they were already in Connecticut because of the Whalers, that’s where they based the station. That turned out to be fortuitous since being in small town Bristol, Connecticut gave ESPN some early breathing room to become great and unique, an opportunity that would likely not have existed had it been based in New York City.