German military theorist Carl Von Clausewitz observed that many of the important variables in war exist in ‘clouds of great uncertainty’ which create disconnects and confusion that persist even after the fighting has ended. The conflict between the Black Panther Party and the United States government is in ways illustrative of this phenomenon–or ‘the fog of war’ as it has come to be called–and helps explain why the Party is so well known yet misunderstood. For many, the Black Panther Party exists in image fragments: bullet-pocked storefronts, raised fists, drawings of mutant-pig policemen, Huey P. Newton on a wicker throne. For others, it exists in biographies of its leaders: Revolutionary Suicide, Seize the Time, This Side of Glory, A Taste of Power, just to name a few. Historians and political theorists have weighed in as well exploring the excesses of COINTELPRO, the failures of party leaders, gender inequity, missed opportunities,…

I’m partnering with the guys over at New Books Network. Here’s a link to an interview with author Vladimir Alexandrov about his book “The Black Russian”. The Black Russian (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2013) tells the epic and often tragic story of Fredrick Bruce Thomas, an African-American born to recently freed slaves, who would go on to make a fortune in Russia as a club owner and entrepreneur. Mr. Thomas was a pioneer in many respects. He migrated North in search of opportunity decades before the Great Migration. He fled the states in pursuit of greater prospects in Europe before it was fashionable for blacks to do so. He confronted and combated many of the forces that would shape the 20th century – racism, classism, and nativism – yet his story was little known until now. I hope you enjoy.

While the ignorant are condemned to merely repeat history, the historian suffers a kind of dual condemnation. Not only must he repeat history along with the rest of us, but he must do so with full knowledge of the implications of our mistakes – sort of like being a character in a movie for which one knows the plot. The historian knows that we will need a ‘bigger boat’ before we go out on the small one. He knows that the idyllic campsite  is actually the hunting ground of a sadistic killer before the weekend romp begins. The historian knows that the monster will break its leash and turn on its creator whether that  monster be Frankenstein or infected zombies or the Tea Party, which brings me to Mr. Kabaservice and his book ‘Rule and Ruin’. “Rule and Ruin” chronicles the far right conservative takeover of the Republican Party and…