After the U.S. Constitution and the Federalist Papers, Thomas Jefferson’s “Notes on the State of Virginia” is perhaps the most important and enlightening document from the revolutionary period of the United States that should be read and pondered by those seeking to understand the foundational history of the nation.
Whether you’re interested in the the history of the British countryside or geographic occultism, the archaeology of pre-Roman Britain, British folklore, or you simply enjoy hillwalking in the United Kingdom, you’ve likely heard “ley lines” mentioned by someone or come across the term somewhere in your reading.
Growing up in Astoria, Oregon, I learned at a very young age just how much importance a river could have to a community. The Columbia was the heart of the town’s entire economy. From fishing and logging to recreation and tourism, nearly everything that happened in Astoria was connected to the river.
As regular readers know, when I am “looking for the entry-way” into a new subject – be it scientific, cultural, political, or what-have-you – I often seek out one of the remarkably handy Very Short Introductions series volumes from Oxford University Press. However sometimes the perspective I’m seeking on a new subject is not necessarily one of of it as a scholarly area of study but rather one of it as a topic of public discussion or debate. In these cases I turn to another Oxford University Press series, their What Everyone Needs to Know books.