Eugene L. Meyer
Eugene L. Meyer is a veteran journalist and author with eclectic interests but with a special passion for history. He has been widely published in magazines, authored four books, and was for many years a reporter and editor at the Washington Post. As both a daily deadline reporter and magazine writer, he has focused on subjects as varied as the environment, politics, sports, and legal and social issues. His work ranges from the investigative to the whimsical, from hard news to features. Find him on Bluesky at @genemeyer.
64 entries by Eugene L. Meyer
Fear No Pharaoh: American Jews, the Civil War, and the Fight to End Slavery
By Richard Kreitner
Jews’ divided response to slavery mirrored America’s.
The singular writer passed away yesterday.
Martin Van Buren: America’s First Politician
By James M. Bradley
Forget everything you thought you knew about our eighth president.
Longstreet
By Elizabeth R. Varon
An absorbing look at the brave soldier who rejected the original “Big Lie.”
Collision of Power
By Martin Baron
The paper’s former top editor offers a no-nonsense appraisal of his tenure.
Do voters have the tools to wrest power from a strongman?
Nat Turner, Black Prophet: A Visionary History
By Anthony E. Kaye with Gregory P. Downs
This bold account of the infamous rebel leaves many questions unanswered.
The Wounded World
By Chad L. Williams
An outstanding account of the eminent intellectual’s literary Waterloo.
Newshawks in Berlin: The Associated Press and Nazi Germany
By Larry Heinzerling and Randy Herschaft with Ann Cooper
Ignoring atrocities in the name of access.
Our nation has a long record of just barely doing the right thing.
Tough Guy
By Richard Bradford
A biographer makes clear his disdain for his subject.
Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South
By Elizabeth R. Varon
An absorbing look at the brave soldier who rejected the original “Big Lie.”
Rip Van Winkle’s Republic
Edited by Andrew Burstein and Nancy Isenberg
Appraising a 19th-century master through a 21st-century lens.
Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and the Washington Post
By Martin Baron
The paper’s former top editor offers a no-nonsense appraisal of his tenure.
Bridge to the Sun
By Bruce Henderson
Unsung soldier heroes finally get their due.
The Wounded World: W.E.B. Du Bois and the First World War
By Chad L. Williams
An outstanding account of the eminent intellectual’s literary Waterloo.
Into the Groove: The Story of Sound from Tin Foil to Vinyl
By Jonathan Scott
How did those vibrations get so good?
Was manumission an escape or an illusion?
Black Cloud Rising
By David Wright Faladé
A thrilling fictionalized tale about a real-life Black Union soldier.
Tough Guy: The Life of Norman Mailer
By Richard Bradford
A biographer makes clear his disdain for his subject.
Wannsee
By Peter Longerich
A short but powerful addition to the Holocaust canon.
Rip Van Winkle’s Republic: Washington Irving in History and Memory
Edited by Andrew Burstein and Nancy Isenberg
Appraising a 19th-century master through a 21st-century lens.
Does successful social change require tactical prowess?
Bridge to the Sun: The Secret Role of the Japanese Americans Who Fought in the Pacific in World War II
By Bruce Henderson
Unsung soldier heroes finally get their due.
The Failed Promise
By Robert S. Levine
A valuable, fresh look at a dark chapter in American history.
Drafted
By Heywood Gould
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A rollicking, smart-alecky recollection of a turbulent time in America.
The Fifties: An Underground History
By James R. Gaines
Lesser-known figures get their due in this modest but essential chronicle.
Black Cloud Rising: A Novel
By David Wright Faladé
A thrilling fictionalized tale about a real-life Black Union soldier.
The longtime editor/publisher leaves a formidable legacy.
A Worse Place Than Hell
By John Matteson
This laudable work is less an account of the 1862 clash than of five notable figures who served on or near the battlefield.
Wannsee: The Road to the Final Solution
By Peter Longerich
A short but powerful addition to the Holocaust canon.
The Enduring Civil War
By Gary W. Gallagher
This timely collection reminds us that, in many ways, the War Between the States is still being fought.
The Failed Promise: Reconstruction, Frederick Douglass, and the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
By Robert S. Levine
A valuable, fresh look at a dark chapter in American history.
Drafted: A Memoir of the ‘60s
By Heywood Gould
A rollicking, smart-alecky recollection of a turbulent time in America.
The Black Cabinet
By Jill Watts
An ambitious but ultimately unsatisfying exploration into little-known governmental figures from the New Deal era.
On Juneteenth
By Annette Gordon-Reed
The Pulitzer winner untangles the complicated racial history of her home state of Texas.
The Bookseller of Florence: The Story of the Manuscripts That Illuminated the Renaissance
By Ross King
The fascinating account of a 15th-century bibliophile who revered hand-lettered tomes.
A Worse Place Than Hell: How the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg Changed a Nation
By John Matteson
This laudable work is less an account of the 1862 clash than of five notable figures who served on or near the battlefield.
A Small Door Set in Concrete
By Ilana Hammerman; translated by Tal Haran
A humanistic, hopeful look at what feels like an intractable conflict.
A Guest of the Reich
By Peter Finn
The adventuring socialite who was held prisoner behind enemy lines.
The Enduring Civil War: Reflections on the Great American Crisis
By Gary W. Gallagher
This timely collection reminds us that, in many ways, the War Between the States is still being fought.
1941
By Andrew Nagorski
The seeds of Nazi defeat were sown long before the Axis' surrender.
The Black Cabinet: The Untold Story of African Americans and Politics During the Age of Roosevelt
By Jill Watts
An ambitious but ultimately unsatisfying exploration into little-known governmental figures from the New Deal era.
A Small Door Set in Concrete: One Woman’s Story of Challenging Borders in Israel/Palestine
By Ilana Hammerman; translated by Tal Haran
A humanistic, hopeful look at what feels like an intractable conflict.
A Guest of the Reich: The Story of American Heiress Gertrude Legendre’s Dramatic Captivity and Escape from Nazi Germany
By Peter Finn
The adventuring socialite who was held prisoner behind enemy lines.
Barons of the Sea
By Steven Ujifusa
Recounting how ocean-going commerce gave rise to an American upper-class.
1941: The Year Germany Lost the War
By Andrew Nagorski
The seeds of Nazi defeat were sown long before the Axis' surrender.
The bestselling historian/author passed away earlier this week.
Remembering Tony Mendez, who passed away recently at 78.
Merchants of Truth: The Business of News and the Fight for Facts
By Jill Abramson
A former New York Times executive editor tackles the (sometimes sad) state of today's media.
Recounting how ocean-going commerce gave rise to an American upper-class.
(((Semitism))) Being Jewish in America in the Age of Trump
By Jonathan Weisman
A sincere if incomplete account of a pernicious, age-old prejudice still in play today.
Recalling the writer and editor, who passed away earlier this week.
The Tunnels: Escapes Under the Berlin Wall and the Historic Films the JFK White House Tried to Kill
By Greg Mitchell
An exploration of a little-known, unusual episode in Cold War Germany.
Recalling the humble, approachable literary genius
Lincoln and the Jews: A History
By Jonathan D. Sarna and Benjamin Shapell
A well-researched, heartening look at the president's embrace of an oft-maligned people.
All Who Go Do Not Return: A Novel
By Shulem Deen
An inquisitive mind and growing skepticism brand the author a heretic in his Hasidic community.
Never assume retired titles can’t be revived!
Recalling a brilliant, trailblazing iconoclast.
Eugene L. Meyer profiles publishing icon Jason Epstein for "Columbia College Today."
