By MONTE DUTTON Click here. Millions fought in World War II. Thousands were taken prisoner. Thousands of works of fiction have been written. Silver Wings, Iron Cross by Tom Young thus becomes plausible amid the sheer numbers of the conflagration. If such a story never happened, perhaps it should have. In the waning days of …
Tag: history
Splendor on the grass of the infield
Sweet victory (Monte Dutton photos) By MONTE DUTTON This is the way to win a state championship. Bring out the honored heroes of the past. It’s been 62 years since the baseball team won the state. Establish the link because, in a place like this, the team does not just represent the school; it represents …
The Best Car-Racing Movie Ever Made
Clinton, South Carolina, Friday, December 13, 2019, 11:31 a.m. In some ways, Ford v. Ferrari takes away my historical edge. I knew why Ken Miles (and the invisible Denny Hulme) lost the 24 Hour of Le Mans in 1966. I was only eight years old, but I remember the revolutionary satellite coverage on ABC’s Wide …
A Celebration of The Celebrant
Clinton, South Carolina, Monday, July 4, 2019, 8:29 p.m. So many words are insufficient. I’ve never liked to say that I “covered” something, such as, oh, stock car racing for 20 years. Sometimes I say it or tweet it, but I try not to write it. I’ve never liked the notion that I “pull” for …
A Mere Thirty-Two Years Ago
Clinton, South Carolina, Thursday, February 15, 2018, 12:54 p.m. I'm watching the Independence Bowl of December 21, 1985, on YouTube. Why, you ask? Rickey Foggie, who will be inducted next month into the Laurens County Athletic Hall of Fame, was the game's MVP. He quarterbacked Minnesota to a 20-13 victory over Clemson. I'm waiting on …
The Resistance of the Just Soul
Clinton, South Carolina, Monday, January 15, 2018, 12:15 p.m. Fritz Kolbe is just a man. He has no yearning to kill and never does so in Andreas Kollender’s The Honest Spy, expertly translated into English by Steve Anderson. Perhaps because the novel begins in South Africa, where he is assigned a diplomatic post by the …
The Glory of the Past and the Unremitting Legacy
Clinton, South Carolina, Saturday, November 4, 2017, 2:38 p.m. Since noon, I’ve been keeping tabs on Auburn-Texas A&M, Kansas State-Texas Tech, Syracuse-Florida State, Western Kentucky-Vanderbilt, Florida-Missouri, Massachusetts-Mississippi State, and several others that don’t occur to me now. That’s just on television. Via Twitter, I’ve been keeping tabs on Presbyterian-Monmouth, Chattanooga-Wofford, and Western Carolina-The Citadel. The …
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The Mystery Immerses
Clinton, South Carolina, Friday, May 12, 2017, 9:43 a.m. Many readers – okay, at least one – have comfortable refuges and guilty pleasures. Read something heavy – a bulky bio, a literary classic, an historical tome – and then scurry back to relaxing, reliable delight. It might be a comedy – a Carl Hiaasen or …
Little Things Mean … a Little
Clinton, South Carolina, Thursday, May 4, 2017, 9:49 a.m. The world has changed in significant ways across the span of my lifetime. Today I’ve decided to write about the insignificant ways. Significance is too intimidating for this day. No one whose cell has service needs “whatever happened to …?” stories anymore. Just yesterday I looked …
Cowboys at Warp Speed
Every day has its ups and downs. Okay, not every day. It seems as if mine are seldom mediocre. Either everything goes right, or vice-versa. This one has gone wildly erratic. Let’s highlight the positive, though. My fifth novel, first western and second historical, is impending. Today I approved the proof. I’m delighted with the …
Nightrider's Lament 