Panel in the Spotlight: “Nonfiction: Politics and History”
…End in Afghanistan), and Eugene L. Meyer (Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army) have no trouble working on the nonfiction side of the ledger. Check out their “Nonfiction: Politics and History” panel at the 2023 Washington Writers Conference to hear for yourself how they turn…
David O. Stewart to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award
…Laureate Grace Cavalieri; longtime Washington Post reporter and editor Eugene L. Meyer; and author and teacher Marita Golden, co-founder of the Hurston/Wright Foundation. The 2023 Washington Writers Conference takes place May 12-13 in Rockville, MD. Spots are going fast, so REGISTER NOW! Believe in what we do? Support the nonprofit…
…originally ran in 2022.] Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the board of the Independent, is a journalist and author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown's Army. Meyer has been featured in the Biographers International Organization’s podcast series. Help us help you help…
Tough Guy: The Life of Norman Mailer
…great 20th-century American writers. Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the board of the Independent, is a journalist and author, among other books, of Hidden Maryland: In Search of America in Miniature and Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army. Meyer has been featured in the…
…originally ran in 2022.] Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the Independent’s board of directors, is a journalist and author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown's Army. Meyer has been featured in the Biographers International Organization’s podcast series. Help us help you help…
“The Best Book I Read this Year”
…bookstore in Northwest DC.” ~Eugene L. Meyer The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021 by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser. “It establishes with compelling facts, once and for all, how truly dangerous our 45th president was.” ~Talmage Boston Oliver’s Travels by Clifford Garstang. “The novel is about Ollie, a…
…(Grove Press). Reviewed by Eugene L. Meyer. “More than the Rebels, Richard’s nemesis is another former Etheridge slave, Revere, a fellow sergeant in the African Brigade who leads an unruly band of ‘Maroons,’ descended from fugitive slaves from the Caribbean who inhabit the remote Great Dismal Swamp that straddles the…
Rip Van Winkle’s Republic: Washington Irving in History and Memory
…stated. As contributor Elizabeth L. Bradley tells us, slavery was also part of the Irving family patrimony, so the presumption is valid. Behind the fantastical plots of Irving’s stories, the Revolutionary War looms large. Born in 1783, the author was named for “the father” of the new country, so the…
Waging a Good War: A Military History of the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1968
…— readers will share. Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the board of the Independent, is a journalist and author, among other books, of Hidden Maryland: In Search of America in Miniature and Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown's Army. Meyer has been featured in the…
An Interview with Eugene L. Meyer
…at the Washington Post, Eugene L. Meyer is no stranger to tracking down a great story. He’s also an outstanding writer. So, it was my good fortune to work with him for many years at the late Maryland Life magazine, where Gene penned a popular feature called “Hidden Maryland.” Each…
7 Most Favorable Reviews in September 2022
…Henderson (Knopf). Reviewed by Eugene L. Meyer. “Through the stories of these men, Henderson chronicles the war in the Pacific. Though they fully prepared to fight, the men were not there for hand-to-hand combat. Instead, they played significant roles as supporting players. Since Japanese soldiers believed it more honorable to…
…book, it won’t be. Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the board of the Independent, is a journalist and author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown's Army. Meyer has been featured in the Biographers International Organization’s podcast series. Help us help you help…
…originally ran in 2021.] Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the board of the Independent, is a journalist and author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown's Army. Meyer has been featured in the Biographers International Organization’s podcast series. Help us help you help…
…originally ran in 2021.] Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the board of the Independent, is a journalist and author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army. Working on a memoir of his decades in the news business, Meyer has been featured in…
The Fifties: An Underground History
…any citizen can do.” Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the board of the Independent, is a journalist and author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown's Army. Meyer has been featured in the Biographers International Organization’s podcast series. Help us help you help…
7 Most Favorable Reviews in February 2022
…(Grove Press). Reviewed by Eugene L. Meyer. “Our country’s racial history, often portrayed as black and white, has never been, well, black and white. That’s as true now as it was in the decades before, during, and after the Civil War. Its complexities are fully on display in the riveting…
5 Most Popular Posts: February 2022
…We’re glad you asked!” Eugene L. Meyer’s review of Black Cloud Rising: A Novel by David Wright Faladé (Grove Press). “Richard’s white half-sister Sarah teaches him to read and write, in violation of North Carolina law, and corresponds with him after he has left the manor to fight for the…
…& Schuster). Reviewed by Eugene L. Meyer. “Hitler and Stalin loom over it all, with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill important but lesser figures in Nagorski’s gripping drama. Hitler’s prison work, Mein Kampf, may be best remembered for its extreme anti-Semitism, blaming Germany’s defeat in World…
…one very well told. Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the board of the Independent, is a journalist and author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown's Army. Meyer has been featured in the Biographers International Organization’s podcast series. Help us help you help…
Jason Epstein: An Appreciation
…of such luminaries as E.L. Doctorow, Noman Mailer, Gore Vidal, Alice Waters, Paul Goodman, Jane Jacobs, Saul Alinsky, and Philip Roth. “I was W.H. Auden’s editor — not that he needed one,” he told me. “I published a lot.” Epstein was a mere 83 and still editing and publishing when…
…originally ran in 2021.] Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the board of the Independent, is a journalist and author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army. He has been featured in the Biographers International Organization’s podcast series. Like what we do? Click…
It’s an Honor to Celebrate Marita Golden
…Cavalieri, Kitty Kelley, and Eugene L. Meyer. The award is given annually to an author who has made a longtime, significant contribution to the Washington, DC, area’s writing community, especially in ways that encourage others to become good literary citizens themselves. Novelist Melanie S. Hatter will present this year’s award.…
Wannsee: The Road to the Final Solution
…slim but important book. Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the Independent’s board of directors, is a journalist and author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown's Army. Meyer has been featured in the Biographers International Organization’s podcast series. Help us help you help…
…Gordon-Reed (Liveright). Reviewed by Eugene L. Meyer. “In On Juneteenth, Harvard historian Annette Gordon-Reed grapples with the myths and contradictions of her beloved home state — a place that once subjugated, segregated, and lynched Black people (including in her home county) and remains ruled by politicians determined to suppress the…
…so. [Editor's note: This review originally ran in 2020.] Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the board of the Independent, is a journalist and author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
5 Most Popular Posts: September 2021
…paid and usually hungry.” Eugene L. Meyer’s review of Sons and Soldiers: The Untold Story of the Jews Who Escaped the Nazis and Returned with the U.S. Army to Fight Hitler by Bruce Henderson (William Morrow). “Through there are many supporting actors, author Bruce Henderson has wisely focused on the…
The Failed Promise: Reconstruction, Frederick Douglass, and the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
…and its enduring legacy. Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the board of the Independent, is a journalist and author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown's Army. Meyer has been featured in the Biographers International Organization’s podcast series. Help us help you help…
…might also be remembered. Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the board of the Independent, is a journalist and author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army. Working on a memoir of his decades in the news business, Meyer has been featured in…
5 Most Popular Posts: May 2021
…into our best selves.” Eugene L. Meyer’s review of On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed (Liveright). “In On Juneteenth, Harvard historian Annette Gordon-Reed grapples with the myths and contradictions of her beloved home state [of Texas] — a place that once subjugated, segregated, and lynched Black people (including in her home…
…credit. [Editor's note: This review originally ran in 2020.] Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the board of the Independent, is a journalist and author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
7 Most-Favorable Reviews in April 2021
…Monthly Press). Reviewed by Eugene L. Meyer. “The bookseller of the title of this fine work is Vespasiano da Bisticci, a once-prominent purveyor and producer of handwritten, handbound volumes who held forth in his shop on the Via dei Librai (the Street of Booksellers) in 15th-century Florence. But though he…
…goal for us all. Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the board of the Independent, is a journalist and author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army. He has been featured in the Biographers International Organization’s podcast series. Like what we do? Click…
The Bookseller of Florence: The Story of the Manuscripts That Illuminated the Renaissance
…both timely and timeless. Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the board of the Independent, is a journalist and author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army. He has been featured in the Biographers International Organization’s podcast series. Like what we do? Click…
A Worse Place Than Hell: How the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg Changed a Nation
…skeleton continuously haunts me.” Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the board of the Independent, is a journalist and author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army. He has been featured in the Biographers International Organization’s podcast series. Like what we do? Click…
…originally ran in 2020.] Eugene L. Meyer, who serves on the board of the Independent, is a former longtime Washington Post reporter and editor and the author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army. Like what we do? Click here to support the…
…Reich.” [Editor's note: This review originally ran in 2019.] Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the board of the Independent, is a journalist and author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
The Enduring Civil War: Reflections on the Great American Crisis
…even past.” Gallagher’s essays affirm that both are so. Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the board of the Independent, is a journalist and author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
…originally ran in 2019.] Eugene L. Meyer, a former longtime Washington Post reporter and editor, is the author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army, winner of the 2019 Outstanding Biography/History Book award from the American Society of Journalists and Authors. Like what…
E.J. Dionne in Conversation with Eugene L. Meyer
…St. Martin’s Press. Dionne will be in conversation with Eugene L. Meyer, author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown's Army. This event is part of the virtual Gaithersburg Book Festival. Click here for more info. Want more people at your event? Spotlight it!…
TGIF LIVE! with Casey Cep and Eugene L. Meyer
…the Deep South. Casey will be in conversation with Eugene L. Meyer, author of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown's Army. Click here for info. Want more people at your event? Spotlight it! Find details HERE.
The Black Cabinet: The Untold Story of African Americans and Politics During the Age of Roosevelt
…American history — and, for this, she deserves credit. Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the board of the Independent, is a journalist and author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
A Small Door Set in Concrete: One Woman’s Story of Challenging Borders in Israel/Palestine
…to stop the machine.” Eugene L. Meyer, who serves on the board of the Independent, is a former longtime Washington Post reporter and editor and the author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army. Like what we do? Click here to support the…
…her six months as “a guest of the Reich.” Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the board of the Independent, is a journalist and author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
…day. [Editor’s note: This review originally ran in 2018.] Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the board of the Independent, is a journalist and author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
5 Most Popular Posts: July 2019
…books and other topics.” Eugene L. Meyer’s review of 1941: The Year Germany Lost the War by Andrew Nagorski. “While Hitler and Stalin were waging strategic wars, Churchill was desperately trying to nudge FDR closer to an outright wartime alliance. It would take the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on…
1941: The Year Germany Lost the War
…arguably won the peace. Eugene L. Meyer, a former longtime Washington Post reporter and editor, is the author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army, winner of the 2019 Outstanding Biography/History Book award from the American Society of Journalists and Authors. Like what…
…interview with Tony Horwitz.] Eugene L. Meyer is the author of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army, which recently won the top award for a book of history and biography from the American Society of Journalists and Authors. A former longtime Washington Post reporter and…
…probably use his help. Eugene L. Meyer, a former longtime Washington Post reporter and editor, a contributor to the New York Times, and a member of the board of the Washington Independent Review of Books, is the author of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army.…
Merchants of Truth: The Business of News and the Fight for Facts
…to be in print. Eugene L. Meyer, a former longtime Washington Post reporter and editor, a contributor to the New York Times, and a member of the board of the Washington Independent Review of Books, is the author of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army.…
An Interview with Eugene L. Meyer
…Independent’s board of directors, Eugene L. Meyer is an experienced reporter and researcher. He put those skills to good use while writing his latest book, Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown's Army, published recently by Chicago Review Press. When did you first get the idea to…
Barons of the Sea: And Their Race to Build the World’s Fastest Clipper Ship
…survive to this day. Eugene L. Meyer, a member of the board of the Independent, is a journalist and author, most recently, of Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army. He will read from his new book at Busboys and Poets in Washington, DC, this Thursday,…
…author of Hidden Figures, “Eugene Meyer has given the story of John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry new meaning and relevance by restoring Brown’s black collaborators to their rightful place in history.” Eugene L. Meyer, author of two previous books, is an award-winning veteran journalist with eclectic interests but special…
…Room to hear author Eugene Meyer discuss his latest book, Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown's Army. Free event; no registration required. Books will be available for purchase and signing at the event. Presented in partnership with the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. About Five…
…accomplices are often overlooked. Meyer, a former longtime Washington Post reporter and editor, rectifies this with his detailed profile of the lives and deaths of the five African Americans among Brown’s raiders. Of the five, two, Dangerfield Newby, son of a white man and an enslaved mother, and Lewis Leary,…
It’s Time for the Gaithersburg Book Festival!
…Gareth Hinds, Tracey Livesay, Eugene L. Meyer, Madeline Miller, Jenny Yacovissi, and many, many more. Funded in part by generous sponsors and supported by the City of Gaithersburg, the festival offers programming for all ages, is free to attend and is open to everyone. (Be sure to stop by the…
(((Semitism))) Being Jewish in America in the Age of Trump
…(((SEMITISM))) his header picture. Eugene L. Meyer, a former longtime Washington Post reporter and editor, is a member of the board of the Washington Independent Review of Books, a contributing editor for Bethesda Magazine, and the editor of B’nai B’rith Magazine. His book Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers…
…eloquently, Henderson has done them proud. Journalist and author Eugene L. Meyer serves on the board of the Washington Independent Review of Books. In 2011, he interviewed some of the Ritchie Boys for a column in Maryland Life magazine. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
5 Most Popular Posts: Mar. 2017
…(Click here to read Eugene L. Meyer’s appreciation of McPherson.) Joe Rothstein’s review of How the Hell Did this Happen?: The Election of 2016 by P.J. O’Rourke. “In more or less chronological order, O’Rourke discusses the highlights of the campaign…taking detours along the way to address such diverse topics as…
Bill McPherson: An Appreciation
…was going to happen.” Eugene L. Meyer is on the board of the Washington Independent Review of Books, a former longtime Washington Post reporter and editor, an author, and a magazine writer and editor. (Photo by Matt Roth.) [Editor’s note: Click here to read the Independent’s 2013 interview with Bill…
The Tunnels: Escapes Under the Berlin Wall and the Historic Films the JFK White House Tried to Kill
…drama both high and low, the show went on. Eugene L. Meyer is a former longtime Washington Post reporter and editor, an author, magazine writer and editor, and a member of the board of the Washington Independent Review of Books. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit…
E.L. Doctorow: An Appreciation
…in 2011, I interviewed E.L. (Ed) Doctorow — the literary icon who died Tuesday at age 84 — about Jason Epstein, his longtime editor whom I was profiling for Columbia College Today, an alumni magazine. Epstein was the former editorial director of Random House, co-founder of the New York Review…
5 Most Popular Posts: June 2015
…Sarna and Benjamin Shapell. Eugene L. Meyer wrote a thoughtful critique of this fact- and photo-filled book chronicling yet more examples of Abe’s forward-thinking awesomeness. A review of Orhan’s Inheritance by Aline Ohanesian. Russell J. MacMullan’s look at this sobering novelization about fallout from the Armenian genocide kept readers riveted…
Lincoln and the Jews: A History
…birth was Victor David Brenner, an Eastern-European Jewish immigrant. Eugene L. Meyer is editor of B’nai B’rith Magazine and a member of the board of the Washington Independent Review of Books.
3 Valuable Lists for Wannabe Writers
…Longtime newspaperman and author Eugene L. Meyer’s hard work paid off when an older title of his was successfully reissued. “4 Ways to Make Your Memoir Compelling.” Yes, your life story is compelling to you, but it needs to be compelling to us, too. Magazine publisher Stephen M. Vest offers…
All Who Go Do Not Return: A Novel
…affecting book. And so it is for Shulem Deen. Eugene L. Meyer is the editor of B’nai B’rith Magazine and a board member of the Washington Independent Review of Books.
10 Things to Know about Your Out-of-Print Book
…of print. [Editor's note: Eugene L. Meyer will read from Chesapeake Country (Second Edition) at the Takoma (Washington, DC) Busboys and Poets on March 16th at 6:30 p.m. and at the Alexandria, VA, Barnes & Noble on April 18th at 2 p.m.] Eugene L. Meyer is a member of the…
…already asking, “Where’s Gene Meyer?” as if my presence were essential to the article. Bradlee also helped Ken Rossignol, publisher of the upstart tabloid St. Mary’s Today, which I’d written about, gaining it front-page coverage and an ABC-TV news feature. Uncovering corruption in the sheriff’s office, the paper had trouble…
Those Angry Days: Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and America's Fight Over World War II, 1939-1941
…answer seems to be maybe, or even probably not. Eugene L. Meyer is a former Washington Post reporter and editor and an author who freelances for regional and national publications.
…whatever ails America’s closest ally in the Middle East. Eugene L. Meyer, a former Washington Post reporter and editor, was last in Israel in 2011.
Sasha and Emma: The Anarchist Odyssey of Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman
Reviewed by Eugene L. MeyerSasha and Emma, an engaging dual biography of Alexander “Sasha” Berkman and Emma Goldman, traces the relationship of two anarchist figures about whom much was made from the 1890s into the mid-20th century but who are now largely forgotten footnotes from a bygone era.The biography is…
Reviewed by Eugene L. MeyerTeddy Roosevelt and Booker T. Washington could not have been more different, or more alike. The patrician-born Roosevelt and the former slave Washington came from opposite ends of the social and economic spectrum. But both were extroverts with strong egos, both were ambitious, sometimes to a…
Jason Epstein: Publishing Icon, Perennial Student
…Columbia College Today. By Eugene L. Meyer Jason Epstein emerged from Columbia College in 1950 a bright, young graduate in a postwar world without a clear lens into his future. As a distinguished book editor, publisher and entrepreneur, Epstein continued to learn and, although he might be reluctant to say…
The Bitter Waters of Medicine Creek: A Tragic Clash Between White and Native America
…this story to justify its length, or our time. Eugene L. Meyer is an award-winning former Washington Post reporter and editor, an author, and a prolific magazine writer with a special interest in and passion for all things historic.
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