Dan's blog: We've recently moved from the city to the country and started a little farm. We're learning as we go. I'm also working on my dissertation and a couple of rural history projects. And sometimes I just can't help saying something about current events...

History: I've nearly completed a PhD in American History. Info about my current projects, my CV, student evaluations and other material can be found here; and also my history and freethinkers blogs.

Books: Ones I've written and ones I've read and blogged about. There's a page on the books I read for my PhD Comprehensive Exams, and what I thought about them. I'm also interested in the books that were popular in the past, and what they may tell us about the people who read them.

An Infidel Body-Snatcher and the Fruits of His Philosophy is the story of a freethinker. Charles Knowlton called himself a “free enquirer”—his enemies called him an “Infidel.” Knowlton was also a “Body-Snatcher.” As a medical student, Charles Knowlton stole corpses to dissect. Charles was caught and convicted, and served time in jail.  
 
“The Fruits of His Philosophy” refers to a book Charles wrote in 1831. It was the first medical birth control manual in America, and Knowlton was convicted and imprisoned for that as well—this time with hard labor. Charles was an outsider for most of his life, swimming against the stream of religious and social conformity. This is a true story about why outsiders are important, and what they can achieve. 
 
Growing up surrounded by superstition and hypocrisy, Charles developed an unswerving dedication to finding and telling the truth. If the truth he’d found was opposed by authorities in the church and government, Charles went ahead and told it anyway. This is a true story about the power of integrity. 
 
It’s also an adventure story, full of conflict, drama, humor, and a little horror. Charles Knowlton led an unusual life; it gave him a radical outlook and led him to develop a unique personal philosophy. But it was what Charles did with this outlook and the fruits of his philosophy, that really mattered. This is a true story about how experiences become ideas, and how ideas become actions.

Chores Home alone — Steph and the kids are away visiting her folks. Chores this morning consisted of letting the dogs out a t first light (more or less), feeding them, eating a quick breakfast and then feeding the rest of the family. Read More

1858 List of Celebrated Freethinkers Who do we think is important now? Who did freethinkers of the past most want to identify with their cause? Read More

The Kansas Gold Rush on The Historical Society's blog Between 1854 and 1861, Kansas and Nebraska were part of The West in a way they no longer are.  Read More

The history of our place in the universe Over the last few years, astronomers have begun searching for and finding planets circling distant stars.  At first, most of these “exo-planets” were gas giants many times larger than Jupiter.  Read More