David J. Kent's Blog, page 40

Chasing Abraham Lincoln – The New Plan

In mid March I posted about a plan for a road trip I call “Chasing Abraham Lincoln.” Part 1 was to happen late March. That plan was abruptly rescheduled for the first week of April because of a brewing snowstorm. Then … Continue reading →

The Hampton Roads Defenses of Fort Monroe

Named after our nation’s fifth president, Fort Monroe is, or at least was, one of the premier defenses of the Chesapeake Bay and Hampton Roads. Not far from here was the famous Battle of the Ironclads. On a recent visit … Continue reading →

My Interview and Abraham Lincoln on the Railsplitter Podcast

The Railsplitter podcast is up with the third of three episodes reviewing my book, Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America. In this final installment, they chat for about 20 minutes about the last two chapters before welcoming me to talk … Continue reading →

How Robert E. Lee Tried to Disrupt the 1864 Election

In the summer of 1864 Lincoln was becoming increasingly desperate to finish the war. He authorized Grant to engage in destructive warfare, targeting and destroying plantations, railroads, bridges, crops, and anything that the Confederacy needed to sustain its troops. In … Continue reading →

Revisiting the Terra Cotta Warriors of Xi’an

A few years ago I visited the famed terra cotta warriors in their home –  Xi’an, China. Located a little more than half way between Beijing and Chengdu, Xi’an sits among the mountains of central China. I wrote about the … Continue reading →

Nikola Tesla Harnesses the Radiant Energy of Cosmic Rays

The idea of harnessing cosmic rays came to Tesla when he was working on early developments in radioactivity, something he was doing prior to Roentgen, who later was credited with the discovery of X-rays. Tesla found that the sun was … Continue reading →

Chasing Abraham Lincoln – The Plan

I’ll soon be off chasing Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln is everywhere it seems – Cuba, Norway, Scotland, the UK – but he spent most of his life in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois. And that’s where I’m going on my Chasing Abraham … Continue reading →

Nikola Tesla and the Beginning of Robotics

People today are fascinated by artificial intelligence and robotics. But did you know that Nikola Tesla was the first to demonstrate robotics in 1898? He enthralled onlookers with his robot boat in New York City long before Isaac Asimov made … Continue reading →

Off to the Abraham Lincoln Institute Symposium

The Abraham Lincoln Institute holds an annual symposium, the last several years of which were held in historic Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. Standing on-stage under the theatre box where Lincoln was assassinated creates a wave of emotions, from intimidating, … Continue reading →

Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America on the Railsplitter Podcast (Part 2)

The popular Railsplitter Podcast continues its on-air discussion of my book, Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America. The first four chapters were discussed on February 8th and the second four chapters on March 8th. They will discuss the rest of … Continue reading →