History

History comes alive in Irene Bennett’s new novel, “Battle of the Artisans,” portrays the making of the very real Bells of Marquis Yi, a 2500-year-old National Treasure of China

Meet the Author: Irene Vinyard Bennett has wide experience as a writer and educational minister. Her debut novel, BATTLE OF THE ARTISANS: Making the Bells of Marquis Yi, won the International Proverse Prize of 2022.  It is the first story about the Bronze-Age Bells of Marquis Yi, a National Treasure of China.

An international motivational speaker, workshop leader, and minister, Irene writes and edits academic articles for theological journals in Ukraine and Myanmar, lectures online for Myanmar seminaries, and works with young families of Western Presbyterian Church in DC. She has written professionally throughout life in eight states, several countries, and now in Alexandria VA! She loves diverse cultures, speaks some Cantonese and Spanish, and has taught English to immigrants in Georgia, Florida, and multi-ethnic groups of women and university students in Hong Kong.

Her favorite experiences involved sharing educational methods with church leaders in Bosnia-Herzegovina, across Asia, and with many local English teachers in China, including the faculty of a school for the blind. Fun publications include feature interviews with an Olympic Gold Medalist and an international golfer at the Masters Tournament.

Irene shares: I’m a word person who loves to write about ideas and issues and create …

Read More

Meet Sean Hagerty, Inkandescent Kids Book Fair Attending Author!

About the book: Parents and educators, this is a brilliant and exciting book for our children. A book for every son, daughter, or grandchild. Before the alphabet became a collection of keystrokes on a screen, it was something children carefully learned by hand—one letter, one word, and one thought at …

Read More

Celebrate 250 years of American history with “The Democracy We Must Keep: Seven founders, nine documents, and the ideas that shaped America,” is the theme of the powerful new book by historian David O. Stewart

Learn all about the David O. Stewart show: 

Today: Watch ep3 of his show featuring historian and author George Goodwin as they talk about chapter 2 of The Democracy We Must Keep, “Common Sense, …

Read More

Change is Normal: Part 1, by Timothy Trainer

There are no water slides, no rock-climbing walls, no putt-putt golf and not even a pool. The amenities found on today’s massive cruise ships for thousands of people on vacation were completely absent. Movies, yes, were offered, but not in the staterooms because there were no televisions.

A movie is …

Read More

Ronald McDonald House Celebrates Its Birthday

It was the Shamrock Shake that did it.

McDonald’s owners and operators in Philadelphia helped make the vision of a “home away from home” for families of hospitalized kids a reality when dozens of franchisees donated proceeds from the sale of the green milkshakes to the founders of the Ronald …

Read More

National History Day brings 600,000 kids together for a look back

What annually draws nearly 600,000 students from around the world to prepare documentaries, exhibits, papers, performances, and websites for the annual National History Day competition?

It’s not the monetary awards, though there are some. Instead, it’s the recognition they receive for their work from judges — and — peers that …

Read More

Adam Goodheart Reminds Us Why “1861” Was A Monumental Year

2026 marks the 160th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination on April 14, 1865.

To commemorate the solemn event, we talked to Civil War expert Adam Goodheart, the author of “1861” and the upcoming “1865” — two books that capture the essence of the battles and the time.

A historian, essayist, …

Read More