"He instinctively can find the shining greatness of our American culture and does a good job of highlighting it (although he also does have those rare lapses when he writes about hockey, but that is something caused by impurities in the Eastern waters or something)." Erik Keilholtz
Under the patronage of St. Tammany
Mark C. N. Sullivan is an editor at a Massachusetts university. He is married and the father of three children. Email
The Random Penseur is must-reading today as he gives the historical scoop on the Marquis de Mores, 19th-century French aristocrat, Badlands ranching rival of Theodore Roosevelt, and quixotic anti-Semite who died at the hands of North African tribesmen while attempting to lead an Arab revolt against the English and the Jews.
The post is the latest in RP's "Behind the Curtain" series on colorful figures from history. A previous installment told the story of Gettysburg hero and political rogue Dan Sickles.
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The buckskin getup in which TR posed (above) for a book-tour promotional photo cost the equivalent of $1,000 or more today, and his knife and scabbard were custom-made by Tiffany's.
Talk of the Badlands and colorful characters naturally turns to Gen. Custer. If you haven't, do read Evan S. Connell's Son of the Morning Star, as engrossing a history as you'll find. And listen to an mp3 of "Garryowen" by the Bagpipes & Drums of the Emerald Society, Chicago Police Department.