My article on Charlton Heston’s Michigan boyhood is in the November issue of Traverse. The story is not available on the interwebs, so non-subscribers will have to hunt for a newstand copy. It has one of the best ledes I’ve ever written. At least that’s what I think. It involves Moses and a sewer line blocked by a diaper.
UPDATE: Read it here.
"An excellent book--it’s like The Day of the Jackal set in 1861 Washington."
--Vince Flynn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Pursuit of Honor
"Packed with fascinating information, superb characters, and sublime plot twists, The First Assassin is one of the most exciting thrillers I have read in a long, long time. This is historical fiction at its best and John J. Miller is the hot new author everyone will be talking about."
--Brad Thor, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Apostle
"The story moves with swift suspense, but Miller's real achievement is to take us inside a mindset nearly lost to time, and to create identifiable, sympathetic characters on all sides, including those who are willing to do murder to preserve the Confederacy and its "'peculiar institution.'"
--Andrew Klavan, author of Empire of Lies
"The First Assassin knocked me out. Utterly compelling, the novel sweeps the reader along multiple storylines which converge at one point, one moment, where history pivots on its axis. A skilled writer of non-fiction, here Miller uses his knowledge and research to create a powerful thriller that is completely believable. With its accurate period details and pitch-perfect characters -- from house slaves to Washington, D.C. careerists to a mysterious hitman -- there’s not a false note in the whole book. Read it and tell me I'm wrong."
--Robert Ferrigno, author of Heart of the Assassin
“Football enthusiasts and Theodore Roosevelt admirers will both enjoy and learn from these little-known but important historic events that preserved from extinction one of America’s favorite sports.”
--Tweed Roosevelt, president of the Theodore Roosevelt Association
“In Miller’s hands, the story of Theodore Roosevelt’s love for, and defense of, ‘the great game’ has as much vigor and passion as Roosevelt himself. It’s a fascinating, thoroughly American tale.”
--Candice Millard, author of The River of Doubt
"The Big Scrum tells the fascinating story of why Teddy Roosevelt thought football was so relevant to American life, and how and why the game he essentially fathered became one of this country's most important cultural institutions. At a time when a coalition of suburban soccer moms and misguided caretakers of American athletics are hell-bent on watering down the game of football, you should take the time to read this book."
--Sal Paolantonio, national correspondent, ESPN