Robert W. Gordon,"Money! Power! Ambition Gone Awry! A Frank History of the Big-Time American Lawyer," Legal Affairs, n.d., is a fine particular study of the emergence of the professions in American life that Robert Wiebe's The Search for Order first called to my attention. Still, I wonder what sets"professionals" apart from other classes of workers. Are professionals highly skilled technicians of humane practice; or are we merely adept at placing ourselves at critical junctures of life to exploit human misery, ignorance, and suffering?

In Niall Ferguson,"A Nineteenth Century Critique of a Twenty-First Century President," LA Times, 6 March, William E. Gladstone eviscerates the domestic and foreign policies of George W. Bush. Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for the tip.

Robert McCrum,"Our Top 50 Players in the World of Books," The Observer, 5 March, is a gossipy calculus of the leading figures in the UK's book world. Historian Simon Schama clocks in at #41.

CommandanteAgi and The Disgruntled Chemist attend a meeting sponsored by the College Young Republicans at UC, Irvine. After"the clash of civilizations," both of them want to take a shower. Thanks to Jonathan Dresner for the tip.

Finally, farewell to Anne Braden. I was a 14-year-old kid, living in the Louisville suburbs, when Carl and Anne Braden bought a house in another suburb and immediately sold it to an African-American couple. When word of that got out, the house was bombed. No one was injured, but it was my introduction to the tensions of the civil rights era. Neither was anyone ever arrested for the bombing, but many people suspected that the Bradens, themselves, had done it.

The obituary does little justice to Anne (or Carl), I suspect, because their lives embarrassed the Courier-Journal, the city's flagship voice of Southern white liberalism. Carl was fired from his job there as a proof-reader and, subsequently, convicted of violating the state's sedition law. Eventually, his conviction was overturned, but suspicion of the Bradens as communist-sympathizers hung on for the rest of their lives. As secretaries of the Southern Conference Education Fund (SCEF), they were devoted to the movement; and, clearly, there was something seditious about it, but this Young Republican is as proud of having overcome youthful fear and suspicion of Carl and Anne to sit through a couple of strategy meetings with her as I am of having sat through a strategy session with Dr. King.

David T. Beito - 3/7/2006

She spoke at the University of Alabama a couple of years ago, for well over an hour straight, and was quite effective. Despite her very strong leftist sympathies, she had little patience for those who claim that "race relations are worse now in the South than they ever have been." She compared the South of the 1950s for those who challenged the racial status quo to a totalitarian society.

Comandante Agi - 3/7/2006

Thanks for linking to my piece on the UC Irvine event.

This is a great website. I'm going for an M.A. in history next year so it's right up my alley. I'll be adding it to my blogroll.

Jonathan T. Reynolds - 3/7/2006

I, too, had the pleasure of meeting Anne Braden. She taught several courses here at NKU over the past few years -- often driving up from Louisville on a weekly basis to meet with her classes. Though I cannot say I knew her well, she and always seemed a cheerful soul, and was much beloved by her students.