Free Exchange on Campus is sponsoring a meme on"Why Do You Teach?" (scroll down). That link rounds-up many of the responses, including those by a number of history bloggers.

Tim Rutten reviews David Levering Lewis's God's Crucible: How Islam shaped Europe from 570 to 1215 AD for the LA Times, 23 January. Someone should have told Lewis that this book was beyond his reach. It won't enhance his reputation.

David Oshinsky,"In the Heart of the Heart of Conspiracy," NYT, 27 January, looks at M. Stanton Evans's Blacklisted by History: The Untold Story of Senator Joe McCarthy and His Fight Against America's Enemies.

Chris Bray,"a century of acts for civil rights," historiblogography, 25 January, outlines the case for a narrative of self-defense in the history of the civil rights movement. At Mary Jo Murphy's"Phone Call Into History," NYT, 27 January, you can listen to a telephone conversation between Lyndon Johnson and Martin Luther King about the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Our colleague, KC Johnson, made the tape available to the Times.

Maurice Isserman,"Weather Reports," The Nation, 24 January, reviews autobiographical recollections of the Weathermen and Paul Buhle's comic book history of SDS. Hat tip to Brian Sholis. Did I ever tell you that my first academic dean, a historian, published a coloring book and listed it on his cv? Seriously! He thought I had trouble staying within the lines.

Mark Oppenheimer,"Free Bob Avakian!" Boston Globe, 27 January, tries to understand the campaign to defend the civil liberties of a guy whose civil liberties are not noticeably threatened. Thanks to David Garrow for the tip.