Tim Abbott hosts XXXVIII, an early modern (ca 1450-1850 CE) edition of the festival, at Walking the Berkshires on Sunday 20 April. Send nominations of the best in early modern history blogging since 16 February to him at greensleevesenviro*at*sbcglobal*dot*net or use the form.

Errol Morris,"Play It Again, Sam (Re-enactments, Part One)," Zoom, 3 April, and Morris,"Play It Again, Sam (Re-enactments, Part Two)," Zoom, 10 April, are installments in a new series by the winner of last year's Cliopatria Award for Best Series of Posts.

Daniel Walker Howe,"America's Century of Self-Discovery," NY Sun, 9 April, reviews Walter A. McDougall's Throes of Democracy: The American Civil War Era. Hat tip to Brian Sholis.

Garry Wills,"Two Speeches on Race," NYRB, 1 May, compares Abraham Lincoln's "Cooper Union Address", 27 February 1860, and Barack Obama's "A More Perfect Union", 18 March 2008.

Glenda Gilmore,"She Would Not Be Silent," Washington Post, 13 April, reviews Paula Giddings's new biography of Ida B. Wells, Ida: A Sword among Lions.

Niall Ferguson,"War Plans," NYT, 13 April, reviews Philip Bobbitt's Terror and Consent: The Wars for the Twenty-First Century.

Amanda Ripley,"The Story of Barack Obama's Mother," Time, 21 April, tells us more about Ann Dunham, a fascinating woman, who pioneered micro-financing in Indonesia and earned a doctorate in anthropology. Thanks to David Garrow for the tip.