Civil War history told through 432 previously unpublished letters

February 27, 2026 by

This week’s guest, journalist J. Mark Powell, says that history books tell you what happened during the Civil War, but his new book, “Witness to War,” allows readers to experience it firsthand through its witnesses: Union and Confederate, battlefront and homefront, soldiers, civilians (men, women, and a few children). The book is based on Powell’s private collection of 500 letters, and he reads a poignant one from a freed slave, living in Canada, to her former masters. Llewellyn King and Adam Clayton Powell III co-host.

Loving Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day — for Its Contradictions

Llewellyn King

I won’t let St. Patrick’s Day pass without wearing something green and reaching for a glass of something that has been produced through fermentation or distillation. It is the least I can do for all the ways the Irish have enriched the world, but especially the English language, and me. When it comes to writing, […]

How Loneliness Became a Pandemic and What You Can Do

Llewellyn King

You don’t have to be sitting by yourself on an island to be lonely. Loneliness is everywhere. Studies from universities, governments and public health groups find that the world is in the grip of a loneliness pandemic. More than half the U.S. population is said to be suffering from loneliness. It is classified globally as […]

Inside the Civil War: New Letter Trove Takes You Among Soldiers, Widows, and the Enslaved

Llewellyn King

J. Mark Powell’s new book, “Witness to War,” tells the story of the Civil War objectively through the letters of everyday people who endured it. WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, February 24, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — J. Mark Powell, a journalist with the InsideSources syndicate, became fascinated with the Civil War when he was just 9 years […]

Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely, Including at the Tech Giants

Llewellyn King

For me, the most remarkable thing about Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg’s appearance at a Los Angeles court, to answer questions about the addictive aspects of social media, was that he was there at 8:30 a.m. wearing a suit. Sarah Wynn-Williams, in her excellent book about Facebook, “Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed and […]