Reflecting on the First Draft of History, One Week at a Time

Reflecting on the First Draft of History, One Week at a Time
International newspapers on sale at a newsstand in Paris, Oct. 15, 2013 (AP photo by Remy de la Mauviniere).

Editor’s note: This will be Howard French’s final weekly column for World Politics Review. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Howard for the keen insights—born of his rich experience, creative intelligence and interdisciplinary thinking—that he has shared with WPR’s readers for the past three years. We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.

When I began writing a weekly global affairs column for World Politics Review nearly three years ago, things settled into an almost organic rhythm surprisingly quickly.

Some of what goes into writing columns, in fact, I didn’t need to change at all. I have been an information hound for most of my life. A late grandmother used to tease me, saying that I was the only person she knew who could read, watch television, listen to the radio and stay abreast of active conversations going on around me, all at the same time. And that, of course, was long before the advent of the internet.

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