I could say so much more. substack.com/@susanwiseba...

Please consider a pre-order of my upcoming book, THE GREAT SHADOW! Read more about it here: substack.com/@susanwiseba...

I am mostly an X-refugee these days, but this gave me a good election-day chuckle.

Here I am saying hello to the donkeys this morning. Athena and Thelonius, currently on guard duty in the duck pen, are always very glad to see me, in the hopes that breakfast will follow shortly...be sure to put on the sound!

Charles McNamara at Commonweal, about classical ideals and how they differ from the Turning Point model: Please read. www.commonwealmagazine.org/gladiator-ga...

Great advice from the newsletter written by Sunday Times children's book reviewer, Nicollette Jones. "Remember that the goal is reading for pleasure. Never criticise what children choose to read. Accept comics, graphic novels, non-fiction and audiobooks....

Public service announcement--the Orionid meteor showers peak tonight and tomorrow night! Go outside, if you can, and lie in some grass. abcnews.go.com/GMA/Living/o...

Well, still haven't quite made it to the shower, but the animals are fed, the horses have been schooled, the urgent emails polished off, some writing completed, the pea soup and cheese bread underway for dinner, AND I VOTED. If you've got local elections coming up, don't forget to vote.

If you plan to vote Democrat in Virginia's elections this fall, please consider writing in Shannon Taylor rather than Jay Jones for Attorney General. Jones narrowly defeated Taylor; she is fully qualified and also has not, so far as I know, advocated shooting political opponents.

Probably my favorite Frog and Toad quote ever.

Just reading through this list and seeing all those wonderful, familiar book covers made me feel all warm and wistful inside. But I also particularly enjoyed the recommendations from 2010 on, when my own children were past the picture book stage. www.theatlantic.com/books/2025/1...

October flowers, October morning mist, and hosting October Sunday Lunch on the farm.

Thoughts on writing history. substack.com/@susanwiseba...

I love the ads I get on FB after I post about horses. Fifteen minutes on a horse in this, and you'd have lost most of the skin from inner thigh down to your upper calf. Just providing a reality check. (Also, sweetie, let go of the horn. That's not what it's for.) www.shopdoen.com/products/ann...

In a change from my usual work routines, I'm scribing at the Region 1 Dressage Finals in Lexington, Virgina. Heading home tomorrow, feeling as if I've had a vacation.

Just a reminder that my Thursday Substacks are all about history. susanwisebauer.substack.com/p/the-truth-...

The new edition of a book that I have always been proud of...but I think the revisiion is even better. welltrainedmind.com/story-of-the...

A little while ago, a reader posted a comment over on FB requiring me to explain how my “personal convictions” affect my approach to writing history. Let me refer you to Chapter Seven of The Well-Educated Mind, which tells you everything you need to know about my approach to history.

Texas has appointed David Barton as Expert Content Advisor for the 2025 revision of Texas's history standards. But Barton is no historian. His sole academic credit is a BA in religious education from ORU. His books are peppered with errors, mis-citations, and historical fallacies. Texas, do better.

Today was a much needed farm and family day. Cleaned the barn, rode my horses, had dinner with my husband next to the river, and kept an eye on the new ducklings, which are being carefully supervised by our guardian donkey Thelonius. Hope that you all have some time this weekend to touch grass.

Well said.

Always happy to see that the History of the World series is still alive and well in the wild! Shoutout to my local Barnes & Noble (in New Town, Williamsburg, Virginia) for keeping the books on the shelves long after their initial pub date.

St. Martins is doing a giveaway on Goodreads...sign up if you're interested! www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...

It is VITALLY important that those of us who disagreed with Charlie Kirk on every point of politics and culture say LOUDLY that this shooting was an act of evil that should be condemned by every person with a single shred of decency. May light eternal shine upon him. apnews.com/live/utah-va...

Not sure what this says about me (maybe just "She doesn't watch a lot of TV), but I had no idea who Erin Napier was before people started sending me links to her comments about The Well-Trained Mind. So here's my informal poll: do you follow the Napiers on HGTV?? www.tvinsider.com/1213701/hgtv...

Check out my new Substack post on the reasons why germs are bad for business, autonomy, and vaccine mandates. susanwisebauer.substack.com/p/resisting-...

Yup, this pretty much sums up the coming weekend.

Sounds like a good reason to home school, if you ask me. Way fewer germs. wapo.st/4p68Vzy

Sorting through my parents' books and finding far too many on how to have a godly family, and raise perfect children that turned out to have been written by adulterers, cheaters, abusers, and sexual predators. Maybe the way to have a healthy family and functioning children isn't found in a book

Y'all, I'm finally making the space at Another Place to exercise my knowledge of history and contemplate the present. Come join me. susanwisebauer.substack.com/p/why-vaccin...

In chaotic and disturbing times, a quiet morning in my office.

Meanwhile, at the Well-Trained Mind Academy, we discourage enrollment by students under fifth grade, because we believe that elementary aged children need actual human interaction. wapo.st/4lJi1zl

The writer's dilemma. (My husband is watching 24 AGAIN.)

Facing up to another huge loss. I worked with Star for nearly 30 years. I owe him so much, starting with his decision in 1996 that Norton WOULD publish Well-Trained Mind, no matter what the rest of the board thought. May light eternal shine upon him. lunch.publishersmarketplace.com/2025/08/star...

Well, y'all, I'm at it again. Bratty baby horse is now bratty teenaged horse and we're trying for our second and final qualifying score at training level. Warmup today, show at Lexington tomorrow and the next day.

It's been a long hot busy week, getting my youngest ready to move! We set off yesterday morning for the new apartment and the MFA in Shakespeare and Performance at Mary Baldwin University. Side note: We are getting old.

I've watching past seasons of Master Chef on vacation this week. Really struck by how many of the female contestants with small children repeat over and over again that they're doing this so their children can have a better life. It's as though they don't dare say: I want this for me.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! 57th birthday on Hatteras Island with grown kids, their dogs, food, wine, and presents.

A couple of useful follow-ups to my last post: an enlightening discussion of the difference between "augmentation" and "replacement": wapo.st/47bZIiI And then, a take from a therapist about how Chat GPT does a good job replacing his skills: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/o...

What exactly is the definition of "historian" (#2) that the Microsoft tech bros were using? What on earth is this job called "Writers and Authors" that pops up in #5? Down below, I see Reporters, Technical Writers, and Editors...so there's an alarming lack of definition on this list.

Editing one of my own manuscripts this morning, which largely consists of deleting two out of three semicolons.

Finish every day, and be done with it. You’ve done what you could; Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. —Ralph Waldo Emerson

I thoroughly enjoyed yesterday's appearance at thenchc.us! A friendly and welcoming crowd, a nice variety of vendors, and an organized, efficient staff. And we got to spend some relaxed time with friends in unusually cool, refreshing weather. Thanks for the invite, NCHC, and I hope to see you again!

Happy as a... Feeding the pigs is an exercise in observing zen.

This was a fun conversation--thank you, Ro, for excellent questions. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIKX...

One year ago this weekend, my brother and I scattered my father's ashes in Alaska. Remembering this today, and missing him.

What does a real farmer do when faced with a six-foot blacksnake intent on eating the baby chicks in the brooder? SHE CALLS HER GROWN SON because, sue me, I don't like snakes.

Sometimes, you just have to stop and enjoy a two-year-old horse listening to thunder. (And trying to get his big sisters to play, which got a firm "no.")