Celebrating Three Years on Substack
“So he’s like a Robert Caro.” - Some DC consultant
It’s been one wild ride this year, and it’s challenging to put words together to make another anniversary post as I look back on what I’ve done. To keep this short and sweet, I’m grateful to know there are people out there interested in my writing. I still remember about a decade ago sitting in a small office with my undergrad writing professor freshman year, going over writing structure with me, and having no desire to write. But along the way, and many professors later, I had to put my history degree to use somehow.
If there was ever one small comment that stuck with me, I was told by a friend of mine some months ago who went to a DC social event, who shared my Substack page with another gentleman, and he said, “So he’s like a Robert Caro.” Honestly, nothing could ever top that remark.
Since it’s been a shy of a month since Vacancy was published, I’ve been taking a lot of free time plainly just reading. I know I mentioned last year that I would write about the NY-17 campaign between Lawler and Jones, but sometimes things change. I poured a lot of time and energy over six months writing about October’s motion to vacate, and from what I could gather, I’m likely the first writer to independently publish such a historical deep-dive account of that moment within congressional history.
As I back away from writing for a little bit, I want to take this summer to spend time reading more, and it’s truly a great way to distance myself from my phone. Plus it's a space where I find myself more at peace in life for once.
The books that I since finished were mainly Bob Woodward’s:
Bush at War
Plan of Attack
State of Denial
The War Within
Obama’s Wars
I’m about halfway done through:
Do Not Ask What Good We Do (Robert Draper)
Demosclerosis (Jonathan Rauch)
Newt Gingrich (Matthew Green & Jeffrey Crouch)
House Rules (Robert Cwiklik)
What I hope to finish by September:
Intensive Care (Thomas Mann & Norman Ornstein)
Second Class (Batya Ungar-Sargon)
The Meanest Man in Congress (Brendan McNulty & Timothy McNulty)
The Price of Power (Seymour Hersh)
Into the Bright Sunshine (Samuel Freedman)
A Sense of Values (David Bowne Wood & Bob Mahoney)
As November gets closer, there will always be something to write about. But in the meantime, I just want to say thank you to all my readers and friends who enjoy my work, acknowledge the effort I put into the work I do, and continue to show their encouragement and support along the way. Happy 3 years to The Legislative Route being on Substack!