Jeff Minick

Jeff Minick has four children and a passel of grandkids. He has written two novels, “Amanda Bell” and “Dust on Their Wings,” as well as “Learning as I Go” and “Movies Make the Man.” You’ll find more of his writing at JeffMinick.substack.com.

The Boys of War

This installment of ‘When Character Counted’ looks at the patriotic teens who carried drums, bugles, and muskets onto ...

American Essence October 17, 2026
The Zeitgeist Got You Down and Ailing? Regain Your Health With These Chicken Soup Classics

Feed your mind (and soul!) with books that promote positivity and overall wellness.

Book Recommendation October 16, 2026
Epoch Booklist: Recommended Reading for Oct. 16–22

This week, we feature a classic Arthurian legend about a knight honoring a deadly promise and an authoritative ...

Book Recommendation October 15, 2026
Resist Cultural Conformity Through Peaceful Disobedience: The Charlton Heston Way

Commentary On Feb. 16, 1999, the late Charlton Heston spoke at Harvard Law School on the topic of ...

Viewpoints October 14, 2026
The Overlooked Power of a Sincere Compliment

It can bring a smile to someone's face and make his or her entire week better.

Lifestyle October 13, 2026
The War We Have to Win: Marco Rubio and the Fight for Western Civilization

Commentary In Athens, on Oct. 7, 2026, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed a gathering of Greek ...

Viewpoints October 11, 2026
Golden Spectacles: Kate Greenaway and the Making of an Artist

In Victorian England's rapidly changing social climate, one woman capitalized on greeting cards and children's rights.

American Essence October 10, 2026
‘Look Up and Not Down’: Remembering Edward Everett Hale

In this installment of 'When Character Counted,' we meet a man who devoted his life to improving his ...

American Essence October 9, 2026
Epoch Booklist: Recommended Reading for Oct. 9–15

This week, we feature an humorous look at how books shaped a bibliophile’s life and an anthology of ...

Book Recommendation October 8, 2026
What Every Child Should Know: Treasures From an Old-Time Teacher

Children today can learn about values and virtue by reading classical poetry and prose.

Literature October 6, 2026
Standing in the Gap: Edmund Ross and the Impeachment Trial of Andrew Johnson

This installment of 'When Character Counted' features a man whom some consider corrupt and others regard as a ...

American Essence October 2, 2026
Epoch Booklist: Recommended Reading for Oct. 2–8

This week, we feature an intimate profile of two figures who loomed large during World War II and ...

Book Recommendation October 1, 2026
The Comic Books That Introduce Kids to the Classics

Reading a 1955 Classics Illustrated graphic novel as a child started one author's lifelong love of great literature.

Family & Education September 30, 2026
A Champion for Beauty in a World Gone Ugly

Designer and cultural commentator Julia James Davis is pushing back against a culture she believes has forgotten the ...

Traditional Culture September 29, 2026
‘The Great Feminization’: It’s Here, It’s Real, and the Damages Are Already Piling Up

Commentary On Sept. 2, 2025, speaking before an audience at the National Conservatism Conference in Washington, editor and ...

Viewpoints September 29, 2026
Hats Off to the Ladies: Henrietta Seiberling, Anne Smith, and Alcoholics Anonymous

This installment of 'When Character Counted' showcases two women who helped establish the most successful self-supporting global organization ...

American Essence September 28, 2026
How Fables and Fairy Tales Shape Children’s Character

The right stories teach memorable lessons about real life, virtue, and good character.

Arts & Culture September 25, 2026
The Great Depression and the American Spirit

This installment of 'When Character Counted' puts the spotlight on Americans whose code of virtue and conduct helped ...

American Essence September 25, 2026
Epoch Booklist: Recommended Reading for Sept. 25–Oct. 1

This week, we feature a fascinating tale of a 19th-century sailor who travels halfway across the world and ...

Book Recommendation September 24, 2026
Suit Up! College Dress Codes Aim to Help Students Enter the Professional World.

Commentary Before the 2026 opening of the new academic year, Alabama’s Tuskegee University unveiled a campus dress code ...

Viewpoints September 24, 2026
Epoch Booklist: Recommended Reading for Sept. 18–24

This week, we feature an examination of how AI chatbots are eroding what it means to be human ...

Book Recommendation September 17, 2026
When ‘Uncommon Valor Was a Common Virtue’: The Battle of Iwo Jima

This installment of 'When Character Counted' takes us to a small Pacific island where thousands of American Marines ...

American Essence September 17, 2026
The Armchair Archaeologist: The Benefits and Sheer Good Fun of Diving into the Past

The abundant literary, cultural, and musical output of America at the turn of the 20th century belies assumptions—so ...

American Essence September 16, 2026
Three Creators Whose Reading Shaped Their Art and the Rest of Us

Literature shaped great writers and artists of the past. Shouldn't our generation—and the next—go back to the fine ...

Traditional Culture September 13, 2026
Epoch Booklist: Recommended Reading for Sept. 11–17

This week we feature the revealing chronicles of a young woman’s life in 19th-century London and a cozy ...

Book Recommendation September 10, 2026
Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Grit, Love, and Integrity of the Man Behind the Books

In this installment of ‘When Character Counted,’ we meet a writer who demonstrated perseverance at work, love for ...

American Essence September 10, 2026
The Man Is Gone, His Legacy Lives: Wendell Berry

On Aug. 31, 92-year-old Wendell Berry (1934–2026) died in Port Royal, Kentucky, not far from his birthplace. In ...

Literature September 7, 2026