Although . . . his story could make for a very terrible television show. (Mild-mannered historian by day/Perfumed fop-rocker by night!) Signed copies of Ted Widmer’s new book “Brown: The History of an Idea” are available at the Brown Bookstore. Thumbs up from Tony Horwitz so that’s all you need to know.
“Through the wobbly glass of Brown’s antique buildings, we see the entire pageant of U.S. history, including an unlikely cast: Horace Mann, the Marx Brothers, Margaret Mead, and Malcolm X, among many others. I’ve never been so proud to be a Brunonian.”
—Tony Horwitz ‘80, author of Confederates in the Attic and Blue Latitudes
Mr. Widmer has the best résumé of any living human — historian, writer, librarian, musician. Widmer has been a speechwriter for both Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President William Clinton, served as director of the John Carter Brown Library, and for a few years there in the 90’s Widmer played guitar and vocals as Lord Rockingham in the Upper Crust. We’ve written about him before.
And in related news, the Upper Crust will be playing at the Met on December 18! (With the Figgs, good bill.) Widmer is no longer in the lineup, but this band of supercilious fops has maintained its superior attitude and really puts on a show. Enjoy this, “Let Them Eat Rock.”