Dustin Bass

Dustin Bass is the creator and host of the “American Tales” podcast and cofounder of “The Sons of History.” He writes two weekly series for The Epoch Times: Profiles in History and This Week in History. He is also an author.

Epoch Booklist: Recommended Reading for Nov. 13–19

This week, we feature the fictional journey of a cavalryman who needs to make a special delivery from ...

Book Recommendation November 12, 2026
Paranoia, Betrayals, Defections Culminate in This True Cold War Story

Robert Kerbaj’s ‘The Defector’ describes how an unconventional defection altered the course of the Cold War between the ...

Book Review November 11, 2026
Nuclear War Averted: When a False Alarm Nearly Cost America Everything

In ‘This Week in History,’ America and Canada established NORAD to protect the countries, but a simple error ...

American Essence November 7, 2026
Epoch Booklist: Recommended Reading for Nov. 6–12

This week, we feature a superb, intimate portrayal of Alexander the Great and a mysterious Victorian mystery reminiscent ...

Book Recommendation November 5, 2026
James Eads, the Self-Taught Genius Who Conquered the Mississippi

In this installment of 'Profiles in History,' we see how a former riverboat worker built America's most daring ...

American Essence November 1, 2026
How Ansel Adams Narrowly Captured His Most Famous Photo

In ‘This Week in History,’ Ansel Adams was commissioned to photograph America’s national parks, resulting in an impromptu ...

American Essence October 31, 2026
Epoch Booklist: Recommended Reading for Oct. 30–Nov. 5

This week, we feature a gripping novel set in an alternative past when everyone is deemed smart and ...

Book Recommendation October 29, 2026
A Devastatingly Beautiful Retelling of the Life of Alexander the Great

Edmund Richardson’s ‘Alexander: God, King, Man’ reconstructs the Macedonian’s brilliant, violent life through ancient texts, archaeology, and myth.

Book Review October 29, 2026
The Long, Evolving Efforts to Honor America’s Four Great Presidents

In ‘This Week in History,’ grossly underestimated in both time and cost, the Mount Rushmore National Monument was ...

American Essence October 24, 2026
Epoch Booklist: Recommended Reading for Oct. 23–29

This week, we feature an eclectic essay collection from a controversial political figure and a body of classic ...

Book Recommendation October 22, 2026
The Reissue: ‘The Sun Also Rises’ Revisited a Century Later With Special Edition

In this installment of ‘The Reissue,’ a Hemingway scholar discusses his new ‘The Annotated Sun Also Rises’ celebrating ...

Book Review October 22, 2026
One Man’s Heroism in the Face of Terrorism

Christian Craighead’s ‘One Man In’ memoir of his actions during an al-Shabaab terror attack is engaging, graphic, and ...

Book Review October 18, 2026
The Rise and Tragic End of America’s Greatest Magician

In ‘This Week in History,’ the man who made a living escaping death, arrived in Detroit to perform ...

American Essence October 17, 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
The Accidental Rise of the 20th Century’s Greatest Classicist

In this installment of ‘Profiles in History,’ a recently retired headmistress turned her love of ancient Greece into ...

American Essence October 14, 2026
The 27-Year Effort to Create San Francisco’s Opera House

In ‘This Week in History,’ San Franciscans overcame natural disasters, war, and a financial depression to finally build ...

American Essence October 10, 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
Re-experiencing Hawthorne Via His Brief, Intriguing Ideas

Robert S. Levine’s ‘Nathaniel Hawthorne: Parables, Fantasies, Fragments’ presents the famous American author in a fascinating new way.

Book Review October 7, 2026
How the 50th Celebration of the Revolution Led to the First US Railroad

In ‘This Week in History,’ America’s first commercial railroad began its run that helped build the Bunker Hill ...

American Essence October 3, 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
From Farm to Florence: Hiram Powers’s Rise to Sculpting Fame

In this installment of ‘Profiles in History,’ a farm boy battles malaria, moves to Italy, and becomes one ...

American Essence September 30, 2026
The ‘Ugly Ducklings’ That Turned the Tide of WWII

In ‘This Week in History,’ as Germany surrounds Britain, neutral America promised relief by building hundreds of Liberty ...

American Essence September 26, 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
America and Baseball: How National Tragedies Draw Us to the Game

Commentary Deep inside the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library resides a letter from one of America's most ...

Viewpoints September 23, 2026
Rare Thomas Jefferson Letter, Inscribed Books Head to Auction

Raab Collection to auction its rarest Jeffersonian artifacts in its near 40-year history, with an asking price of ...

America’s 250th September 21, 2026
How a Self-Taught Artist’s Depression-Era Gamble Paid Off

In this installment of ‘Profiles in History,’ a Massachusetts farm boy and WWI veteran becomes a pioneer in ...

American Essence September 20, 2026
How JFK’s Impromptu Campaign Speech Created the Peace Corps

In ‘This Week in History,’ Kennedy challenged college students to take their professional skills to nations in need ...

American Essence September 19, 2026