Non-Boring History

British historian Dr. Annette Laing, now based in the US, serves as your engaging and conversational navigator through the histories of the US and the UK, highlighting their connections.

National

English

Newsletter (Digital)

Outlet metrics

Domain Authority

Ranking

Global

N/A

Country

N/A

Articles

A Photo

3 weeks ago | annettelaing.substack.com | Annette Laing

Greetings from Madison! The Gnomes at Non-Boring House met, then sent the Nonnie Relations Gnome to speak with me. Their message: I should slow down in this, um, lively time. Not f…
Cracking Back

3 weeks ago | annettelaing.substack.com | Annette Laing

This is an Annette Tells Tales post at Non-Boring History, an exclusive for paying subscribers (because I can’t afford to write without them). Here, this historian translates fascinating (but hard to read) scholarship into chatty and even funny posts, to help you discover academic history, and why it matters.
Peanuts in the Desert

4 weeks ago | annettelaing.substack.com | Annette Laing

This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts
Cheer Up, Charlie Brown!

1 month ago | annettelaing.substack.com | Annette Laing

Annette on the Roadposts at Dr. Annette Laing’s Non-Boring History are Annette’s takes not only as an academic and public historian, but as a historical tourist. She shows how she interprets museums and historic sites on the basis of the information in front of her, plus a little digging on the web, plus what prior knowledge she has, just as you do. That’s why these posts are a little more personal. New to Non-Boring History?
Summer Museum Bingo!

1 month ago | annettelaing.substack.com | Annette Laing

History gets such a bad rap. But done right, it’s the best subject: No busy work, just listening and reading to enjoyable stories that inspire us to think, and that help all of us understand the world we live in now, even though we all come to different conclusions about it. Many years ago, I learned from teaching an American university student travel group in London that the best place to learn history, to gain a lifelong desire to learn about it, is on the road.
The Grass Cult

1 month ago | annettelaing.substack.com | Annette Laing

As May ends, the buzz of lawnmowers outside is the soundtrack on a Midwestern US weekend. Even the most avid environmentalists, having held off through most of May to help out the little bugs that live in the leaves and tall grass, are sighing and firing up their mowers. Why? There’s a law that requires keeping grass trimmed, in oh-so-liberal Madison, Wisconsin, which has been in active denial for years that “No Mow May” is a thing.
Dirt Road Through Oz

1 month ago | annettelaing.substack.com | Annette Laing

This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts
When Enemies Become Us

1 month ago | annettelaing.substack.com | Annette Laing

This is an Annette on the Road post at Non-Boring History, in which historian Dr. Annette Laing writes about her travels in tourist mode, learning and sharing as she goes.
The Great Pyramid of Grifters

1 month ago | annettelaing.substack.com | Annette Laing

Today is a free post. But please note: I paywall most of my work. I don’t use paywalls because I’m a mean nasty greedy lady. And I don’t make them all free to cynically pretend I’m a wonderful generous person for PR reasons, so you will reward me. Instead, I’m honest with you: This is fulltime work, it’s expensive to do, and the culture we have of not paying writers unless they tell us what we want to hear has been a disaster.
Where the West Was Made (Up)

1 month ago | annettelaing.substack.com | Annette Laing

“Here's a place that's cheaper than a good chain hotel, and it sounds awesome.”“I was just looking at that,” said Hoosen. Sold. Following in the footsteps of Hollywood glitterati, we would spend the night in a hotel in New Mexico that once played host to the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Jimmy Cagney, Henry Fonda, and many more.