Columnist, author, and linguist Richard Lederer spent about six months writing his latest book, “American History for Everyone.” That was a lot longer than it’s typically taken him to write his dozens of previous books on language.
“One reason for that is that etymologically embedded in the word ‘history’ is the word ‘story.’ Writing history entails writing stories, but I am not a natural storyteller; if I were, I’d be a writer of fiction, but I write nonfiction,” he said. “I’m an explainer, so it took me quite a while to make the many stories in my book flow in ways that would entertain and enlighten my readers.”
The 223-page book takes a brief, yet broad, look at various moments in the country’s history, from its origins to slavery and the Trail of Tears, to facts about different presidents and, of course, elements of American language.
Lederer, 86, has been writing his “Lederer on Language” column (which publishes every other Saturday) for the Union-Tribune for the past 13 years. He’s also a founding co-host of “A Way With Words” on KPBS, was named International Punster of the Year, received Toastmasters International’s Golden Gavel award, and has written dozens of books, largely focused on language and humor. He currently lives in Scripps Ranch with his wife, Simone van Egeren, and they have three children and seven grandchildren. He took some time to talk about his new book, highlighting hidden figures in history, and the time one of his children was fired on national television—by Donald Trump.
Q: Congratulations on, “American History for Everyone,” which was released earlier this year. How did you formulate your approach to writing about this history?
A: As the title indicates, I set out to create a book about the great American adventure in an accessible style. My accounts are also for everyone in that, along with the usual suspects and the usual documents — Betsy Ross, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address — I’ve chronicled the hidden figures that helped shape our nation’s narrative. These hidden figures include women who disguised themselves as men to fight in the Revolutionary War, women who played critical roles in the abolition movement, women who have been running for president and vice president for more than 150 years, and the suffragettes and what they suffered to gain the vote 50 years after Black men were granted that right. Other hidden figures are the Black men and women who were conscripted to our country as slaves, who fought in our wars, who spoke out for abolition and civil rights, and who contributed to the shaping of American literature with novels and plays and poems that bequeathed us a voice to sing of ourselves. And, there are our Indigenous people who helped the Puritans to survive the cruel New England winters, whose tribal laws powerfully influenced our Constitution, who endured the horrific Trail of Tears, and whose native tongues suffuse our American language. To take just one example, exactly half of our state names are indigenous.
What I love about Scripps Ranch
Our Scripps Ranch community boasts a very active civic association and great devotion to family. I played tennis for 75 years, including with a number of talented players here in Scripps Ranch. Now 86, I’ve switched over to pickleball, America’s fastest growing sport. I play four times a week at our local Swim & Racquet Club and in the process, I’ve made a crowd of new friends.
Q: As you were figuring out the concept for this book, what was important to you to focus on in this retelling of American history?
A: The NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) has determined that history and civics, if taught, are out students’ weakest subjects. Most of us learn some of that history in school; then, like so many other facts that we acquired there, the chronicle of our national adventure fades into the background of our lives. Recent surveys reveal that one quarter of Americans think that Christopher Columbus set sail after 1750, and one-third can’t identify the century in which the Revolutionary War was fought. Three-quarters of respondents do not know that America achieved its independence from Great Britain. Only 7% can name the first four presidents of the United States in order (Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison), and only 21% know that the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln are carved on Mount Rushmore. But, more than half of Americans can name at least two members of the Simpsons’ cartoon family. I wrote this book to make the knowledge of our nation’s history at least match the nation’s knowledge of the Simpsons.
Q: You also find moments of humor, trivia, and chances to focus on language and literature in our history. A couple that stood out to me were about Ulysses S. Grant and his cigars, and the time Donald Trump fired your daughter on national television. Can you tell us about each of these American history moments from your book?
A: Indeed, I have lit my book with flashes of humor. One example is the question, “What author has a daughter who was fired on national television by an American president. The answer is I, Richard Lederer. In 2009, my daughter, Annie Duke, was a contestant on the television show “Celebrity Apprentice.” She reached the finals and, with mom and dad sitting in the audience, was fired by Donald Trump, who chose Joan Rivers.
A swatch of my book features riddles and jokes about American history. Here’s one example: What did Jefferson Davis’ high school classmates elect him as in their yearbook? The answer is “Most Likely to Secede.”
You also allude to Ulysses S. Grant, who claimed to smoke seven to 10 cigars a day. When word got out of Grant’s love of stogies, people all over the world sent him more than 10,000 boxes of cigars. The result was throat cancer. For the last few months of his life, he had to sleep in an easy chair to avoid choking. As he lay dying, Grant struggled to complete his “Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant,” which was published in 1885 by his close friend, Mark Twain. The autobiography ultimately brought in $450,000 for Grant’s family, the equivalent of more than $15 million in today’s dollars. It’s still in print and remains one of the finest accounts of the Civil War ever written.
Q: What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
A: For me, William Shakespeare was the greatest language genius in history. His words in “Hamlet,” his favorite play and mine, have shaped my life: “To thine own self be true. And it shall follow as the night to day, Thou canst not be false to any man.”
Q: What is one thing people would be surprised to find out about you?
A: That I am the most successful breeder of world-class poker players in history. My son, Howard “The Professor” Lederer and daughter, Annie Duke (now retired), won millions of dollars playing professional poker. Recognizing their amazing card sense, I taught them card games from diapers—I don’t mean mine; I mean theirs.
Q: Please describe your ideal San Diego weekend.
A: San Diego is a great theater town, so my ideal weekend would be seeing a play or two, in addition to attending a Padres game in the right season, playing poker and pickleball with my friends, and, of course, performing or teaching somewhere.