Hi all,

I haven’t written anything here in awhile; with a pre-order page to send people to now, I haven’t needed Substack as a placeholder call-to-action. Coupled with this platform’s insistence on becoming a social media site, my efforts have been better focused elsewhere.

But, in case there’s some people subscribed here who haven’t seen updates elsewhere—and to get everything in one place—here’s the latest on the book!

First, Thy Will Be Done: George Washington’s Legacy of Slavery and the Fight For American Memory will be published three months from today! I’ve got advance reader copies, I just finished editing the index, soon it will be getting printed and bound. A bit terrifying, but mostly very exciting!

Second, I hope you’ll pre-order the book if you can. Although this isn’t my first book, it’s the first one I’ve written for a broad audience of history readers rather than for fellow academics. Pre-orders can really help generate early buzz for the book. If you can’t pre-order (and god knows I can’t afford to buy all the books I’m interested in), you could ask your local library to buy a copy. That’s super helpful too!

If you do pre-order the book and would like me to sign it, I’d be happy to send you a book plate to stick inside! Just fill out this request form.

Third, I’ll be speaking out the book at several museums, historic sites, and other venues this spring! I had the opportunity to speak at the New York State Museum last month, in conjunction with their exhibit George Washington: American Paradox. Starting in March, I’ve got book events lined up in Boston, Detroit, Baltimore, and several in the DC area. I’ll keep updating the events list here.

Fourth and finally, I’ve started posting videos to TikTok where I share some of the exciting, interesting, or otherwise notable things happening in the world of public history and museums. If you’re into that kind of thing, you can find me there.

Thanks again for your interest in my book. I’ll be back to share some previews of the research, excerpts, and other updates in the weeks ahead.

JM