When I was home for the holiday and we were exchanging gifts, my father opened a gift from my sister: These Truths: A History of the United States by Jill Lepore.  As he was opening it, my sister picked up a random gift from my mother which was under the tree and handed it to me.  I waited patiently for my turn, expressing sincere interest in reading Lepore's book as soon as my father was finished.  Then, I opened the present in my lap, and it was the same book!  Such a coincidence wasn't particularly shocking, given our common tastes combined with the fact that the previous year I'd given my dad Grant on his e-reader and I received a hard copy as well (although it came as little surprise, as we'd both requested Chernow's latest).

All that said, after finishing a few other books first, I finally got to These Truths recently.  Today I read about a bunch of colonists complaining about taxes, winning a revolution because Washington was gritty, determined and brave to lead troops who exemplified the same, France, Spain and the Netherlands helped, Britain was more concerned about holding onto its possessions in the Caribbean, and Cornwallis didn't have a phone so he had no idea that reinforcements were merely a day away when he surrendered.

The day began with business class, and we learned how giant patriotic American corporations avoid taxes by offshoring (what could be more patriotic than avoiding taxes?).

After that, I went home and, like a good citizen, filed my taxes.

Quite a place, this land named for the mapmaker