THREAD FOR D-DAY
June 6, 1944
“The deciding day of this war has dawned,” Nazi Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels writes in his diary early that morning, just after the first report reaches him.
The Allied forces aren’t coming quite where the Germans expected, so the Wehrmacht commanders start racing infantry divisions along the Normandy coast to meet the incoming invasion.
In Moscow, in Washington, D.C., in London, and in cities all over the world, the early breathless rumors and hints arrive that the long- awaited invasion is underway. All anyone can

THREAD FOR TINA TURNER

For sixteen years, her husband beat her.
But on this night, Tina Turner washed the blood from her face, wrapped a cape around her bloodied clothes, covered her eyes with a pair of sunglasses, and placed a wrap on her head, because the swelling was so bad, she couldn’t wear her wig.
She ran out of the hotel, hid among the trash cans, and then ran to the Ramada Inn, where she begged for a room.
All she had was thirty-six cents and a Mobil credit card.
But after sixteen years of cruelty, she finally walked out on Ike Turner.

THREAD FOR CHRISTOPHER REEVE & SUPERMAN

Thrown from a horse, with his hands caught in the bridle, he landed headfirst.
In the hospital, as he lay there with his neck shattered, he told his wife, Dana, “Maybe we should let me go.”
Without hesitation, Dana told him, “I’ll be with you for the long haul, no matter what.” She then added the words that saved his life: “You’re still you. And I love you.”
The progress he made personally was nothing short of amazing, but what he did for others? That was the miracle.
Despite his speech being slow

THREAD ON WHAT YOU DON’T SEE:
Here’s the bullshitiness of social media — and here’s what you can’t see in this photo from our Hawaiian recommitment ceremony: As I’m pouring my heart out to my wife, in the midst of the new vows that I wrote just for her, a group of Hawaiian high schoolers start blasting music, jumping off the rocks/cliff across from us.

THREAD ON VOTING BILLS
My wife has worked on voter protection for over a decade here in Florida. Without question, the bill that Governor DeSantis just signed will make it harder for people of color, poor, elderly, and disabled people to vote. History is watching. When I posted that earlier today, many asked me to elaborate. So let’s look at the context of when this bill was passed. In 2020, for once, Florida didn’t screw it up. There was bi-partisan praise saying Florida’s elections were safe, secure, and orderly.

THREAD FOR DICK HOYT
Dick Hoyt died today. He was so nice to me when I started writing about heroes. So here is his story: When Dick and Judy Hoyt’s son was born with cerebral palsy, unable to walk or talk, the doctors told them to just “put him away.”
No, they decided. They’d push him, pull him, they’d carry him along.
But he’d never be left behind.
When the public schools said there was no place for Rick, his parents found a computer that would write his thoughts from the few head movements he could make.

LONG THREAD

History is an echo. You can hear it if you listen. So this post is for my kids. Every day, I write about history for a living – and it’s important to me that when they look back on these days, they know where I stood and can hear that echo. In writing about politics, I’ve realized that whenever one side brings up a political issue, the other side will try to counter. One side says “Russian bounties,” the other side says “Benghazi.” It goes on and on, each side thinking they’re right.

THREAD FOR #JULY4th   and DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
Here's the real story of the Declaration of Independence:
For 17 days, the thirty-three-year-old secluded himself in a rented room in Philadelphia. On a small, portable desk, he began writing, laying the foundations of this new American government. Unlike every nation before it, this country’s heart would not beat with the blood of royal lines. This would be a nation based on ideals.

THREAD FOR #JULY4th and DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
Here's the real story of the Declaration of Independence:
For 17 days, the thirty-three-year-old secluded himself in a rented room in Philadelphia. On a small, portable desk, he began writing, laying the foundations of this new American government. Unlike every nation before it, this country’s heart would not beat with the blood of royal lines. This would be a nation based on ideals.

THREAD ON READING TO PRESIDENT BUSH

This is me with my wife in Kennebunkport, Maine on our last visit to see President Bush before he died. Here’s the story of that day—and special thanks to USA Today for letting me tell it. I knew this would be my last visit with the President. I had gone to Kennebunkport, Maine to honor my friend Barbara Bush at a literacy event—and to see President George H.W. Bush.

THREAD FOR GEORGE HW BUSH
This is how I met President George H.W. Bush. He wrote me a fan later saying he loved one of my thrillers, and could I sign a copy? Of course, I sent him a book. When we finally met, he spent the first ten minutes trying to convince my wife that he invented the phrase “You da Man.” She actually believed it — until Mrs. Bush started yelling: “Stop teasing the poor girl!” From there, I told him I was researching a book about the life of a former President.

THREAD FOR STAN LEE.
Stan Lee gave us more than co-creations X-Men, Iron Man, Hulk, Fantastic Four & Spider-Man. He gave us creeds to live by. Principles to emulate. Villains (and racism) to fight. He gave me vital cornerstones of my belief system. My sense of responsibility. He helped give me a sense of hope. Why? Because I could use all his lessons in real life. That’s why his stories were so powerful. It wasn’t the super powers (sometimes it was). But as I got older, Stan Lee...

THREAD ABOUT MY WIFE

Thirty-three years ago, in my bravest moment of junior high, I asked out the prettiest girl in school. In honor of her birthday, here’s the story I wrote twenty years ago for Details magazine (remember magazines?) when Cori and I first got married. All these years later, we’ve had so many ups and downs, but my God, do I still love this woman. Happy birthday, my love. MY FIRST LADY by Brad Meltzer:
Our story starts like this: She was the captain of the cheerleaders; I had just moved to Florida from Brooklyn. She was wavy hair, green e

THREAD ABOUT LIFE.
This is my wife with Presidents @BillClinton and Bush. We’re now back from an incredible few days in Little Rock for her @PLSprogram program. Highlights included talking to President Bush about his Mom, and the total madness of Cori being seated next to W. for dinner. More important, in this time of massive political divisiveness, perhaps my favorite part was watching these two men — from opposite sides — find common ground, laughing, sharing, and being open and honest about their hardest days and

THREAD FOR #JULY4th

Here's the real story of the Declaration of Independence:
For 17 days, the thirty-three-year-old secluded himself in a rented room in Philadelphia.
On a small, portable desk, he began writing, laying the foundations of this new American government. Unlike every nation before it, this country’s heart would not beat with the blood of royal lines. This would be a nation based on ideals.
It took Thomas Jefferson seventeen days to find the right words. Seventeen days of writing and rewriting before he nervously presented his document

THREAD. I am utterly heartbroken at the loss of my friend Barbara Bush. She gave me one of the most amazing, rewarding, and unimaginable friendships of my entire life. When we first met, I was utterly intimidated by the raw power that came off her. I left thinking two things: 1) She's the reason the Bush family took the White House twice. And 2) I never want to be on her bad side. But I also instantly knew this: She was so damn funny. I mean it. As sharp a wit as I've ever seen. She wrote in one of her biographies that while she was shopping