I’ve been writing nonfiction books for young readers, mainly history and biography, for more than fifty years — since the days of typewriters and invented dialogue. Along the way I’ve seen some major changes in the way the historical record is researched, interpreted, and presented. One huge change is the...

Recently, I was discussing presidential politics with a naturalized citizen who came to this country from Malaysia as a scholarship student in 1969. When she left home, her parents took her to the airport in Kuala Lumpur, where she would set out on her long journey to a different culture...