Bob's Briefing A Saturday note from Bob, for readers who brought a friend. | Issue 1 June 27, 2026 |
FROM BOB
Welcome to the very first Bob's Briefing. You are getting this one because you did the thing I was hoping someone would do: you told a friend about HistoryQuizzes.com. That means more to me than I can say, so thank you.
This is a Saturday note, separate from the daily quiz. Once a week I want to step back, point you to the stories and quizzes worth your time, and share what I have been reading. No rush, no clickbait, just a few good things to chew on over the weekend. Let's get into it.
Bob
THIS WEEK'S TOP STORY
The wars that decided a continent
We tend to picture the Native American Wars as the dramatic finish: Custer at the Little Bighorn in 1876, the Ghost Dance, the cold morning at Wounded Knee in December 1890. But the fighting stretched back more than two and a half centuries before that, all the way to the Jamestown colonists in 1622 and King Philip's War in New England in the 1670s. From Tecumseh's confederacy at Tippecanoe in 1811 to the Plains campaigns of the 1870s, these conflicts shaped which people lived where, which treaties held and which were broken, and ultimately the map of the country we know now.
What stays with me is how recent the end of it really is. Wounded Knee was 1890. There are people whose grandparents were alive for that. It is not ancient history; it is the edge of living memory, and it is worth understanding on its own terms.
THREE MORE STORIES WORTH YOUR TIME
STORY 2
The man who beat the U.S. Army, then vanished from the camera
This week marked 150 years since the Little Bighorn, and the leader behind that victory was Crazy Horse. He fought to protect a way of life, won the worst defeat the Army suffered on the plains, and never once allowed himself to be photographed. No verified image of him is known to exist. Our quiz on him runs 15 questions, about five minutes, from his early years to his final days at Fort Robinson.
STORY 3
Lawmen, outlaws, and the era that built the West
The Little Bighorn was one chapter in a much larger story. From the cattle trails and frontier towns to the lawmen and outlaws who became legends, this is our biggest quiz yet on the American West. 30 questions for readers who want to keep going after this week's frontier theme.
STORY 4
The Forgotten War, 75 years on
For something different from the frontier: this week was also the 75th anniversary of the start of the Korean War. North Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel in June 1950, and three years of fighting left Korea divided to this day. If you came of age in the 1950s, some of these dates may bring back the headlines. 30 questions, traced milestone by milestone from the invasion to the armistice.
WHAT I'M READING THIS WEEK
This one is a left turn, and I am leaning into it: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman. It is not history, it is a wild, funny, surprisingly big-hearted adventure, and I have been having a ball with it. Here is the part that surprised me. I almost always prefer reading a book myself, but I am listening to this one on audio and I would push you toward that version. The narrator, Jeff Hays, is fantastic, and he makes the whole thing sing. I just finished the first book and I am about 30 percent into the second, and I am hooked. Sometimes the best thing for a curious mind is a story that has nothing to do with the homework.
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YOUR QUIZ THIS WEEK
Native American Wars
I picked this one for Briefing readers because it rewards the long view. Thirty questions covering American History, from the colonial frontier through the Plains campaigns of the 1800s. It pairs with this week's top story, and it goes a good deal deeper than the daily quizzes. Take your time with it.
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