It was a surprise last year when the big glossy American history magazine American Heritage went belly up. I'd have guessed there was a huge niche for a mag of that sort in the US. Then one of the Grosvenors (of National Geographic fame, American royalty almost) bought it up, and it seemed likely to revive.
Meanwhile, the American Heritage website continued. Along with ongoing brief articles and material from the mag's archives, it offered one of the only substantial historyblogs (histblog? histoblog? blistory?) I've come across. Along with some wierd only-in-the-US Red State/Blue State slanging matches among its team of bloggers, it had some lively, thoughtful coverage of historical issues and events.
Now the new team announces it is finally ready to take over. Seems all it has done, however, is fire all the bloggers. Too bad.
Late Update: Greg Pepus of American Heritage's new team assures me they have big plans for both the magazine and website. "It takes time and a huge amount of money to restart an enterprise," he says. Fair enough. We'll keep looking in.
