MY Heroes are usually living. Professor Bob Packett and “History According to Bob” podcast

Professor Bob Packett doesn’t appear to be exceptionally heroic in the visual sense. And his voice, a feature I have grown familiar with over the years, is not the deep basso profundo of a movie hero, by any means. Yet Bob Packett does something pretty heroic in my book. He researches, writes, delivers and distributes (for free), daily, a splendid history podcast entitled HISTORY ACCORDING TO BOB. Why is this heroic? Because of the sheer level of effort and passion for his subject matter pervades what Professor Packett does. Every day. I have rarely encountered someone with a grasp and passion for historical subjects that surpasses my own. Dan Carlin is one. Bob Packett is another. That’s not flummery or back patting– who engages in idle discussion about historical subjects these days, except for trivia players? Bob Packett takes a subject that literally bores many people to tears and makes it exciting, conversational and fun. The HISTORY ACCORDING TO BOB podcast is one of those great educational “gateway” opportunities that should not be missed. Every day, Professor Packett prepares a breezy, 18 to 20 minute overview of a certain historical subject. The success of his approach is related to the way he doesn’t overwhelm the listener with too much information in one setting. Packett will prepare a series of podcasts around a central theme– say, the life of Napoleon or the Civil War year by year. He won’t record all of them at once, or release them all at once. Instead he’ll bounce back and forth and a steady stream of podcasts on a plethora of subjects will be released– Al Capone one day. The Battle of Mechanicsville another. The Battle of Jena (part one) the next. Packett’s sinister plan, of course, is to get you interested in OTHER eras and subjects of history you’d never heard of– and it works. Even for me! I knew virtually nothing about Reconnaissance warfare until I listened to a recent series Packett has been working on. A fascinating subject. For the die hard fans of specific eras, you can browse his current archive and download at least five or six podcasts clustered around that era on any given day. Professor Packett also provides sources (book titles) at the end of every podcast, so you can do your own research.

I’ve been listening to Professor Packett’s distinctive nasally twang for at least three years now, and he never disappoints. I highly recommend HISTORY ACCORDING TO BOB.

HISTORY ACCORDING TO BOB website