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From the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal, this is Potomac Watch.

Welcome to Potomac Watch, the daily podcast of the Wall Street Journal opinion pages.

I'm Paul Giego, the editor of those pages.

And today we have a special guest, the distinguished historian, Alan Gwellzo.

Professor Gelsso is the Thomas W. Smith

distinguished research scholar and director of the initiative on politics and statesmanship

at the James Madison program at Princeton University. He is one of the foremost American

historians of the Civil War, winning many prizes for his scholarship,

particularly on Abraham Lincoln. But our subject today is a little difference. It's about

his new project on Western civilization, along with fellow historians James Hankins.

Professor is writing the Golden Thread, a history of the Western tradition.

It's intended to be a two-volume project covering more than a thousand-year history between

the Battle of Marathon when the Greeks resisted the Persians through the Renaissance and then

on to the 21st century, needless to say, I'm pretty a giant undertaking.

But one in my view that is much needed, given the declining knowledge and public confidence in the Western tradition.

And I should add that our reviewer, Megan Gurdon, gave the Golden Thread a rave review recently, making me very eager to read it.

So welcome, Professor Gelswell, great to have you.

That's great to be here, Paul.

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