Mount Defiance and visiting American Revolutionary War sites in upstate New York

I spent Columbus Day weekend 2020 seeing American Revolutionary War related historical sites in the upstate NY Adirondack Mountains. Mount Defiance, the one shown here, was only one of them. For those interested in seeing such historical sites, ownership of such sites in the USA can be confusing and complex.

Fort Ticonderoga is owned by a private not-for-profit who also own Mount Defiance, the nearby hilltop from which Burgoyne menaced the fort in 1777.

Crown Point, well worth seeing, is about 25km north and owned and operated by the state of New York Parks department ( signage is bilingual French/ English due to proximity to Quebec. This is not common for NY government services)

Saratoga Battleground, about three hours to the south of Ticonderoga is part of the US National Park System and run by them. Johnson Hall, the home of Sir William Johnson, about an hour west of Saratoga is again a state run historic park but Fort Johnson, Johnson's earlier home about a half hour drive south of his later home, is owned and operated by the Montgomery County Historical Society. ( Technically not an American Revolutionary War site, of course, but well worth seeing if you visit his other home. )

Many close in the October or so for the winter and Covid-19 has complicated everything. Saratoga Park visitors center is closed but the grounds are open. Crown Point is closing early this season and closes this week, but when I arrived they had a policy of only one family at a time inside the museum at a time and I had to sit outside on a bench for 15 minutes waiting ( cool, museum though)

These are photos of Mount Defiance. In 1777, when Burgoyne's army headed south from Montreal in the campaign that culimnated in the Battle of Saratoga, one of the obstacles they faced was the American controlled Fort Ticonderoga. Burgoyne put the fort under siege and sought out good places to post cannons in order to menace the fort. One of these spots was nearby Mount Defiance. 

Today, Mount Defiance offers a beautiful view of the fort and Lake Champlain. It is private property, owned by the same not-for-profit foundation that owns Fort Ticonderoga. If one wishes to drive up to the observation spots, one needs to use a gated private road. Tickets are available for purchase at the fort. However, if one wishes and is in good health, you can easily park by the gate and walk up the raod to the picnic and viewing area, 

The view of the fort and the Lake Champlain from Fort Ticonderoga. 

A New York state historical marker  on the small town road
that leads to Mount Defiance and its private road. 

Another view of the fort from Mount Defiance.

At the top of Mount Defiance there is a flag pole and a fenced in area
that is part of the local power generation system.

As one heads up to Mount Defiance you pass a civil war monument. 

Columbus as an Anti-racist symbol in American history, yes, you read that correctly -A couple great essays on Columbus Day

 History, like current events, tends to be complex. And when we write or speak about historical happenings, obviously, what gets discussed or reported is not necessarily what happened. Everyone knows that. 

But what's more important, is the way in which different aspects of history get looked at, emphasized, or de-emphasized. And different things become exposed or become clearer because they are looked at from different angles or perspectives. 

People tend to choose what they wish to remember, what they try to forget, and what the presumed lessons might be from real events that occurred in the past. And this changes over time.

When I was in graduate school studying Chinese history, my adviser, Sherman Cochran, simply loved a book called " Discovering History in China: American Historical Writing on the Recent Chinese Past," by Paul A. Cohen.  Every time he spoke of it, his eyes lit up. Basically it's a history of how Americans have approached the study of Chinese history and how that has changed over the decades. Very interesting. Well worth reading for the serious historian.

(You can learn more about the book here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1952590.Discovering_History_in_China )

And nowhere at the moment, is this perhaps more true than with Columbus. He's shifted from hero to villain, when the truth was, obviously, much more complex. Of course, most people know that Columbus "discovered" America by accident while engaged on a ground-breaking, high-risk attempt to open a new trade route to India. Most of us also know that he never realized that he had found a pair of new continents and that when he did land, he not only treated the indigenous inhabitants very badly, he paved the way for years of exploitation and colonialism. Yet for decades he was and to many still is, remembered as a heroic figure. This needs to be put in context and not just swept aside as uninteresting and wrong headed. If I can cite Sherman Cochran, my above mentioned thesis advisor, an important part of studying and learning history is what motivated the people of a certain time and place to do and believe the things they did? And again, with Columbus, what not only motivates the people who are quick to cast him as a villain and destroy his statues, but what also motivated the people who worked hard to put those Columbus statues there in the first place? 

The answer, interestingly, is that both groups of people, the Columbus-statue-builders, and the Columbus-statue-destroyers, were motivated by anti-racism and the desire to make the United States a more equal and culturally embracing place to live. Yes, both sides.

Here are a couple essays that I found on the subject that I think are well worth reading. They both discuss Columbus and his fame and role as a hero in the context of Roman Catholic Italian-Americans seeking Italian-American heroes and symbols at a time when Protestant White Supremacist Nativist sentiment was an important part of the American societal landscape. In other words, they speak of the use of Columbus as a symbol and force against American racism.   

The first one is by Heather Cox Richardson, a historian and history professor at Boston College. She is responding to a recent 2020 White House Proclamation celebrating Columbus day. ( https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-columbus-day-2020/?utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR0konL1VlriDq137qBSx70ko0JVWbTZev-2Gl50b1W9AicHtgpNjf06FZk ) Personally, I find her essay much more interesting and thoughtful than the White House Proclamation. 

Heather Cox's essay on Columbus from October 2020.

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/october-12-2020?r=4msj0&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email&utm_source=copy&fbclid=IwAR2KFmRd8HvIyHfI0VJECUeCnZDtIjBhlkm31ovtnW1uekJerGX70EwK8iI

Jason Colavito is an author and popular historian who specializes in analyzing and explain the actual facts behind sensationalized claims of ancient and early history, particuarly those involving claims of "ancient aliens." Here he writes of Columbus, again, as a symbol for countering discrimiation against Itlaian Americans. 

http://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/the-two-faces-of-columbus-how-a-genocidal-tyrant-became-an-anti-discrimination-icon-for-italian-americans

(As another aside, again when in graduate school studying Chinese history, my thesis advisor, Magnus Fiskesjo, recommended that I read a book called "Terra Cognita -The Mental Discovery of America," by Eviatar Zerubavel. If you have any interest in Columbus and the "discovery" of the New World by Europeans, I highly recommend this book. The author is an Israeli cartographer and his focusing is to find an answer to the question of "If Columbus did not know he had found new continents, when and how did Europeans realize they had found completely new continents? A so-called "New World"? In this book Zerubavel approaches the important question, seeking answers in maps by early explorers and others to see what they were representing of their discoveries and when and how they came to realize they had "discovered" something completely new. The answer, of course, is complex, and depicts an evolution of thought as more and more evidence is collected. Again, well worth reading. 

You can learn more about the book here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/379776.Terra_Cognita

The Bonwit Teller Project and Trump’s Employment and Exploitation of Illegal Aliens

 

The Bonwit Teller Project 

and Trump’s  Employment  and Exploitation of 

Illegal Aliens

The Bonwit Teller Project
Prior to his demolishing of this building, Donald Trump promised to donate the 1929 art deco sculptures from the building to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Instead they simply disappeared during demolition 

               

                The story of the Bonwit Teller Department Store and its demolishment and the rebuilding of Trump Towers on the site is a complex story. In 1978, Trump secured an option to buy on the decaying Bonwit Teller Department Store. ^[1]  He then needed to obtain control of the ground below the property which was owned by an insurance company and the air rights above, controlled by Tiffany Jewelers, located next door. However, now that he was a successful real estate magnate who had built the Grand Hyatt, it was easy enough to acquire a loan from the Chase Manhattan Bank that would enable him to purchase those.

                One of the next parts of the project was to demolish the old building so that it could be replaced. Demolishing a 12 story, downtown, decaying department store in Manhattan is no easy feat. Additionally, there was concern over what would happen to parts of the old building, specifically the large, bronze grillwork featuring art deco sculptures of 15 foot tall goddesses dating from 1930 that emblazoned the entrance to the store and building.^[2]

                Many in the city, particularly in art circles, expressed concern for the fate of these sculptures and the grill work. If the building were demolished, what would happen to these pieces of architectural art? Complaints and concerns were voiced publicly. Trump responded by promising to save the pieces during the demolition and donate them to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, if removing them was not prohibitively expensive.

The 8th Floor Sculpture from the
Bonwit Teller Building. Now
long gone despite Trump's promises.

                As time went on, the project became notorious among Trump critics because of his use of illegal alien workers (what? Another instance of illegal immigrants in Trump’s life? How many are there?)  For part of the work, instead of hiring experienced demolition contractors, Trump contracted with a window washing company owned by a Polish émigré. The company provided over 200 workers, all or most of them undocumented workers from Poland. They often worked without hard hats or other safety gear. Some lived at the construction site and slept on the cold, concrete floor.  Their payment was irregular, and they were often cheated.  

                When workers complained, and allegedly threatened to throw Thomas Macari, Trump’s associate who closely watched over the project, with being dangled over the edge of the building, things changed but stayed messy. To this day shady accusations of several kinds follow the project, many documented. These include use of mob-connected union labor, using Trump and Roy Cohn’s personal connections to avoid inspection by the city and state agencies, threatening phone calls against workers and contractors from “John Barron,” Trump’s frequent alter-ego, and ultimately a lawsuit filed against Trump by the workers, a lawsuit that Trump and his lawyers delayed at every opportunity but nevertheless lost.  Ultimately, years later, a judge awarded the workers $325,000.

                Additionally, Trump failed to donate the sculptures and art deco front to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They disappeared or were destroyed during the demolition.

The Bonwit Teller site later became the site for Trump Towers.^[3]

                Ivanka helped. According to one source, Donald would occasionally encourage or allow her to go out and supervise the plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and steelworkers even though she knew nothing about these trades.  ^[4]

               

Finally, my books . . . 

Yeah, I've written books. Please check them out and see if they interest you.

(As if, being the author of these books does not already show bias, please be advised that if you purchase here, I receive a commission. The folks at Amazon wish to make it clear that this is an advertisement.) 

  

---

[1] An “option to buy” gives the purchaser the right to buy a piece of real estate at a fixed, specified price for a fixed specified period of time.
“What is an Option to Buy Contract and How it Protects You,” from Real Estate Sales Blog.
https://www.realestatesalesllc.com/real-estate/option-buy-contract-protects/

[2] “The Historic Building Donald Trump Demolished to Build Trump Tower,” by Sam Dangremond, August 18, 2017. https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a12030857/donald-trump-bonwit-teller/

 

[3]  Pages 69-76, Johnston, David Cay. “The Making of Donald Trump.” ( 2016. 2017. Melville House. Brooklyn.)

Pages 85-91, Kranish, Michael and Fisher, Marc “Trump revealed -The Definitive Biography of the 45^th President.” ( 2016, Scribner, New York)

The amount of the settlement came from Johnston, page 74.

If you get a chance to watch the August 17, 2017 SNL Weekend Live segment where Tina Fey responds to Trump’s alleged desire to preserve historical monuments, particularly Confederate monuments, by shouting “Google Bonwit Teller!” you can now understand the reference better, if you didn’t catch it the first time.

 

[4] van Meter, Johnathan (May 1989). "That's Why the Lady is a Trump". Spy. Sussex Publishers, LLC. ISSN 0890-1759 – via Google Books at

https://books.google.com/books?id=xaCC4gI-zJkC&lpg=PA98&q=trump%20master%27s%20degree&pg=PA86&v=onepage#v=onepage&q=trump%20master's%20degree&f=true

"Blog housekeeping" and The Shaggs -- Perhaps one of the most notorious bands and albums ever made.

 

Greetings, welcome back. 

Here you will find an interesting moment in the history of rock and pop music, but first an update on the state of this blog and my so-called writing career, and then a bit on the nature of doing history in the year 2020. I recently finished a book, I think it's my sixth so far, and it's on Donald Trump. If you have not heard of him, Donald Trump was a man who was born into money and enjoyed appearing on television and in the press. He did some television and some cameos in movies. Sort of a "Hollywood Squares" kind of guy, but sort of, mostly after "Hollywood Squares" went off the air. (If you don't know what "Hollywood Squares" was google it or leave a comment below.) At one point in his career, in what may have been the world's biggest publicity stunt gone awry, he ran for president and much to the surprise of many, got himself elected. And the rest, as they say, is history. 

And, while in my opinion, he's doing a terrible job as President, he is doing a good job of manipulating a large segment of the population. And my book discusses how, exactly, he manipulates them. 

Buy "Scams from the Great Beyond --The Presidential Edition" here.

If you are interested, and even if you are not, aside from the many blog posts here, I have another blog that I do not use as much that discusses things other than history. You can find it here: http://peterhuston.blogspot.com/  It basically discusses things other than history. If you liked the recent Donald Trump posts, there are a few others over there too. And I have created a Goodreads author's page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/339311.Peter_Huston  The Amazon,com authors page is coming as soon as they and I straighten out some confusion over some paperwork issues. They tell me this should happen tomorrow. 

So that's it about me, at the moment. 

Second, my thoughts on the state of doing history in the year 2020. For the record, I believe that one of the reasons we now have such an unusual president (if nothing else, he is the first president we have had who has never served in the military or public office) is due to changes in society and the flow of information caused by the internet. And this changes history too. 

When doing history, arguably, the primary factors are the amount and type of sources. And the internet information explosion has often resulted in a huge deluge of sources available, literally, at the touch of a few fingers on the nearest linked in computer keyboard. Which changes the way we do history for many subjects. Often, instead of going to great trouble to obtain sources, any sources, one now finds oneself with an overwhelming number of sources and a need to sort them for research value. And one needs to sort them, and weigh and analyze them, often before determining how to use them. 

And sometimes one finds a subject that looks really cool, and you decide you want to dig into it, learn as much as you can, hoping to share it with others, only to discover that all the research has already been done before. 

And thus it is with the Shaggs  .  ,  , 

Such an interesting story, alas, it's all been told before. 

 So, here we have a primary source: 

You can listen to it, and if you hear just a little bit, you should be intrigued. If you hear the whole thing, well, congratulations to you. You've accomplished something many people find difficult. Either way, you will probably be wondering what it is and where it come from and how it came to be.

And if you are wondering where the above album came from, the answer is available in the video below. 

Of if you prefer you can go to the follow sources: 

NPR news: https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2017/02/17/515775669/the-best-or-worst-band-of-all-time-is-back  

Lester Bangs, the famous rock critic, wrote about them: http://www.keyofz.com/vvoice.htm 

The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1999/09/27/meet-the-shaggs

Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/shaggs-dot-wiggin-reflects-on-divisive-philosophy-of-the-world-album-115348/ 

Or you can watch this video: 

And that's kind of how research is done, at least on some projects, in the year 2020. 

To do it right, one should dig in, try to find more verification of fundamental facts. Perhaps something I will do later. 

Finally, my books . . . 

Yeah, I've written books. Please check them out and see if they interest you.

  

Not my book, but if you buy it here, you support this blog: 

Donald Trump and the Central Park Five --Calling for the Death Penalty for Innocent People

 

Another excerpt from the cut chapter of my upcoming book "Scams from the Great Beyond -The Presidential Edition." 

Donald Trump calls for the death penalty 

in the "Central Park Five" case

 They were later found innocent and sued the city.

Donald Trump ran this as a full page advertisement in several New York City newspapers after six minority youths were arrested in connection with the rape of a jogger in Central Park. Five were given lengthy prison sentences, and one entered a plea bargain. They were all cleared several years later, when the real rapist confessed and DNA evidence connected him to the crime.

 

One of the uglier incidents involving Trump in the 1980s involved a criminal case called either “the Central Park Five Case” or “the Central Park Jogger Case.” Briefly, in April of 1989, a 28 year old White female investment banker jogging in Central Park was raped and brutalized and left with head trauma. Police soon arrested a group of primarily minority youths who were present near the crime scene.

                Donald  Trump, who was reportedly considering a run for Mayor at the time, took out full page ads in several of New York City’s most popular newspapers saying “Bring back the death penalty” and including statements like “they should be made to suffer” and “Yes, Mayor Koch, I want to hate these murders and I always will,” and more. ^[1]

                When questioned if this hatred (his word “hatred”) might be in-part racially motivated, he spoke of the many advantages he felt educated African Americans had in America at time. This further angered many prominent African American leaders who had already accused Trump of both racism and opportunism.

                Five young men served 6 to thirteen years for the crime. The four under 16, served six years, the one over 16 served 13 years, and a sixth, tried last, entered a plea bargain and received a lesser charge. Four were Black, two Hispanic.

                Years later, in 2002, after the statute of limitations ran out, the real criminal, a serial rapist who was incarcerated, confessed and DNA evidence linked him with the crime.

                The five men’s convictions were overturned, they sued the city, and were awarded $41 million in damages.

                Trump called the settlement “a disgrace.” He told the press, he wouldn’t have paid them a dime, adding that they owed “the taxpayers of the City of New York an apology for taking money out of their pockets.”  ^[2]   

 

Finally, my books . . . 

Yeah, I've written books. Please check them out and see if they interest you.

  

 

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[1] This newspaper story contains an easy to read image of the newspaper ad Trump took out. 

“Trump called for death penalty after Central Park jogger attack, and still has no sympathy for accused despite convictions overturned,” by Leonard Greene. July 19, 2018. NEW YORK DAILY NEWS. 

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-news-trump-death-penalty-central-park-five-20180713-story.html 

[2] Page 278-280. Kranish, Michael and Fisher, Marc. “Trump Revealed -The Definitive Biography of the 45th President.” (2016, Scribner, New York)

Pages 192-193, 261-262. D’Antonio, Michael. “Never Enough -Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success.” (2015. Thomas Dunne Books. New York.) 

“Trump called for death penalty after Central Park jogger attack, and still has no sympathy for accused despite convictions overturned,” by Leonard Greene. July 19, 2018. NEW YORK DAILY NEWS.
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-news-trump-death-penalty-central-park-five-20180713-story.html

Trump's 1970 Racial Bias in Housing Lawsuit.

Another excerpt from my upcoming book. Consider this an introduction, nothing more, and if the subject interests you please research further. This was intended to be a concise brief portion of a biographical chapter that has now been cut. If you wish to learn more, remember internet search engines are your friend.  

 

 Donald Trump and his 1973 Federal Lawsuit in Racially Biased Discrimination in Housing

 

Donald Trump and his father in the 1970s,
the period in which they were both co-defendants in a federal lawsuit about racial bias in housing. 

 

                During this time, Donald Trump managed the subsidized housing properties his father had built. These were rented primarily to working class and lower income people.

                In 1973, the United States Justice Department sued Donald Trump, his father and Trump Management of violating the Fair Housing Act and discriminating against Blacks and Hispanics in 39 of their properties. The evidence against them was very solid. Most people would have advised them to settle with the Justice Department, pay a fine, and fix the practices and comply with the Fair Housing act, giving all citizens equal access and rights to rent from the Trumps. But young Donald Trump, then 26, represented, advised, and encouraged by Roy Cohn, decided to respond in a different way. They denied all charges despite the evidence and counter-sued against the Justice Department for 100 million dollars. Then they dragged the case out for two years, occasionally holding press conferences where they mischaracterized the suit as being over housing people on welfare and not about racial discrimination, hoping  the Justice Department would agree to settle. In 1975, an agreement was reached, the counter suit from Trump and Cohn was dismissed as groundless, the Trumps and their company had to change their discriminatory policies. A government press release announced that the suit had been “one of the most far reaching ever negotiated” and local papers announced that the Trump properties were now open to be rented by minorities. Trump continued to deny that the government never proved its case and continued to mischaracterize the suit and its conclusion from

 

 

Primary Sources 

Johnston, David Cay. 2016, 2017. The Making of Donald Trump. Melville House: Brooklyn.

 

Kranish, Michael, and Fisher, Marc. 2017. Trump Revealed -The Definitive Biography of the 45^th President. Scribner: New York.  

Further Reading

"'Not Wanted': Black Applicants Rejected for Trump Housing Speak Out," by By Cynthia McFadden, Anna Schecter and Hannah Rappleye. October 25, 2016. NBC News. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/not-wanted-black-applicants-rejected-trump-housing-speak-out-n671966

"A Look Back at the Discrimination Suit Dogging Donald Trump, Trump and his father were sued by the Justice Department in 1973," by Meghan Keneally. August 26, 2016. ABC News.  

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/back-discrimination-suit-dogging-donald-trump/story?id=41667286

"Decades-Old Housing Discrimination Case Plagues Donald Trump." NPR Staff. September 29, 2016. NPR. 

https://www.npr.org/2016/09/29/495955920/donald-trump-plagued-by-decades-old-housing-discrimination-case

"‘No Vacancies’ for Blacks: How Donald Trump Got His Start, and Was First Accused of Bias," by Jonathan Mahler and Steve Eder. August 27, 2016. The New York Times.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/28/us/politics/donald-trump-housing-race.html

Finally, my books . . . 

Yeah, I've written books. Please check them out and see if they interest you.

  

Donald Trump, Roy Cohn, and Early Life After College in Manhattan.

 Another excerpt from the cut biographical chapter of "Scams from the Great Beyond --The Presidential Edition." My upcoming book intended to explain the techniques Donald Trump uses to sway crowds and influence people. It should be helpful to people who wish to understand "the Donald Trump phenomena."

  

Donald Trump, Roy Cohn, and Early Life After College in Manhattan

Roy Cohn, an unethical lawyer, was one of Trump's most important mentors and influences.

Donald Trump and Roy Cohn, the aggressive and often unethical lawyer
who was his mentor in many ways. 

                After graduation in 1968, Trump went to work for his father, helping to manage his rental properties.

                In 1971, he fulfilled a dream and moved to Manhattan. He had always been ashamed to have come from Queens and sometimes lied about it, as his father had, telling people he was born in New Jersey.  Soon after, seeking both women and to be able to move in the chic, trendy Manhattan elite social circles, he applied to join “Le Club.” “Le Club was a then-popular night club located in Manhattan whose membership included many wealthy and powerful people.  Trump described it as “perhaps the most exclusive” members night club in New York City and said “its membership included some of the most successful men and the most beautiful women in the world,” ^[1] an interesting and notable illustration of how Trump views interactions and roles for the two sexes.

                Here he met many rich and important people, but the most important among them was undoubtedly Roy Cohn. Roy Cohn, 20 years older than Trump, was a New York City lawyer known for his aggressive and frequently bullying tactics. In many ways, Cohn became a mentor to young Trump. ^[2]

                Which is a shame as Cohn’s career showed a certain lack of adherence to moral principles that some would say he passed on to his de facto protégé. Cohn had at one time been Chief Attorney to Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Senator’s notorious anti-Communist witch hunts. He was known to pursue expensive lawsuits against people designed to intimidate and harass them with little thought of the justice or morality behind the suit. Trump took up this practice.  Cohn often bought expensive things and hired people to provide expensive services and then didn’t pay for them until taken to court at which point he tried to drag out the proceedings and ultimately settle the debt for a fraction of what it was worth. Trump also has made a career out of doing this. Cohn served as a “fixer” for many people, quietly fixing problems and hushing up consequences of poor choices for wealthy clients. Cohn is also the person who introduced Trump and Rupert Murdoch, former owner of Fox News. In 1986 Cohn was disbarred for unethical and unprofessional conduct. Much of these misconduct accusations stemmed from actions taken with Roger Stone, later Trump associate, on behalf of Ronald Reagan during his 1980 campaign.^[3]    

                Cohn was not known as a terribly ethical man or as someone who took ethical stances. He was gay, largely in the closet aside from bringing handsome young men to Le Club, of the belief that if people knew he was gay they’d think he was gay, and known for publicly opposing gay rights.  He died of AIDS in 1986. Like Trump, he loved to appear in the press and the New York City papers gossip columns.^[4]

 

Finally, my books . . . 

Yeah, I've written books. Please check them out and see if they interest you.

  

---

[1] Schwartz, Tony and Trump, Donald “The Art of the Deal” (1987. Warner Brothers, New York.)

[2] Pages 33-39, Johnston, David Cay. “The Making of Donald Trump.” ( 2016. 2017. Melville House. Brooklyn.)

[3] “Roy Cohn: The Toughest, Meanest, Most Brilliant Lawyer in New York,” by Peter Carlson. NO DATE Historynet.
https://www.historynet.com/roy-cohn-the-toughest-meanest-most-brilliant-lawyer-in-new-york.htm 

[4] “THE LIFE AND TIMES of Roy Cohn,” by Geoffrey C. Ward. July/August 1988. Volume 39 Issue 5 American Heritage.
https://www.americanheritage.com/roy-cohn#1