When authors refer to other great works, people, and events, it’s usually not accidental. Put on your super-sleuth hat and figure out why.
Literary and Philosophical References
- Marcus Aurelius, The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius (51.1.103)
- Carl von Clausewitz (43.3.56)
- Dante's Inferno (47.3.2)
- Genesis 3-4 (everywhere)
- William James, The Principles of Psychology (17.2.40)
- Samuel from the Book of Samuel (namesake of Samuel Hamilton)
- William Shakespeare, Othello (15.3.75)
- Personal memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant (52.4.14)
Historical References
- Reverend Billing (19.1.2)
- William Jennings Bryan and his "Cross of Gold" speech (23.3.30)
- The campaign against the Indians (Adam fights in it while he is in the cavalry)
- The American Civil War (Cyrus Trask fights for the Union side—or doesn't, as it turns out)
- G.A.R./Grand Army of the Republic (Cyrus works for it and steals money from it)
- The Kaiser (14.2.4, 42.1.3, 42.1.7, 46.1.18)
- Erich Ludendorff (52.1.4)
- Mexican-American War (12.1.8, 42.1.2)
- John J. "Black Jack" Pershing (42.1.2)
- Woodrow Wilson (37.1.89, 41.1.1, 42.1.7)
- World War I (in the background for most of the novel)