Department of History
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
501 Wake Robin Drive
Shelburne, VT 05482-7579
802-985-0710
802-985-8452 fax
kwolson@umd.edu
Education
PhD University of Wisonsin
M.A. State
University of New York, Albany
B.A. State University
of New York, Albany
Books
Watergate: The Presidential Scandal That Shook America (Lawrence: The University Press of Kansas, 2003)
"Watergate remains the most dramatic, senstional,
and significant political scandal in American history.
Keith Olson's tightly woven narrative recounts
that infamous story with verve and a sharp eye
for telling detail. His book should appeal to a
wide readership."
Stanley Kutler, author of
Wars of Watergate: The Last Crisis of Richard Nixon
"Up-to-date, fair, and intelligent....An
impressive work."
Melvin Small, auther of The
Presidency of Richard Nixon
"succinct and lively... Olson's concluding
chapter is his best, for it explains, in a most
thoughtful way, why Watergate happened. The author
places the scandal in the context of the Cold War..."
Dean
J. Kotlowski, author of Nixon's Civil Rights: Politics,
Principle, and Policy
Biography of a Progressive: Franklin K. Lane, 1864-1921 (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1979)
"a useful study of a significant but largely forgotten progressive... notable strengths, especially in terms of research, organization, and a straight-forward writing style." American Historical Review
"Carefully researched and well written... a good book that adds to our knowledge of Franklin Lane and hist times. It should be widely read." Pacific Northwest Quarterly
The G.I.Bill, The Veterans, and the Colleges (Lexington: The University of Kentucky Press of Kentucky, 1974)
Runner-Up Frederick Jackson Turner Prize of the Organization of American Historians.
Included in 100 Classic Books About Higher Education (2001)
Selected Honors
Honorary PhD 2000, University of Tampere, for
scholarship and contribution to American Studies
in Finland
Honorary member of Finnish Historical
Society
Fulbrights: 1986-1987, 1993-1994, 2004
Most recent article:
"FDR: The President and the High School," PROLOGUE (Winter 2008)Most recent paper:
"John F. Kennedy and Vietnam: The Preponderance of Evidence," at the British Association for America Studies Conference,University of Edinburgh (May 2008)
Most recent essay:
"1972 Watergate Break-in Woke a Nation of Watchdogs," Posted June 18, 2009.http://www.usnews.com/articles/opinion/2009/06/18/1972-watergate-break-in-woke-a-nation-of-watchdogs.html
Most recent review:
The G.I. Bill: a New Deal for Veterans (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009) EH:NET Posted October 13, 2009Primary Teaching Interest
20th Century United States Presidential History
Current Research
"Eisenhower, Democrats, and Civil Rights"