The Microhistorian

In high school, Jill Lepore—now an Americanist at Harvard and a prolific contributor to the New Yorker—didn't see the point of going to college. And if it hadn't been for an army scholarship, she probably wouldn't have. Although she was secretly a manic reader and writer, her reputation, perpetuated through the town newspaper and her troves of trophies, was that of a jock. She maintained this image throughout her first year at Tufts, where she participated in the Reserve Officer Training Corps, played sports, and failed her math classes. Then she received a letter in the mail that changed everything.