Shelby Foote, R.I.P.

In our local paper, Hodding Carter called him a wiseacre, and this biography from the University of Virginia helps explain the appeal of Shelby Foote:

He rose to the rank of captain before being dismissed by court-martial in Ireland in 1944 after traveling two miles beyond the official limit to see his girlfriend (who later would become his first wife); he joined the Marines the next year.

Can't imagine Ken Burns doing that sort of thing . . .