So what I'm talking about is not what I've done but what has gone on in the past. As you were talking, I was just thinking about that process of self-selection. JAH has kind of an interesting role, because so many times each subfield has its own journal. We have many first-rate journals that cover specific subspecialties within U.S. history. The JAH is especially interested in the kinds of articles that speak across subfields, that address larger questions in U.S. history, or that alert historians to the cutting edge in subfields other than their own.
Some articles are more suited for a specialized journal.
But sometimes an author has a manuscript that would fit perfectly into the JAH , and she or he decides not to send it to us. Like all editors, I want authors to send us their manuscripts. We'll treat them all fairly, and we'll make our decisions as quickly as possible. A lot of us look at the articles, but what we really go for are the book reviews. Well, the book reviews are central to the JAH .