Stendhal’s “The Charterhouse of Parma” lays out thousands of rules and stratagems for elites trying to stay in the good graces of a powerful and capricious ruler.

For Father’s Day, my 79-year-old Dad asked me to find a copy of the 1973 UCLA-Memphis State NCAA championship game. Bill Walton was his favorite player. John Wooden was his favorite coach and Dad was ...