This is not your typical Mayflower history. Oh, it talks about all the basic things – how most of the Saints spent a few years in Leiden, how the Speedwell, didn’t. But this book takes twelve of the passengers, plus the Mayflower captain and a Native American, and goes into detail about their lives. And Read More
Category: Autobiography/Biography
Daughter of Boston, edited by Helen R Deese
This is the edited transcription of a diary written by Caroline Healy Dall in the 1800’s. The editor has also added introductions to each chapter, which each cover a year or two in the life of Caroline Dall. Deese has also added footnotes that identify most of the people Dall mentions in her diary. And Read More
The Oregon Trail, by Francis Parkman
This is one of the few books I have reviewed that is historical non-fiction, that is, a book that was written in a specific time frame that covers then-current events. In 1846, Francis Parkman set off from St. Louis to explore the west. Although he was a young man, he had some health issues, so Read More
Diamonds and Deadlines, by Betsy Prioleau
This is a biography of a woman I had never heard of, although I was familiar with her husband’s name. Nothing unusual there, especially since this woman lived in the late 19th century. And the reason I had heard of her husband is also the reason she was able to become wealthy and well-known.in her Read More
The Santa Claus Man, by Alex Palmer
The title makes this sound like a cheerful Yuletide story, but the holiday is not the focus of this book. The focus is a man called John Duval Gluck, who started out trying to make sure poor New York City children had at least one gift for Christmas, but at some point, his goals shifted. Read More
The Divorce Colony, by April White
While divorce is somewhat unremarkable these days, in the not-so-distant past, it was remarked upon quite a bit. We forget how relatively recent that attitude shift happened. Divorces were not always easy to obtain. In the early days of this country, it literally took an act of the legislature to grant someone a divorce. While Read More
The Peabody Sisters of Salem, by Louise Tharp
Elizabeth, Mary, and Sophia are the sisters, and Massachusetts is their home state. The sisters are born between 1804 and 1809, and all led interesting, if not remarkable, lives. In addition to living through the Civil War, two of the sisters married well-known men (and in that era, women were usually more known for who Read More
The Life and Afterlife of Harry Houdini, by Joe Posnanski
Everyone has heard of Houdini; his name is almost synonymous with magic. That is a point this author makes a number of times in his book. And there have been a couple of popular movies about him, with variable accuracy. This book tries to get at the real story. One important part of Houdini’s story Read More
White Lies, by A J Baime
This is a biography of a man named Walter White, who not only was the head of the NAACP in its early years, but also investigated a number of lynchings in the 1920’s. He was able to do this because while he identified as Black, he could easily pass as white. In fact the subtitle Read More
Destiny of the Republic, by Candice Millard
This book is about the life, and short presidency, of James A Garfield. The subtitle is “A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President”. I had not learned much about Garfield, aside from the fact that he was assassinated after only a few months in office. This book brings his personality and Read More