The subtitle of this book is “How Visionary Businessman Fred Harvey Built a Railroad Hospitality Empire That Civilized the Wild West”. While I had heard of Fred Harvey, and about the “Harvey Girl” movie starring Judy Garland, I didn’t realize the impact these restaurants had on the country. The person Fred Harvey was an Englishman Read More
Category: Nonfiction
Mayflower, by Nathaniel Philbrick
If you are looking for just the history of the people who arrived on the Mayflower, then this might not be the book you are looking for. If you want to not only learn about the passengers of the Mayflower, but also about their children and grandchildren, then this will fit the bill. The first Read More
Love & Hate in Jamestown, by David A Price
Jamestown predated Plymouth Plantation as the first continuous English settlement in North America. However, due to poor planning, disease, and conflict with Native populations, it almost did not survive. Much of the story at the beginning of the colony has come down to us in a mythologized form. While there is some truth behind the Read More
The Great Influenza, by John M Barry
This is a book not only about the influenza in 1918, its impact on America and the world in a time of war, but also about the men (and a few women!) who were trying desperately to stop it. The first part of book is actually more of a history of the development of modern Read More
Westering Women and the Frontier Experience 1800-1915 by Sandra L Myres
This is a non-fiction book, and is basically a review and analysis of the diaries and letters of women who made the journey west, along with what was written about these women, both at the time and much later on. While this may not be easily available at your local library, if you had ancestors Read More
Women’s Diaries of the Western Journey, by Lillian Schlissel
This is exactly what it says. The author has reviewed and analyzed a number of diaries written by women who made the journey toward the west coast. First published in 1982, it seems to have been reissued at least twice, and you should be able to find a copy at your library. The author makes Read More
West from Appomattox, by Heather Cox Richardson
The subtitle of this book is “The Reconstruction of America after the Civil War”. This is a non-fiction, serious history book which covers the entire country from the end of the Civil War until 1901; the Reconstruction era. Instead of focusing mainly on the South, Richardson looks at many specific issues the whole country was Read More
The Devil’s Tickets, by Gary M Pomerantz
This book intertwines two stories about two couples, set in the late 1920’s, whose only connection was that they played Contract Bridge. The title refers to the appellation that Puritans gave to playing cards, which these two stories do not contradict. The two couples were Ely & Jo Culbertson, and Jack & Myrtle Bennett. One Read More
Images of America, various authors
You have seen these books: slim volumes with sepia toned historical photographs on their covers, found at bookstores, drug stores, or anywhere that might be touristy. They are published by Arcadia Publishing, a company based in South Carolina that has made local history books their specialty. They find authors that are local, or experts on Read More
The War That Made America, by Fred Anderson
The war referred to is the French and Indian war, or the Seven Year’s War.