The First Conspiracy, by Brad Meltzer & Josh Mensch

This subtitle of this book is: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington. And while no one who knows anything at all about American history knows the plot did not succeed, who even knew there was a plot? In fact, that seems to be why the author wrote the book in the first place. Meltzer Read More

Last Call, The Rise and Fall of Prohibition by Daniel Okrent

I thought I knew enough about Prohibition, which lasted from 1920 to 1933. I’d heard of Carry Nation, bathtub gin, and bootlegging. But this book is a detailed look not just at the time period between the passage of the Eighteenth and Twenty-First Amendments, but also what led up the passage of each. Okrent also Read More

Food in the United States, 1820’s – 1890, by Susan Williams

While this is not the typical book you might think about reading to learn more about your ancestors, it can potentially tell you a lot about what they may have been eating, how it was prepared, and even how it might have been served. In addition to utilizing other books about the history of food Read More

1812 The War that Forged a Nation, by Walter R. Borneman

We’ve all heard of the war of 1812, but outside of the fact that the capital was burned by the British, we probably don’t know very much about it. This book discusses the issues that led up to the War, the political implications and realities, and also describes the strategy and outcome of the battles. Read More

The Worst Hard Time, by Timothy Egan

You might think a book about the people who lived through the 1930’s in the Dust Bowl would be rather, well, dry (sorry, couldn’t help myself), but Timothy Egan manages to bring the era to life. He tells the story not just through research at local museums and contemporary newspaper articles, but through interviewing people Read More

The Ghost of Gold Mountain, by Gordon H Chang

This book is about the unnamed Chinese immigrants who helped build the western part of the Transcontinental Railroad. While their achievements were praised at the time, their names and histories have been, for the most part, lost to time. Chang’s book is an attempt to recover some of that history. In the mid-1800’s, the Central Read More