Booth, by Karen Joy Fowler

In the early to mid 1800’s, the most famous Booth was not John Wilkes. His older brothers June and Edwin, and their father Junius before them, were well-known in the theatrical world. Since most of the family members are either anti-secession or apolitical, they seem to have been mostly blindsided by John’s actions. I don’t 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

Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker, by Jennifer Chiaverini, and Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker, by Lynda Jones

Yes, there are two books with the same title. While they cover much of the same information, they do so in very different ways. If you are interested in this time frame, I would recommend both. The book by Lynda Jones is published by the National Geographic Society, and restricts itself more to the bare Read More