The subtitle of this book is “The First President, the First Americans, and the Birth of the Nation”. Calloway starts with a detailed description of the French and Indian War. And not really discussing just the battles, but going into detail about the combatants. He also discusses how and why George Washington ended up as Read More
Tag: Early American History
The United States of Beer, by Dane Huckelbridge
Beer has a very long history, long before Europeans brought their versions of it to the New World. In fact, the origins of beer, and other spirits, are basically lost in the mists of time. But in the recent past, there were some differences in how beer was brewed, and what was added, both as Read More
Iron Tears, by Stanley Weintraub
The subtitle of this book is “America’s Battle for Freedom, Britain’s Quagmire; 1775-1783”. Each chapter takes a small slice of the time period, and describes mainly what is happening in England, and how the events in the colonies are impacting decisions there. One challenge was the length of time it took information to go back Read More
Revolutionary Summer, by Joseph J Ellis
The subtitle of this book is “The Birth of American Independence”. Ellis writes about the summer of 1776, in detail. There were two main aspects of the fight for American independence going on at the same time. First, the Continental Congress was meeting in Philadelphia, where they were about to officially declare our separation from Read More
Defiant Brides, by Nancy Rubin Stuart
The brides in question are Peggy Shippen, who married Benedict Arnold, and Lucy Flucker, who married Henry Knox. The subtitle of the book is “The Untold Story of Two Revolutionary-Era Women and the Radical Men They Married”. Of course, Knox and Arnold started out on the same side of the Revolution. And while there is Read More
Written Out Of History, by Senator Mike Lee
The subtitle of this book is “The Forgotten Founders Who Fought Big Government”. To be honest, the last part of that subtitle was hidden under the library barcode, and I didn’t register the fact that this book on history was written by a Senator, not an historian. But I was curious about the individuals mentioned Read More
Pox Americana, by Elizabeth A Fenn
The subtitle of this book is “The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775-82”. Fenn describes how smallpox impacted the American Revolution. Since smallpox has been eradicated since 1980, and there has not been an outbreak in the US since 1947, we forget how much of an impact an epidemic can have on a population. At least, Read More
The Revolutionary Samuel Adams, by Stacy Schiff
This book is a deep dive into the days leading up to, during, and after the American Revolution. Focused, of course, on Samuel Adams and his role in all of this. And his role in all of these things was considerable. Apparently, he did not want this to be widely known, since he burned most Read More
In the Founders’ Footsteps, by Adam Van Doren
The subtitle of this book is “Landmarks of the American Revolution”. Van Doren is an artist, not a historian. But he obviously has an interest in our shared history. He has visited a number of well-known, and several lesser known, sites relevant to the Revolution, and painted his impressions of these sites. With each watercolor Read More
Declaring Independence, by Edward J Larson
The subtitle of this book is “Why 1776 Matters”. Larson spends the entire book looking in detail at the year 1776. And it was a momentous year, not just because of July 4th.Season by season, Larson looks at how the mood shifted from late 1775, when, despite the battles at Lexington and Concord, many people Read More