This book tells the saga of one family, the Hammills, through several generations. Matthews starts her story in Scotland, moves to Ireland, and then brings her ancestors into the American colonies, before the Revolution. The title refers to the fact that the people she writes about were neither very rich and at the top of Read More
Tag: Early American History
Savage Liberty, by Eliot Pattison
While this is historical fiction, and not a fictionalized version of an actual historical event, if you enjoy mysteries, then it is an interesting read. The author did do his research, and name-drops a number of actual historical figures. The main plot of the book, the mystery to be solved, is completely created by the Read More
The Boston Massacre: A Family History, by Serena Zabin
We all learned about the Boston Massacre in school when we studied the American Revolution. We saw the image of the uniformed British soldiers firing on the unarmed citizens. We learned that it was one of the events that pushed us inexorably to the point of war. But we didn’t learn the whole story. I Read More
Paper Promises, by Mazie M Harris
This is almost a coffee-table book, which is interesting, since it actually mentions what was probably the first “coffee-table” book, although I’m not sure people even had what we consider coffee tables in 1861. The subtitle is Early American Photography, and while this book does discuss photography – a bit of the history, a little Read More
How the Scots Made America, by Michael Fry
While this is not a comprehensive survey of American history, it definitely covers quite a bit of it. And all of it in relation to Scots, or the descendants of Scots, who came to America. The author makes the point that the unique Scottish personality helped make Americans and America who and what we are 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 War That Made America, by Fred Anderson
The war referred to is the French and Indian war, or the Seven Year’s War.
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