Category: History

February 19, 2016

Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell ** (of 4)

I love Sarah Vowell’s hip hop style of writing and she is hooked on an interesting fellow. The Marquis de Lafayette arrived in the American...

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February 7, 2016

So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell **** (of 4)

This is a tale both microscopic in scope and biblical in scale. The scene is 1920s Illinois before the age of machines and corporations when...

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January 4, 2016

Negroland by Margo Jefferson *** (of 4)

Margo Jefferson is nearing the end of a successful career as an English professor and brings all of her skill as a cultural analyst and...

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December 24, 2015

Dead Wake by Erik Larson *** (of 4)

In 1915 the largest, fastest, and most luxurious ship on the ocean was the Lusitania. Crossing the Atlantic by ship was the only way to...

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October 21, 2015

Gold by Matthew Hart ** (of 4)

Matthew Hart purports to answer all your questions about gold. Why does it have value? How is it mined? What is the historical significance of gold?...

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August 27, 2015

The Son by Philipp Meyer **** (of 4)

This history of Texas is told through the lives of four generations of the McCullough family. Eli, the patriarch, is captured by Comanches as an...

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June 14, 2015

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown **** (of 4)

On the face of it an uplifting story of a group of eight hayseeds from Washington state who come together to become the world’s best rowing...

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June 4, 2015

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis *** (of 4)

This first novel captures the bleak experience of Hattie, the black mother of a dozen kids, who has come north as part of The Great...

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June 4, 2015

The Nazis Next Door by Eric Lichtblau (no rating)

Even before WW II came to a close the United States was already preparing to admit Nazis into the country. The horror, of course, is...

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May 13, 2015

Paper Love by Sarah Wildman **** (of 4)

Sarah Waldman’s grandfather escaped the Nazi Aunchshloss in Austria by the skin of his teeth. He settled in America, opened a successful medical practice, and...

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