Category: History

September 19, 2023

Properties of Thirst by Marianne Wiggins *** (of 4)

An ambitious book that centers the Owen’s Valley in California, the valley’s desertification following rerouting all of the valley’s water to Los Angeles, and the...

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August 23, 2023

Robert E. Lee and Me by Ty Seidule *** (of 4)

The author, Ty Seidule, is a professor of history at West Point. That gives him real cache when he says the southern states lost the...

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August 2, 2023

Grandma Gatewood’s Walk *** (of 4)

In 1955, when the Appalachian Trail (AT) was still in its infancy, Emma Gatewood walked its full length, 2050 miles from Mount Oglethorpe, Georgia to...

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July 18, 2023

The Poison Machine *** (of 4)

Some authors of historical fiction (see Geraldine Brooks) are so caught up by their research that plot and characters are afterthoughts or cliches applied to...

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June 12, 2023

Gangland by Chuck Hogan *** (of 4)

Based on the true story of Tony Accardo, Al Capone’s protege, the undisputed mob boss of Chicago in the 1970s. Accardo’s mob runs all of...

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May 19, 2023

A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan **** (of 4)

Following more than 100,000 American casualties in WWI and the death of 450,000 Americans from viral influenza in 1918, most Americans roared into the 1920s...

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May 5, 2023

Two Wheels Good *** by Jody Rosen

Jody Rosen really does elucidate the mystery and history of the bicycle. A consistent theme is the bicycle’s lifelong conflict with motorists and pedestrians. Since...

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March 21, 2023

These Truths by Jill Lepore **** (of 4)

It is no small feat to write a history of the United States. Choose any event, say, for example the Presidency of George Washington, The...

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March 12, 2023

Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson *** (of 4)

Atkinson did her homework before reproducing the details of England in the raucous 1920s. Britons released from the devastation of WW I and the influenza...

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February 2, 2023

People Love Dead Jews by Dara Horn **** (of 4)

In a series of essays, no not essays, but rather really well-done rants, Dara Horn made me pause and reconsider a lot of what I...

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