The American History Shelf
Red House
Sarah Messer
Viking Press
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
0670033154 $23.95 www.penguin.com
Built in 1647, the Red House in Marshfield, Massachusetts was the home of
one
family for eight generations: the original owner/builder's will hung in
the
living room and admonished future generations to keep the house in the
family:
a dictate which was to end when the house was sold to author Sarah
Messer's
parents. Over the years prior owner Richard Hatch began returning
furniture,
photos, and other objects to the house, saying they belonged there –
Sarah
Messer weaves family history with a unique renovation and historical
project in
her involving and personal story of Red House: Being a Mostly Accurate
Account
of New England's Oldest Continuously Lived-In House.
New York You're A Wonderful Town!
Henrik Krogius
Arcade Publi****ng
141 Fifth Avenue, 6th fl., NY, NY 10010
1559706988 $35.00 1-800-759-0190
New York, the 'city that never sleeps', receives a wide-eyed celebration
with
Henrik Krogius' New York You're A Wonderful Town! a photographic treat
repre-senting the author's own 50 years of fascination with New York. Much
more
than a coffee table presentation, however, New York You're A Wonderful
Town!
adds Krogius' own prose to supplement the striking black and white shots:
the
result being a history of change and a celebration of New York's
lifestyles and
courses of history.
Orphan Trains
Stephen O'Connor
University of Chicago Press
1427 E. 60th St., Chicago, IL 60637-2954
0226616673 $16.00 press.uchicago.edu
There've been plenty of books published selecting Orphan Train children as
the
protagonists, but relatively few stand-alone volumes consider the origins
and
social implications of the American child welfare system which emerged in
mid-19th century New York to handle to dearth of orphans and runaways on
the
New York City streets. One man's vision of rescue became the famous Orphan
Trains program, and Stephen O'Connor's history and biography focus on one
Christian minister Charles Loring Brace, the man who created the
Children's Aid
Society to handle these children more humanely.
Irish Boston
Michael Quinlin
Globe Pequot Press
PO Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437
0762729015 $14.95 globepequot.com
From an engaging written history to a survey of historic and cultural
sites,
Irish pubs and gift shops, and annual events, any present or past Bostoner
will
find Michael P. Quinlin's Irish Boston: A Lively Look At Boston's Colorful
Irish Past, Including Museums, Historic Sites, Pubs, Music, Dancing, And
Much
More an excellent purchase celebrating both the past history of the Irish
in
Boston and their present-day culture and influences. Especially notable
are
chapters which focus on famous and notable Irish personalities in Boston,
making for a fine blend of history, biography and travelogue all under one
cover.
The Johnson County War
Bill O'Neal
Eakin Press
PO Box 90159, Austin, TX 78709-0159
1571688765 $27.95 eakinpress.com
Bill O'Neal's The Johnson County War is a true, historical count of a
violent
and bloody conflict in Wyoming's northern rangeland. One one side were
cattle
barons and powerful politicians; on the other, homesteaders and rustlers.
The
range war was rife with lynchings, ambushes, invasions by hired Texas
gunmen,
and ended in fierce last stand and siege drawing in hundreds of
combatants.
Black-and-white photographs pepper this meticulously researched and
presented
dissection of the conflict, highly recommended for American history
shelves and
as captivating reading for anyone who truly wants to learn about the
strife
that wracked the Old West.
Colossus
Niall Ferguson
Penguin Press
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
1594200130 $25.95 www.penguin.com
Is America an empire? Few Americans would admit it, but Niall Ferguson,
one of
the most renowned historians and public commentators of modern times,
maintains
in Colossus: The Price Of America's Empire that this country is indeed an
empire – and always has been. From its initial expansion west across
over two
thousands miles in less than a hundred years to its approach of a thousand
military installations in two thirds of the world's countries, Ferguson
assesses the many qualities which define America as a real empire – and
considers the dangers of denying empire status, which consist of not
accepting
or acknowledging responsibility for world conditions.
People Of The Bomb
Hugh Gusterson
University of Minnesota Press
111 Third Ave. South #290, Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520
0816638608 $19.95 www.upress.umn.edu
Author Hugh Gusterson is a nuclear freeze activist with an unusual
anthropologist's background, so it's not surprising his People Of The
Bomb:
****traits Of America's Nuclear Complex takes a dual approach to analyzing
how
the nature and presence of the nuclear bomb has penetrated to American
identity
and psyche. His fifteen years of field research at weapons labs across the
country incor****ates this plus analysis of popular movies, political
speeches,
media focus on war, and intellectual circles alike to provide a
hard-hitting
analysis of the impact of the nuclear complex on American perspective.
Appalachian Folkways
John B. Rehder
The Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-4363
0801878799 $39.95 1-800-537-5487
Appalachian Folkways by John B. Rehder (Professor of Geography, University
of
Tennessee) is an informed and informative account of the regional culture
Southern Appalachia. Drawing upon more than 30 years of study, Professor
Rehder
provides the reader with a definitive depiction of a people and their
history
which began with the settlement by Europeans that was to include
successive
waves of Melungeon, Scotch-Irish, English, and Germans. Influenced by
culture
shaping environment, Appalachian Folkways showcases architecture and
landscape
designs, as well as the culinary traditions, folk remedies, and belief
systems
of the area. Of special merit is the presentation of Appalachian dialect,
music, art, and the folk festivals that are being eroded as a way of life
quickly disappears under the pressures of the broader American mass
culture.
Appalachian Folkways is a welcome and seminal contribution to American
regional
history collections.
Frontier Texas
Robert F. Pace & Donald S. Frazier
State House Press
McMurray Station, Box 637, Abilene, TX 79697-0637
1880510839 $19.95 1-800-421-3378
The collaborative work of Robert F. Pace (Chair of the Department of
History,
McMurry University, Abilene, Texas) and Donald S. Frazier (Professor of
History, McMurry University, Abilene, Texas), Frontier Texas: History Of A
Bordland To 1880 is the true story of the Texas frontier from the 1700s to
1880. From the Comanches who called it home, to the influence of the
Spanish,
the press of settlements, fallout from the Civil War, the eradication of
the
buffalo and the settlements that would transform the frontier forever, and
much
more, Frontier Texas is an amazing journey through time, illustrated with
occasional black-and-white pictures, maps and photographs. A highly
accessible
history for lay readers and serious students alike.
Crossing The Line
Gord Steinke
Folk Lore Publi****ng
1808 B Street NW, Suite 140, Auburn, WA 98001
1894864166 $10.95 1-800-661-9017
Crossing The Line: Mobsters And Rumrunners by journalist and broadcaster
Gord
Steinke is an entertaining account of the most famous exploits of
rum-running
mobsters who dealt in the illegal booze trade during the Prohibition era
of the
roaring 20's, written especially for lay readers. Crime sprees,
ruthlessness,
clashes with the law, and the overwhelming drive of human greed that kept
mobsters in business permeates this collection of true stories, researched
and
deftly told with a flair for modern legend. An accurate and amazing survey
of a
colorful and sometimes bloody aspect of early twentieth century American
history.
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