Book reviews and more!

Posts tagged with ‘United States’

REBELS AT THE BAR, by Jill Norgren

June 16, 2013

ENGAGING HISTORY LOOKS at eight 19th-century US women attorneys, reveals much about challenges they faced.

Grade: SOLID B

REBELS AT THE BAR: THE FASCINATING, FORGOTTEN STORIES OF AMERICA'S FIRST WOMEN LAWYERS
New York University Press
2013

Tags: , , , , ,

SEARCHING FOR ZION, by Emily Raboteau

May 24, 2013

SEEKING A “PROMISED LAND” in Israel, Africa, and the US South, a writer looks compellingly at race and faith.

Grade: B PLUS

SEARCHING FOR ZION: THE QUEST FOR HOME IN THE AFRICAN DIASPORA
Grove/Atlantic
2013

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

STORM KINGS, by Lee Sandlin

April 26, 2013

EARLY TORNADO CHASERS in the US, from Ben Franklin through the 20th century, profiled in a lively history.

Grade: B PLUS

STORM KINGS: THE UNTOLD HISTORY OF AMERICA'S FIRST TORNADO CHASERS
Pantheon
2013

Tags: , , , , , ,

PSYCHO USA, by Harold Schechter

February 23, 2013

ENCYCLOPEDICALLY CREEPY HISTORY of US mass murderers and serial killers, from the 18th century through today.

Grade: SOLID B

PSYCHO USA: FAMOUS AMERICAN KILLERS YOU NEVER HEARD OF
Ballantine
2012

Tags: , , , ,

THE DOUBLE V, by Rawn James, Jr.

February 17, 2013

COMPELLING, DEEPLY RESEARCHED history of racial segregation and integration in the US military. Eye-opening!

Grade: B PLUS

THE DOUBLE V: HOW WARS, PROTEST, AND HARRY TRUMAN DESEGREGATED AMERICA'S MILITARY
Bloomsbury USA
2013

Tags: , , , , , , ,

CEMETERY JOHN, by Robert Zorn

August 7, 2012

THE LINDBERGH BABY KIDNAPPING, reviewed and reopened in the light of memories from New York’s German community.

Grade: SOLID B

CEMETERY JOHN: THE UNDISCOVERED MASTERMIND BEHIND THE LINDBERGH KIDNAPPING
Overlook Press
2012

Tags: , , , , ,

FULL BODY BURDEN, by Kristen Iversen

August 1, 2012

THOUGHT-PROVOKING MEMOIR combined with in-depth reportage on troubled Colorado nuclear facility Rocky Flats.

Grade: B PLUS

FULL BODY BURDEN: GROWING UP IN THE NUCLEAR SHADOW OF ROCKY FLATS
Crown
2012

Tags: , , , , , ,

JEWS AND BOOZE, by Marni Davis

July 13, 2012

OFFBEAT, ENTERTAINING SCHOLARLY study of the US Jewish community’s role in our alcohol industry and culture.

Grade: SOLID B

JEWS AND BOOZE: BECOMING AMERICAN IN THE AGE OF PROHIBITION
New York University Press
2012

Tags: , , , , , ,

THE MARK INSIDE, by Amy Reading

May 8, 2012

FASCINATING TRUE STORY of a 1919 confidence game (and the victim’s revenge) sheds light on the history of scams.

Grade: B PLUS

THE MARK INSIDE: A PERFECT SWINDLE, A CUNNING REVENGE, AND A SMALL HISTORY OF THE BIG CON
Knopf
2012

Tags: , , , , , , ,

THE LIVES OF MARGARET FULLER, by John Matteson

April 28, 2012

IMPECCABLY RESEARCHED BIOGRAPHY of the fascinating 19th century American Transcendentalist Margaret Fuller.

Grade: B PLUS

THE LIVES OF MARGARET FULLER: A BIOGRAPHY
W. W. Norton & Company
2012

Tags: , , , , , ,