About the Book:

No book except perhaps Uncle Tom’s Cabin had as powerful an impact on the abolitionist movement as Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. But while Stowe wrote about imaginary characters, Douglass’s book is a record of his own remarkable life. Born a slave in 1818 on a plantation in Maryland, Douglass taught himself to read and write. In 1845, seven years after escaping to the North, he published Narrative, the first of three autobiographies. This book calmly but dramatically recounts the horrors and the accomplishments of his early years—the daily, casual brutality of the white masters; his painful efforts to educate himself; his decision to find freedom or die; and his harrowing but successful escape. 

An astonishing orator and a skillful writer, Douglass became a newspaper editor, a political activist, and an eloquent spokesperson for the civil rights of African Americans. He lived through the Civil War, the end of slavery, and the beginning of segregation. He was celebrated internationally as the leading black intellectual of his day, and his story still resonates in ours.

Book Review:  ★★★★★★

This is a book I finally decided I had to read following my last semester with American Literature.  I learned relatively quickly that this is a book that is frequently referred to — and I needed to understand how it fit into all the other topics that were being discussed in my lit courses.  I have been putting this one off for so long because I find the topic disconcerting.  So when I finally picked it up and started reading I never would have guessed that I was about to find a new favorite book!

Frederick Douglass is an amazing man.  His life and story are more than just engrossing — it is truly the solid foundation of history.  And his ability with words simply makes this book live.  From his first memories of slavery to his greatest orations this is a man that captivates readers and draws them in.  He is a powerful speaker, and his surviving orations are as powerful and pertinent today as at the time of their first issue.  But what I found most engrossing of this read was Douglass’ charisma that resonates throughout the book.  This is a man that does more than simply define “The American Dream.”  This is a man that turns that “American Dream” on its head.  His humor, devotion, dedication, oratory skills, and intelligence redefined what it meant to be black in America — in a time when the blacks were still fettered in chains, both literal and figurative.  But more than that — Douglass has a gift for giving life through the written and spoken word to what many of us today would like to consider a long dead topic.  

Douglass’ portrayal of slavery is both honest and moving.  He presents it in the light of the crime it was, and opens the eyes of readers to not only the horrific moral stain it carried — but to the lasting consequences that continue to haunt our society today.  This work is still as insightful and significant a read today as it was when first penned.  Douglass clearly and decisively identifies the consequences of slavery — and how those consequences festered and grew to impact our world more than a hundred years later.   

But Douglass is not your run of the mill abolitionist.  He also insists that the cure for the racial difficulties our world struggles with can only be cured through mutual effort.  He suggests that the whites need to move beyond their perception of indoctrination, and see the black race for the great and influential men and women they are.  And the black race needs to step forward and work as hard as they ever did as slaves to define themselves, for themselves, as the great people they truly are and can become.  

This book is a powerful and positive read.  It deals with many moral issues and demands that we need to continue to work — even today — on improving the racial relations defined in the past.  Douglass envisions a world where the blacks are accepted as Americans, with all the rights and privileges they are entitled to in conjunction with all other Americans.  He also suggests that this is not a road that can be paved with the effort of only one race.  The barriers of master and slave, black and white, bond and free, must all be obliterated.  And on their ruins we need to start over in building a world that is no longer defined through race, color, religion, or ethnic origin.  Rather, we need to reconstruct a society built on the efforts, abilities, strengths, and greatness of men and women.

For more information about this book and its author be sure to visit the following websites:

Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass/History.com

Documenting the American South

The Online Library of Liberty

When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, The Book Worm’s Library earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog by contributing to giveaways, postage, travel, and attending book industry related events. We appreciate all those that help to support our blog, and have provided links below for the direct links to this book.

Originally posted 2012-05-09 06:42:05. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

About the Book:

The title character of this haunting historical novel is Carrie McGavock, whose farmhouse was commandeered as a Confederate field hospital before the tragic battle at Franklin, Tennessee, in November 1864. That day, 9,000 soldiers perished. This tragic event turned McGavock into “the widow of the South.” She spent the rest of her life mourning those lost, eventually reburying nearly 1,500 of them on her property. Robert Hicks’s first historical novel captures the life-altering force that war exerts even on noncombatants.

Book Review:  ★★★★★★

This is a book that I found very surprising! Usually I avoid Civil War era books, and stories. I find that the subject is so much popular tripe, and the stories become cliche, and disappointing. However, this story proved to be an exception to the rule.  It is based on an unusual point of view — a woman, Carrie McGavock, whose home was commandeered as an army hospital, because it was at the site of one of the last battles of the war, the battle of Franklin, Tennessee. The story does more than break the saga of this war down to them against us, the North against the South.  Rather, this story takes a very real look at the human side of war, particularly a war that nearly destroyed this country.  And through out the story we are introduced to the medical practices of the time, (or lack thereof), and the devastation that was visited upon the cities of this country.  Most of us do not stop to realize that many homes became hospitals, and military bases.  Many acreage became cemeteries, and many people didn’t just hear about the war — but they lived in it, as it moved through their front yards, and destroyed everything in its path.  They were not just side line spectators, but on the front lines of complete devastation.

Mr. Hicks has done a very good job of portraying the growth and development of all of the characters, without dropping the story, or loosing track of the course of the action. This book offered an interesting insight into the death throws of the old South as it was, before the war shredded the remains of a dying lifestyle. This book also does very well at demonstrating the difficulties encountered in the South, during the course of reconstruction; particularly the difficulties encountered by people in letting go of the past, and forging a new, and to them, unknown future. Ultimately I found this book to be a great picture, in historical fiction form, into the difficulties encountered by a dying gentry, as America struggled to move into a new age that was dependent on mechanized production, and not genteel trade sustained on the backs of slaves.

This book helps the reader look at the elements of a culture that defined the racial difficulties existing in the United States, and forces the reader to think about the origins of those differences — many of which have continued to survive into modern day. Few people realize that in some ways the scars of this era continue, and in some cases they even fester and develop into modern day struggles for racial equality.  We like to think that this lifestyle, and this dark era of our history died with the last of the Southern plantations.  However, a careful reading of this book allows the reader to realize how close to the surface these questions of race, and equality really are.  By understanding their origins, we come to see  that we, as a nation are still struggling to heal the wounds that nearly tore this country apart.

I found myself really enjoying this book, and would recommend it for anyone that enjoys reading historical fiction.  Not only is Carrie McGavock a really fun character, but she gives us a front line view of a struggle that continues throughout this country today, and she also allows us to see the death throws of the old South, as a once great culture struggled to adapt and change in a rapidly shifting world.

For more information about this book, and its author be sure to visit the following websites:

Interview with Robert Hicks

The Killing Fields Book Review article

The Historical Setting

When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, The Book Worm’s Library earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog by contributing to giveaways, postage, travel, and attending book industry related events. We appreciate all those that help to support our blog, and have provided links below for the direct links to this book.

AbeBooks.com

Barnes and Noble

Originally posted 2010-12-09 07:00:07. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

About the Book:

The Professor and the Madman, masterfully researched and eloquently written, is an extraordinary tale of madness, genius, and the incredible obsessions of two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary — and literary history. The compilation of the OED began in 1857, it was one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. As definitions were collected, the overseeing committee, led by Professor James Murray, discovered that one man, Dr. W. C. Minor, had submitted more than ten thousand. When the committee insisted on honoring him, a shocking truth came to light: Dr. Minor, an American Civil War veteran, was also an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane.

This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

Book Review:  ★★★★★★

Ok, I have been reading books long enough to understand the concept of not judging a book by its cover.  However, in all honesty I picked up this book the first time I read it because of the title on the cover.  I mean I just had to know how someone managed to get madness, murder, and a dictionary all under one topic.  These are not subjects that are usually found in the same discussions.  And frankly, this is one of the best examples of the adage of “truth is stranger than fiction” that I have ever come across.

Starting in the Civil War, and continuing through the end of World War I — this was a story that encompassed a great deal of history.  A retired army surgeon, Yale graduate, and very well read — with a passion for collecting books.  On the surface it is hard to imagine how Dr. Minor ended up in England’s lunatic asylum following a brutal, and unprovoked murder on the very seedy side of Lambeth England.

The writing is very well done, and engrossing right from the start.  And in all truth the reader forgets that they are even reading history because the story itself is so unusual.  One word of caution, however, some men may find this story a little uncomfortable to read.  I will simply leave it at that.  It is very captivating to find out not only the birth of the idea of the cataloging the English language.  This book is also amazing in presenting the scope of the development of the English dictionary and how large a job this truly was.  Taking 70 years to complete, most people, especially readers, and lovers of language would find this story alone amazing.  But combine it with the history of Dr. Murray, and Dr. Minor and you have a book that is better than anything you will ever find in fiction.

A must read for any one that appreciates language development, or those that are passionate about reading.  Even if you don’t love history — this book will not be a wasted trip.  Since the story is as engrossing as anything you will ever find in any other book.

For more information about this book, and its author be sure to visit the following websites:

Author’s Website

Contemporary Authors

Discussion Study Guide

When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, The Book Worm’s Library earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog by contributing to giveaways, postage, travel, and attending book industry related events. We appreciate all those that help to support our blog, and have provided links below for the direct links to this book.

AbeBooks.com

Barnes and Noble

Originally posted 2010-12-10 09:03:12. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

About the Book:

A New York Times Notable Book for 2011
A Library Journal Top Ten Best Books of 2011
A Boston Globe Best Nonfiction Book of 2011 Bestselling author Tony Horwitz tells the electrifying tale of the daring insurrection that put America on the path to bloody war Plotted in secret, launched in the dark, John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry was a pivotal moment in U.S. history. But few Americans know the true story of the men and women who launched a desperate strike at the slave holding South. Now, Midnight Rising portrays Brown’s uprising in vivid color, revealing a country on the brink of explosive conflict.Brown, the descendant of New England Puritans, saw slavery as a sin against America’s founding principles. Unlike most abolitionists, he was willing to take up arms, and in 1859 he prepared for battle at a hideout in Maryland, joined by his teenage daughter, three of his sons, and a guerrilla band that included former slaves and a dashing spy. On October 17, the raiders seized Harpers Ferry, stunning the nation and prompting a counterattack led by Robert E. Lee. After Brown’s capture, his defiant eloquence galvanized the North and appalled the South, which considered Brown a terrorist. The raid also helped elect Abraham Lincoln, who later began to fulfill Brown’s dream with the Emancipation Proclamation, a measure he called “a John Brown raid, on a gigantic scale.”Tony Horwitz’s riveting book travels antebellum America to deliver both a taut historical drama and a telling portrait of a nation divided—a time that still resonates in ours.

Book Review: ★★★★★★

This book is another great example of what is wrong in our educational system.  I remember growing up and first learning about the “raid on Harper’s Ferry.”  And I also remember it being presented as nothing more than a blip on the radar of history — a nasty little burp presented so that the teacher could move on to the more interesting stuff of the Civil War.  Truth be told I actually came out of school thinking that John Brown was a black man — which is what made this event even worthy of consideration in the history texts at all.  In fact — I remember this actually being presented as a horrifying event that demonstrated how treacherous the black community could be.  The danger of uprisings and the threats they presented to “the white race.”  I remember thinking at the time that those were horrible things to say about other people!  After reading this book my original impressions of the bigotry of people has simply been reinforced.  This story is more than an amazing blip on the historical record.  This story speaks a great deal to not only the time in which it occurred, but also to the vast factions that were in a very literal sense tearing this country apart.  From inception the curse of slavery has haunted this country.  As a divisive agent its impact has been so prevalent that it continues to scar our society.  This book gives a great look into the individuals, and their characters who set about to bring down this “peculiar institution.” 

The portrayal of John Brown presented by Horowitz is simply impressive.  In a time of people with lack of conviction to almost everything, and a disinterest for the escalating world that rages around them — this book provides a sharp counterpoint to how much we have changed — and how much we have stayed the same since the time of these events.  Horowitz gives us an impressive insight into how powerful a character John Brown truly was, and how deeply committed he remained to stopping this practice right to the very end.  Not only did he sacrifice everything, including the lives of several of his children, as well as his own — but he was a great speaker that inspired others to seek the abolition of slavery as well.  John Brown comes across as a man that sought to change the world — and in a small but powerful way he did.  This book is also very inspiring in that it reinforces my conviction that a man with a powerful enough belief in something can truly change the whole course of history through nothing more than conviction.  This story is truly inspiring, and I came away with a great appreciation for many of the dynamics that existed in this troubled time.

Horowitz also brings to light many of the lesser known facts regarding this catalyst to the greatest conflagration that has ever haunted our nation.  Horowitz exposes the organization that existed behind the scenes, and obliterates the idea that this was simply a random event that was poorly thought out and executed on a whim by the desperate actions of a mad man.  This book gives us insight into those that stood behind Brown not only as abolitionist supporters, but also financially, politically, and in the end even eulogizing his memory through one of the greatest songs ever written in American history.  There is so much more to this story than we find in many of our history books.  And this book gives us a great appreciation as to the truth of how “small a blip” this ruptured fault line in American history really was.  Horowitz goes so far as to suggest that this one event became the turning point for a nation, and was the one central event that launched the nation into Civil War. 

This book is a fascinating read, and Horowitz has provided a much more insightful look of the events of the raid on Harper’s Ferry.  For more information about this book, and its author be sure to visit the following websites:

Tony Horowitz Website

New York Times Book Review

The Washington Post Book Review

50 Books Project Book Review

When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, The Book Worm’s Library earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog by contributing to giveaways, postage, travel, and attending book industry related events. We appreciate all those that help to support our blog, and have provided links below for the direct links to this book.

Originally posted 2012-04-19 06:47:39. Republished by Blog Post Promoter