Lads - Just revisited "Northwest Passage", by
Kenneth Roberts - a historic novel based (very accurately) on the 1759 Rogers raid on St Francis.I was also reading the Rogers journals, so the side by side comparison of the two was most interesting. Roberts was a heck of a writer, that is for sure. Next is his "Arundel".

Boone

Just finished "His Excellency: George Washington" by Joseph T. Ellis.

eh

quote:

Originally posted by Boone Morrison:
Lads - Just revisited "Northwest Passage", by
Kenneth Roberts - a historic novel based (very accurately) on the 1759 Rogers raid on St Francis.I was also reading the Rogers journals, so the side by side comparison of the two was most interesting. Roberts was a heck of a writer, that is for sure. Next is his "Arundel".

Boone

If you can nail a copy, read Roberts's "Oliver Wiswell". About the AWI, from the viewpoint of an American Loyalist. Long book, a little ponderous, but interesting reading.

I just hit upon a real gem, found it in the public library at Berryville, AR. It's a largely unknown memoir written by a gentleman who grew up in the Ozarks during the second half of the nineteenth century. The book is called "Back Yonder" and was originally published in 1932 when the author was an old man. His name was Wayman Hogue:

"When a weekly newspaper was established in our county it supplied a long felt want. In loading the shotgun we had to have a lot of wadding and this was hard to get. Last year's almanac was soon exhausted, and we had a hard time finding paper for gun wadding. Therefore we began taking the county weekly as soon as it came out..."

Spot

And the editor and writers figured it was all due to their skills.

A friend related that during a sermon he was delivering he noticed one woman in particular was paying an undue amount of attention and sat there spell bound. Or so he thought. After the service the woman made her way to him and as she approached he was expecting profound comments. She came up and said "may I ask you a personal question?" Not expecting the personal note, he was somewhat taken aback and said "I suppose so, what is it?" Without batting an eye she said "Is that your own hair or do you wear a hairpiece?"

Isn't it something the way God helps us keep our self-imposed greatness in perspective?

Finding relatively "unkown" books like you did is a real joy at times. I have a similar one titled PINTO BEANS AND A SILVER SPOON by Lula Daudet and Ruth Roberts (sisters). An account of homesteaders in New Mexico way back when. A good read.

I just received my copy of "Supply and Demand," one of the books that was reviewed in the latest issue of Muzzleloader. It includes numerous trade ledgers from the fur trade period. It also has a series of articles by Allan Chronister that interpret the ledgers. These are all very well done and very interesting, but I expected them because of the reviews in Muzzleloader. What Muzzleloader did not mention, though, is the terrific photographs of some very authentic looking reenactors. They really bring the book to life. I highly recommend it.

I'm on the last 40 or so pages of "A Restless People, Americans in Rebellion 1770-1787," by Oscar and Lilian Handlin. The 1982 publication is not an easy read, but covers the rough time we had as a country during the War and in finding institutions for our needs. Also what farm life was like, city life, the role faith and reason played in people's decisions, etc.

Sparks

I was at the Buffalo Bill Historical Ctr in Cody Wy. over the weekend (drove over from Yellowstone, had to see the Hawkin collection) Anyway while there I bought the book 'Daniel Boone' by John Mack Faragher. Only on page 75 so far but a good read. It's the first biography on Boone I have read since elementary school so it's all new info to me.

about a month ago, I saw a reference to Tacitus..I remembered reading him in the '60's but could think of little that he wrote except a bit about the conquest of Britain, so I got a copy of "The Annals of Tacitus"...it turns out he dealt with about 50 years of Roman history, the tough period when it was no longer a real republic...a quote, "those many laws we passed to protect ourselves from evil have brought us things worse than evil"...Hank

I read Tacitus's biography of Agricola in Latin when I was in high school. Agricola was a Roman general in Britain. His story was quite an adventure. (Latin had only just died as a language when I was in high school.)

Purdey: The definitive History (VERY nice coffee table book that covers their ML'ers quite well)
The Road To Verdun. I am one of those rare Americans who concentrated on WW1 when I was taking graduate history classes. My grandfather was much older than my grandmother and he served in Mexico and in France on Pershing's staf and in the Pacific on McArthur's staff. He died when I was 18, but for a period of years, he would send me books that, for the typical American, were about battles that were not widely studied like the Somme, The "Emperor Battles" of early 1918, Kursk and he New Guinea campaign.

To all,

Just got the 3rd volume of " the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade Journal " I have all three and they are all excellent reads... I am about 1/2 way through vol. 3... You can order frome this site... worth the price IMHO.

If you are looking for something different???? I just replaced a lost book I had years ago... It is a short thing by a gentleman named David G. Chandler. "The Campaigns of Napoleon" Only 1095 pages plus a huge amount of appendix and references... Makes a very good door stop... Several people have said that it is the BEST History of Napoleon in English, in a single Volume... I will say this, some of the BEST Maps of battles I have ever seen...

When you are retired, you have lots of time to read lots of stuff..

blood and thunder--'bout kit carson, boy 'n man, and his impact on what we got now. mind yer topknots! windy

"Chaining the Hudson," by Lincoln Diamant.
It's about the defenses of the Hudson River during the Am Rev...everything from forts, submarines, fire ships and frise an--Oh yeah--the great chain across the river. Pretty riveting reading.

Sparks

I'm in the home stretch on "Soldiers of Misfortune The Somervell and Mier Expeditions" by Sam W. Haynes.

It was the Mier Expedition that was subjected to decimation by the infamous drawing of the black beans.


Craig

My summer reading project is a book about Jedediah Smith by Dale Morgan. I like it when the author mentions other fur traders that crossed paths with Smith because I can then relate it to other books that I have read. For example, the author of this books mentions Hugh Glass and his encounter with the grizzly bear and being left for dead. I read a couple of books about him last summer including "Lord Grizzly".

Just finished re-reading Vance Randolph's Ozark Mountain Folks [great chapter on old time muzzleloading techniques] and am almost through the Journal of Patrick Gass [L&C expedition member]--he mentions meeting two Illinois boys in the Rockies trapping and hunting, on their return trip--they had been there since 1804--musta been two of the earliest American mountain men! Forgot their names but he listed them.

The River of the West/The Adventures of Joe Meek. I read this many years ago, very enjoyable and informative read. I love the old usage of the English language. We have lost much color and beauty over the years.

common sense by Thomas Payne. should be required reading for every american

'Louis XV's Army' in the Osprey series...All 5 volumes!
Steve