Was wondering what the bookworms on this site have been reading of late. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I read Kim by Rudyard Kipling a while back, and I'm now reading Coniston by the American author, Winston Churchill (not to be confused with the British Prime minister Sir Winston Churchill.) I've also started another of Churchill's novels entitled The Crisis. I've only gotten part of a chapter into it, but it's about the Civil War era.

Current copy of the Backwoodsman

I almost always have some reading material with me whether on deer stand or wherever.
Right now I'm reading a fiction novel about the first wagon train to go to Oregon. This is the first book in a series of books that continue the story. This one is named "Independence". The author is Dana Fuller Ross.
It's okay, but I've already picked out a couple of historical inaccuracies.
I have the second book in the series lying here on the table beside me. It is titled "Nebraska".

I just finished Backbone of the world and enjoyed it enough I'm starting on the second of the series Free Men. After that I've got The French and Indian War by Walter R. Borneman waiting in the wings.

I recently finished Long Knife by James Alexander Thom and enjoyed it a lot.

Mike: That's what I call quality literature! I'm actually working on a bowie knife for editor of that magazine. I've run into some problems, though and had to put the thing on hold for a little while. I've just started work on it again, though. I haven't read any of the other books mentioned. Sounds like some good reading, though. I'll look in the library and see if they've got any of them. I might give 'em a try.

Started on "Plato's Republic", which does go back a few years....at least.

Rereading Beowulf....in both English and Old English. Ths is a excellent story, not to be confused with the lousy movie that came out a few years ago.
Andy

I'm reading "For a Few Acres of Snow." So far it has has been very good.

BC

I'm reading a copy of Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose I picked up at a used book sale.
A very readable account of the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

Beowulf was a great read, for sure. It was the inspiration for Chrichton's "Eaters of the Dead"; though it was combined with the journals of an Arab traveler.

"Undaunted Courage" was excellent! I'm thinking of a reread of "Bears of Blue River". Haven't read it in over 50 years.

Another thumbs up for Undaunted Courage Ambrose did a great job and it's one that I find myself rereading every couple of years.

I'm slowly reading Pierre's Hole! The Fur Trade History of Teton Valley, Idaho by Jim Hardee, Director of the Museum of the Mountain Man in Pinedale, Wyoming. He's located right in rendezvous country, and not too far from Pierre's Hole. It's well-written and scholarly, with more detail than most would care for, but therefore a very thorough treatment well worth reading for you Mountain Man types.

Dick

Just finished, "The Last of the Tin Can Sailors" and now starting a bio of Lord Nelson.

Lads - Just finished "Follow the River" by James Alexander Thom and it is a great read. Historical novel, but based closely upon the well known story of the capture and escape of Mary Ingles.
The framework is accurate to the known history and he fills in much of the fine detail from his personal experiences (he followed parts of the route), and imagination.

If you don't mind well crafted "historical fiction", this is a real good read. I plan to seek out other of the several books he has done.

Col Boone

Like Dick, I'm very slowly reading
anooshi Lineit Aani Ka, Russians in Tlinget America, The Battles of Sitka 1802 and 1804; by Nora Marks Dauenhauser, Richark Dauenhauer, and Lydia T. Black. This 491 page book reads more like a text book than a story.

Load fast and aim slow.

Currently I am reading Liberty's Exiles , by Maya Jasanoff. It won the George Washington prize for non-fiction this year; ironic that it's about what happened after the war to the thousands of Loyalists (what else would I be reading ) after the AWI. It documents the fate of William Augustus Bowles who was part of the unit I currently portray (Maryland Loyalist Battalion), as well as Colonel Beverly Robinson, who formed the Loyal American Regiment, another unit that I help portray from time to time. I got a copy when the Maryland Loyalists appeared at one of her book signings.

Anybody interested in what happened to the refugees after the AWI, would enjoy this book. Folks from Florida might want to know about how East and West Florida (yes it was once two colonies) first went to Spanish hands, and then to American hands, and the fate of the Creek nation of "Muskogee" might also want to take a look.

LD

quote:

Originally posted by SmokeEater2:
I just finished Backbone of the world and enjoyed it enough I'm starting on the second of the series Free Men. After that I've got The French and Indian War by Walter R. Borneman waiting in the wings.

I recently finished Long Knife by James Alexander Thom and enjoyed it a lot.

After you finish Free Men there is a third book in the series out now "Shinin' Times ".with the fourth book sue outnext year.

quote:

Originally posted by woodman:

quote:

Originally posted by SmokeEater2:
I just finished Backbone of the world and enjoyed it enough I'm starting on the second of the series Free Men. After that I've got The French and Indian War by Walter R. Borneman waiting in the wings.

I recently finished Long Knife by James Alexander Thom and enjoyed it a lot.

After you finish Free Men there is a third book in the series out now "Shinin' Times ".with the fourth book sue outnext year.

Thanks! I'm enjoying the series enough that it's good to hear that there's more to come.

I'm currently reading "White Devil" a true story of war, savagery, and vengence in Colonial America by Stephen Brumwell. So far a good read. It deals with the attack on the Abenaki villiage of St. Francis by Robert Rogers and his group of Rangers on October 4th, 1759

Andy: Your right: Beowulf is a great story! I had to read it for my British Literature course last year. I've kinda (not very actively) been looking for a copy in old (or middle) English. I still have to learn how to read the old English.

Boone: I read "Follow the River." I found it unworthy of my time. Then again, I'm not a big fan of alot of historical fiction. Though I do like the older stuff like Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, Dickens, Kipling, and the like.

I've gotten much farther into "The Crisis" by Wiston Churchill. A slow moving, yet absorbing book. Churchill has this rare sense of humor that I love, and he also seems to have his priorities in the right place. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 were really gripping, even though they weren't action packed. As far as I've read, I'd recommend this book to anyone. I very good read!