Partly due to internal factionalism, Chowdhury asserts, Iran and its oil reserves were traditionally an easy target for outside domination – Ottoman, British, Tsarist, Soviet, and American. After long centuries of oppression as a minority sect of Islam, the Shias finally rose to prominence after their successful 1979 rebellion. But Shia leaders now face major internal […]
The big picture that we’re taught in school is rarely the completely accurate picture, and curiosity can bring you down some fascinating and unforgettable rabbit holes. In Serendipity: Seemingly Random Events, Insignificant Decisions, and Accidental Discoveries that Altered History by Thomas J. Thorson, readers are welcomed into a long and disparate list of historical tales that exemplify the uncertainty of life, and the unbelievable ways that luck has influenced our common existence.
The book is a series of stories about well-known historical events and figures, but these are stories that few have ever heard before. Did you know that Handel, […]
In Shot Down: The true story of pilot Howard Snyder and the crew of the B-17 Susan Ruth, author Steve Snyder tells his father’s story in World War II in a riveting and unforgettable peek into the past. When Lieutenant Snyder and his crew are shot down over Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II, hope of survival is grim, and the brutal nature of wartime is fully revealed.
Based on hundreds of unique accounts, letters, interviews, and intensive research, Shot Down pieces together a profoundly compelling story of survival and perseverance. With such a strong body of material and […]
Generous Fruits: A Survey of American Homesteading by Barbara Bamberger Scott is a fascinating history of the homesteading movement, from early settlers in America up to the modern day. Written from a “walked the walk” perspective, Scott shows an obvious passion for her subject, unearthing the challenges, successes, and missteps that American homesteaders have faced over the centuries.
There are a great number of books on homesteading that cover the nuts and bolts of going “off the grid” – how to maintain an organic garden, how to generate electricity, and so on – but few, if any, cover the storied […]
Stories of Yesteryear: Horse & Buggy Days by Harry H. Brown is a charming reprint of Harry Brown’s tales of Halifax, Massachusetts and New England at the turn of the century and earlier. Harkening back to days before cars, or even electricity, these vignettes are in turns amusing and moving, as it tells an important story about a bygone era. Much of what Brown writes about is lost to history, which makes this reprint by his family and important and worthy enterprise.
At only a page or so apiece, these stories are easy to read and ingest, and have a […]
Beginning a prospective work of history with “It is my belief that…” perhaps makes it less persuasive than just outlining the facts, but the research in the book is solid and thorough. Evans describes his book as a “Nietzschean interpretation of […]
Bridget’s Hanging by Sheila Duane is the author’s presentation of the historical account of the life and times of Bridget Deignan (a.k.a. Durgan or Dergan) who was sentenced to hang in the town of New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1867. An Irish immigrant from a Catholic upbringing ousted from her home at the age of 22, she became a domestic worker for Coriell in 1866, and she would be charged with the murder of Mrs. Coriell the following year – a crime of which the local community would unerringly find her at guilt for, with or without substantial evidence.
The […]
The letters are the strongest component of Ingber’s […]