It's been a while since I wrote about my more recent book acquisitions. Most of my historical resources come from my books, though I do use the internet as well. When I do historical research on-line, I usually try to look at where the writer found his or her information, and if it's from a book, then perhaps try to find that book for myself. Oftentimes I'll look at bibliographies of those books as well. I suppose in that way I'm getting to the root of the subject at hand. If I can, I try to get multiple books on the same subject, for I enjoy reading different takes and angles, which allows me to have a deeper understanding. Oftentimes, the different authors may have information in their books not found elsewhere. For instance, I have nearly twenty books on taverns alone, and each one as different as its author. But mostly I get books on the parts of history I am most interested - - daily life.
So I'd like to present a few of the books that I received in 2024, and even a couple I purchased from previous years that I have rediscovered in my collection.
I hope this may entice you to check a few out for yourselves.
 |
| More of the background of the Revolutionary War |
My son bought me this book for my birthday, and he told me that once he picked it up (he had his own copy), he could not put it down. He told me it read like a novel.
You know what?
He was right! It is an excellently written book, bringing the Revolutionary War period to life, beginning with its roots during the French & Indian War, giving the reader a well-covered idea of the whys and wherefores of its causes. In fact, the book tends to look deeper into the background rather than simply repeat the major events. If you're looking for another description of the Battle of Lexington & Concord, you won't find it here. Oh, to be sure, what happened on that fateful date of April 19, 1775 is here. but author Brands gives the reader the letters and thoughts from the (at the time) background players such as Washington, Adams, and Franklin rather than the battles themselves. It, more or less, fleshes out the occurrences, allowing for a more unique perspective.
"What causes people to forsake their country and take arms against it? What prompts their neighbors, hardly distinguishable in station or success, to defend that country against the rebels? That is the question H. W. Brands answers in his powerful new history of the American Revolution."
"I would like to thank God, my mom, and the many, many books I have and read."
He was right! It is an excellently written book, bringing the Revolutionary War period to life, beginning with its roots during the French & Indian War, giving the reader a well-covered idea of the whys and wherefores of its causes. In fact, the book tends to look deeper into the background rather than simply repeat the major events. If you're looking for another description of the Battle of Lexington & Concord, you won't find it here. Oh, to be sure, what happened on that fateful date of April 19, 1775 is here. but author Brands gives the reader the letters and thoughts from the (at the time) background players such as Washington, Adams, and Franklin rather than the battles themselves. It, more or less, fleshes out the occurrences, allowing for a more unique perspective.
"What causes people to forsake their country and take arms against it? What prompts their neighbors, hardly distinguishable in station or success, to defend that country against the rebels? That is the question H. W. Brands answers in his powerful new history of the American Revolution."
 |
| Everything you ever wanted to know about flax but were afraid to ask~ |
The Big Book of Flax: A Compendium of Facts, Art, Lore, Projects, and Song - by Christian and Johannes Zinzendorf
The title sounds like a children's book, but it really is a very comprehensive look at this historical plant. I began getting into and understanding the importance of flax's role in not only American history, but in world history, quite a while back when I saw Roy, former Daggett House presenter, processing the flax for it to be spun into linen thread, eventually to become cloth or fabric or even candle wicking. And that was all before I purchased this book. I, too, have also been processing flax in the same 18th century manner that Roy did, so why do I need a book such as this?
To have for research purposes. I process flax for demonstrations and get quite a few questions, and every-so-often they catch me with a question I can't answer. This book should rectify that situation.
To have for research purposes. I process flax for demonstrations and get quite a few questions, and every-so-often they catch me with a question I can't answer. This book should rectify that situation.
"With 414 images, this comprehensive book dates back thousands of years, from how flax was cultivated in the Middle East and Europe, its beginnings in America, to its use in the twenty-first century. Guidelines for planting, harvesting, breaking, spinning, weaving, and other processes (are) provided."
Time to get a-reading!
A Revolution in Eating: How the Quest for Food Shaped America (Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History) by James McWilliams
 |
| Food is history. |
"James E. McWilliams presents a colorful and spirited tour of culinary attitudes, tastes, and techniques throughout colonial America."
It's only somewhat in recent times that people are realizing that food is history; perhaps that thought came with the memories we hold of the foods our parents and grandparents made when we were much younger, spurring reminisces of our youths - grandma's cake, grandpa's soup. Sometimes just the smells of certain foods can mentally take one back decades in time. Food historians have taken a different route to the past, the road to understanding what our ancestors of long ago - and even pioneers, founding fathers, and simple family farmers - may have partaken in (including drink). It's through books like this that we understand the taste (literally) of peoples past. I remember being thought of as a smart-aleck because I asked a teacher in class what did people from long ago eat for breakfast (my classmates laughed at the question). But I really wanted to know. Unfortunately, I was told to sit in the hall because he thought I was "acting smart."
Well, it's books like what we have here where I can find my answers - most of the time. This particular book is more of a history of food in America and, like the title interjects, "How the Quest for Food Shaped America."
"Confronted by strange new animals, plants, and landscapes, settlers in the colonies and West Indies found new ways to produce food. Integrating their British and European tastes with the demands and bounty of the rugged American environment, early Americans developed a range of regional cuisines. From the kitchen tables of typical Puritan families to Iroquois longhouses in the backcountry and slave kitchens on southern plantations, McWilliams portrays the grand variety and inventiveness that characterized colonial cuisine."
Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall -
I ordered multiple copies for my elementary school-age grandkids.
If you read my blog here and follow my historical exploits of candle making, working on the shaving horse, processing flax (only to be spun on a spinning wheel), among other period activities, then you may see this book was written about me and my family!
Well...sort of...
 |
| I wish I had such a book when I was a child. |
 |
| It is simple but wonderful reading for the children who hunger for history. |
 |
| Could this be my wife, Patty, spinning flax into linen? She does do it, you know. |
 |
| Could this be me, working the shaving horse? |
 |
| Yes, we make candles and grow flax - and, yes again, we also make linen from the flax. |
 |
| But rather than pack it all into an ox-cart, we pack it all into a van lol. We have no ox-cart, nor an ox! |
Yes, this book comes highly recommended if you want to teach your youngsters about daily life in 18th and 19th century America.
 |
| A look at the Revolution's first months. |
American Spring: Lexington, Concord, and the Road to Revolution by Walter T. Borneman-
I'm not certain how many books I have of 1775, but each one tends to give me new insight. And American Spring is "a vibrant look at the American Revolution's first months."
Beginning on January 1st, 1775 and going through July of that same year, this book covers just about everything of that period, including one of my favorite events which occurred on February 26 (click HERE), covering Paul Revere's Ride, the battles at Lexington & Concord and Bunker/Breed's Hill. And through it all author Walter R. Borneman focuses on, in novel form, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, Benjamin Franklin, and Patrick Henry, as well as "the ordinary Americans caught up in the Revolution."
 |
| I love the manner in which these new history books are being written. |
American Rebels: How the Hancock, Adams, and Quincy Families Fanned the Flames of Revolution - by Nina Sankovitch
I very much enjoy the way the modern history subjects are written more like historically accurate novels rather than the desert-dry academic tomes of days gone by. Writers today tend to keep history books lighter than the dragged down, overly-long books that cannot hold an interest for more than a page or two. As Publisher's Weekly wrote in their review of this book: "Sankovitch leavens her deeply researched account with wit, and presents a perspective and entertaining portrait of life in colonial Boston. Revolutionary War buffs will savor this thoughful addition to popular histories of the period."
In reading this book you do get to know the Hancock, Adams, and Quincy Families a bit more intimately.
 |
| This book is very informative. |
Colonial and Early American Lighting by Arthur H. Hayward -
I collect lighting apparatus. Most are actual antiques from the 18th and 19th centuries, but I have a few wonderfully done replications. Either way, I use them, meaning that, yes, there is oil in the oil lamps and candle drippings on the candle sticks. And when I do my living history excursions, I like to be accurate. That's where this book comes in. It covers lighting from the early grease lamp days through candles through 19th century oil lamps, though the main emphasis is on the Colonial era, which is fine by me. I also use this book to solve debates. I enjoyed examples of how lighting related to ordinary life in those days past.
By the way, many of the lighting devices pictured in this book are from the collection of The Henry Ford (museum and Greenfield Village).
Lexington and Concord in Color (Profiles of America Series) - photography by Samuel Chamberlain and text by Stewart Beach
 |
| A colorful history lesson |
As of this writing, I have not been to Massachusetts. But, Good Lord willing, I do hope to go in the near future.
This book does give more of a history than just April 19, 1775 - the Battles of Lexington & Concord. Its text gives us a little history of both city's development from their founding.
I believe this book was first published for the Bicentennial in the mid-1970s. Before that, most books had black & white pictures - this was in full color. There are the pages that have the Hancock-Clarke House, the Munroe Tavern, The Hill Burying Ground, The Old Manse, and pictures of the Patriot's Day reenactments. It's not a thick book - under a hundred pages - but an enjoyable read. Each photo of a historic scene has a page filled with history alongside. So for one like me who has never been, it's wonderful!
 |
| The American Cider Book~ |
The American Cider Book - Over the years I have become a sort of apple aficionado, and this book is a welcome addition to my library. "(It) does more than tell you how to make cider" (which I pretty much already know); "it gives a fascinating capsule history of the world's second-oldest beverage. Replete with diverting facts, it follows cider through American history, legend, and folklore..."
This 132 page book just about covers it all for me.
~History of apples and cider
~History of cider making
~Best apples for cider making
~Cider presses
 |
| I love reading these old diaries. They bring the past to life! |
A diary is exactly what this book is. If daily life of a farmer in the mid-18th century doesn't hold any excitement or interest for you, then you will probably not care for this book and will find it tedious and boring. For me personally, I find that journals and diaries tend to place the reader right there, back in time as life was being lived. And since I am into 18th century farming, this is wonderful primary source material. For example, on August 3, 1754 he notated that "Got in my rye and finished pulling flax." I, too, pulled flax that I grew - planted in May (as diarist Patten did) and pulled in August. Also of interest is that he mentions as if in passing around July 20, 1776: "a Declaration for Independence" among purchasing items such as tobacco and a "rub ball" for his breeches (not sure what a rub ball is).
It can be a tough read, for everything tends to run together. So it has to be read at a slow and steady pace. I tend to take notes when reading such diaries (and journals). My one complaint is that the publishers should have notated better the separation between years.
 |
| Yep---traveling through time! |
Time Traveler's Guide to Elizabethan England by Ian Mortimer
"I wrote (this) Time Traveler's Guide in order to suggest we do not always need to describe the past objectively and distantly. In that book I tried to bring the Medieval period closer to the reader, describing what you would find if you could visit fourteenth century England. Where would you stay? What might you wear? What would you eat? How should you greet people? Given that we know so much about the period, it stands to reason that the historian should be able to answer such questions. There are limits, of course: the historian cannot break through the evidence barrier and actually recreate the past..."
I really can't add anything to the author's own description. This is the sort of book I live for.
Mr. Mortimer does a fine job indeed!
 |
| Gardening - not farming. |
Archaeology and the Colonial Gardener by Audrey Noel Hume
My copy is more like a 90 page pamphlet. I'm not sure if it is available in actual book form. No problem, though, because it is well researched and released through the Colonial Williamsburg Archaeological Series (more in the series is listed on the back of the book).
As stated in the preface:
"More than forty years of archaeological excavating in Williamsburg have provided much valuable information to the people concerned with the authenticity of its restoration.
"More than forty years of archaeological excavating in Williamsburg have provided much valuable information to the people concerned with the authenticity of its restoration.
All of the photographed objects were excavated in Williamsburg and its vicinity or relate to pieces found here..."
It covers such subjects as fences and walls, steps and walks, watering pots, urns, flowerpots, plants and plantings, garden homes and arbors, and just a wealth of information more. It's looking at gardening from evidence found beneath the ground. Like so many others in my collection, it gives us a unique perspective on the subject, not often found elsewhere.
It covers such subjects as fences and walls, steps and walks, watering pots, urns, flowerpots, plants and plantings, garden homes and arbors, and just a wealth of information more. It's looking at gardening from evidence found beneath the ground. Like so many others in my collection, it gives us a unique perspective on the subject, not often found elsewhere.
American Towns: An Interpretive History by David J. Russo
I found this explanation/review to be what I would like to write, so, direct from Amazon, here you are:
 |
| You want details? This book has it - well done! |
"For the vast majority of Americans who lived in rural settings from the seventeenth to the late nineteenth century, the small town provided the most important context for their lives. The town was a focal point and trade center chiefly for farmers but also for fishermen, loggers, miners, and even industrial workers as long as industrial production depended upon waterpower. Rural Americans needed community, and towns filled their economic, political, social, and cultural needs. David Russo’s history of these communities is a unique and engaging work of history, an overview of the founding, development, and varieties of life of American towns from earliest colonial times to the present. His chronicle is wide-ranging in its description but specific in its illustrations of how towns came into existence, grew or declined, gave way to larger urban areas, and finally have reappeared in idealized forms that provide Americans with nostalgia for a past that most of them did not even experience. The most important aspects of real towns, Mr. Russo observes, is their past, their history. With a vast knowledge of the field and a deft use of illustrative facts, he re-creates the universal experience of the small town―its intimacy, its neighborliness, and human scale as well as intolerance, narrow-mindedness, and tendency to exclusivity. American Towns is a richly informed book that fills a large gap in the history of the United States. With 50 black-and-white photographs and drawings."
I will add that this book covers holiday celebrations, agriculture, social life, leisure life, and just a myriad of other subjects. It's not a book I will sit down and read front to back, but will, instead, seek out certain subjects of particular interest at any given time.
Handbook of Connecticut Agriculture by T S Gold -
 |
| A gem of a book! |
"Published in 1914, this book provides a detailed overview of agriculture in Connecticut, including crops, livestock, soils, and farming practices. Written by Theodore Sedgwick (TS) Gold, a professor of agriculture at the Connecticut Agricultural College, this book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the history and development of agriculture in Connecticut."
This book was gifted to me by a former Master Presenter of the Daggett Farm House now located inside historic Greenfield Village. Since the Daggett House was originally built in Connecticut in the early 1750s, she studied such books to help her to understand her job working inside the house that much better. This is why she was at the top of her game - she took her job seriously and dug deeper to gain even more knowledge.
Why didn't she just simply only state what was in her official guidebook? It would have been so much easier.
Because many visitors to Greenfield Village are repeat visitors, often coming going to the Village weekly, or bi-weekly, or monthly, and even sometimes daily, and it's to these folks she could go the extra mile. Plus she could apply what she learned to her actions, for presenters there don't (or at least shouldn't) sit on their duffs and speak blandly as if a college professor. It's books like this that can help the presenter and the living historian improve and accent their experiences and presentations.
Because many visitors to Greenfield Village are repeat visitors, often coming going to the Village weekly, or bi-weekly, or monthly, and even sometimes daily, and it's to these folks she could go the extra mile. Plus she could apply what she learned to her actions, for presenters there don't (or at least shouldn't) sit on their duffs and speak blandly as if a college professor. It's books like this that can help the presenter and the living historian improve and accent their experiences and presentations.
 |
| Daily colonial life - written in 1900. |
Colonial Days & Ways as Gathered From Family Papers by Helen Evertson Smith
"With the gathering of relics to make suitable exhibits at the centennial celebration of our national independence, there came a general awakening of interest in all things pertaining to the history of our Revolutionary War and of the few years preceding it.
For this reason, the smallest traces of our national beginnings should be sought for...Every old record, every homely detail, every scrap of old furniture, every bit of home handicraft, above all, every familiar old letter or diary or expense-book, should be treasured..."
This was originally published in the year 1900, but don't let its antiquity fool you: it is filled with daily colonial life information and generalities rarely seen elsewhere, such as what a colonial wedding was like, information on church and a pioneer pastor, life on an early colonial manor - in fact, daily life in various homes (including a Connecticut home and a Huguenot home), also a bit on Huguenots, candles and candle dipping, slavery, spinning, a 1779 Thanksgiving...
This is a facsimile of the original 125 year old print.
"But Ken," you say, "we've learned so much more since this book was printed!"
My response to that is to look at bibliographies of many of the current history books, and you will find these ancient books listed nearly every time.
 |
| More history not often spoken about. |
The Brittle Thread of Life: Backcountry People Make a Place for Themselves in Early America by Mark Carlson Williams
"The colonists who settled the backcountry in 18th century New England were recruited from the social fringe, people who were desperate for land, autonomy, and respectability, and who were willing to make a hard living in a rugged environment. In The Brittle Thread of Life we get to know these people as individuals."
"A deeply researched, vivid, and absorbing account of the...independent people of New England's backcountry and their place in the history of the region and the nation."
(Author) "Mark Williams’ microhistorical approach gives voice to the settlers, proprietors, and officials of the small colonial settlements that became Granby, Connecticut, and Ashfield, Massachusetts. These people―often disrespectful, disorderly, presumptuous, insistent, and defiant―were drawn to the ideology of the Revolution in the 1760s and 1770s that stressed equality, independence, and property rights."
Another great history book written in a novel way.
 |
| Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder A most terrific book! |
Farmer Boy - Laura Ingalls Wilder
I've owned this book for years, so it's not new to me. But I know there will be some who may question why I have such a book as this on this list, but my only response is to say, "Read it!"
"Almanzo and his brother and sisters help with the summer planting and fall harvest. In winter there is wood to be chopped and great slabs of ice to be cut from the river and stored. Time for fun comes when the jolly tin peddler visits, or best of all, when the fair comes to town." It also covers spring planting, animal care, and even Christmas celebrations.
It is, to me, perhaps the finest book of 19th century farm life anyone can read - even adults! It takes the reader seasonally through a year of daily farm life in the mid-19th century, of which much of the information can easily apply to 18th century farming practices as well. I can't say enough good about this book.
Sometimes books geared toward kids can be better than those for adults! This is one such book.
 |
| Michigan Haunts~ |
Any book where I and my blog get credit is good in my, um, book!
"What spirits lurk at Henry Ford's Greenfield Village?"
Years ago I wrote a blog post about the hauntings of Greenfield Village. I interviewed former employees to get such tales, and it became one of my most popular blog posts; it's called Ghosts of Greenfield Village (click HERE). Well, the author of this book asked if some of my stories from my post could be used. I responded in the affirmative, and, well, here we are!
I very much enjoyed reading this book. I think my favorite story here is about the "New Hudson Inn" - Michigan's oldest tavern still a tavern in its original location - I was not aware of it, so I did go and visit. Great food and great stories! Click the name to take you to where my post about it is.
 |
| It was very cool to have my Passion for the Past blog mentioned in a book. A New York Times best seller at that! Okay---not really...but still~ |
Now---about the title of this post: "Here's Where I Received MY Degree."
In March of 2022, I was honored - truly honored - by the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) to receive their Bronze Medal. The local SAT chapter President, Chris White, had this to say:
"The Bronze Good Citizenship Medal is designed to recognize an individual who has made an important contribution to the community. Ken Giorlando has been a living historian for almost 20 years. (He) actively writes multiple history-based blogs including Passion for the Past...and Greenfield Village Open-Air Museum. He also maintains the Friends of Greenfield Village Facebook page.
Throughout the year you may run into Ken at Greenfield Village, Mill Race Village, Historic Fort Wayne, Cass River Encampment in Frankenmuth, Colonial Kensington, or many other places around the Midwest.
We first met Ken at Colonial Days at Historic Fort Wayne back in 2018 and have been following his exploits around the Midwest since then. Along with Larissa Fleishman, they hone their first-person skills as 18th century farmers. Their Year in the Life of a Colonial Farm (presentation) was the highlight of our 2019 annual meeting, and we look forward to their presentation today along with Bob Stark.
In recognition of Ken's ongoing efforts to keep history alive in our community, the Detroit Metro Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution is very pleased and honored to present him with the SAR Bronze Good Citizenship Medal."
I then was presented with the Bronze Medal along with the certificate.
 |
| President Chris White and myself. Do I look proud? I certainly am!! You can have your history degree - this means so much more! I mean...this is from the Sons of the American Revolution! |
My historical interests, as regular readers know, tend to mostly run in America's colonial and early Republic up through the Civil War, though I will touch on 20th century here and there, but it's mostly pre-20th century history that I center on.
So, aside from the books I have listed in today's post, here are other Passion For the Past postings on some of the other books in my collection.
And I have many more than what you will see - - - -
Until next time, see you in time.
...........................................
No comments:
Post a Comment