Best American Antebellum History

Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton--two of the most influential Founding Fathers--were also fierce rivals with two opposing political philosophies and two radically different visions for America. Thomas J. DiLorenzo is the author of "The Real Lincoln "and "How Capitalism Saved America," A professor of economics at Loyola College in Maryland and a senior fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute, he has written for the "Wall Street Journal," "USA Today," the "Washington Post," "Reader's Digest," "Barron's," and many other publications.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"States rights, the Federal Reserve and income tax fraud."
"Dilorenzo builds an excellent case against the economic principles and centralized federal government control espoused by Alexander Hamilton and those who followed him."
"While Dilorenzo goes well out of his way to tar Alexander Hamilton with a bad reputation, Hamilton did much to deserve such treatment."
"Very interesting peek at the small vs big government philosophical debates at our nation's founding, Hamilton on one side, Jefferson and Madison the other."
"While I am somewhat of a libertarian myself, I would prefer to read honest, balanced historical accounts so that I might have a clear view of the issues at hand and form my own opinions based on facts and persuasive arguments, not just have a biased perspective shoved down my throat with the intensity of a fire hose."
"This book starts with the premise that Hamilton is a "bad guy" and his ideas are the source of many of the problems that the United States currently faces. Instead of working from the facts and towards the premise, DiLorenzo simply asserts the premise, with statements such as "Hamilton wanted to use this centralized power to subsidize business in particular, and the more affluent in general, so as to make them supportive of an ever-growing state." For background, here is the Supremacy Clause: This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding. DiLorenzo's interpretation of this statement is that it primarily serves as a reminder that "the United States" is not a central government but a confederacy of states "that would delegate a few select powers to the central government, primarily for national defense and foreign affairs." Further, that the central government's laws would not necessarily trump state laws, and that the enumerated powers were the only powers."

Determined to prove otherwise, Kate sets out on a fascinating and sometimes hysterical journey through antebellum law and medicine.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Not only will there apparently be a second book, but the major focus of the book -- trying to get justice for her father's murder - ends up having a strange twist that I found unsatisfactory."
"This story started out about a man whose daughter had the misfortune of watching him die."
""The Doctor's Daughter: Journey to Justice" is a novel full of surprises, twists and turns, beginning with the title. The story opens with Kate sitting in a church service plotting how to obtain that justice, and she's afraid that some of her methods are not terribly Christian. Despite the many serious subjects - murder, revenge, love, hate, Civil War, justice, slavery - this book is a lot of fun. The author gives many methods that people use to rid themselves of warts, none of which I would recommend, but which are fun to read about."
"A Story of a young woman growing up as a daughter of a Dr who healing with herbs and old time healing remedies."
"After the loads of information given at the beginning of the book, it became increasingly interesting and much more fast paced as the characters started to develop."
"I selected this book because the setting is in Nashville, my birthplace and hometown."
"Her road is traveled alongside poor farm hands and towns people, spoiled rich folk, criminals, preachers, slaves, and the occasional animal, all of which keep you laughing, cursing, and crying right there with Kate herself. And its not just a fun story, its also a well researched glimpse into the medical practices of Pre Civil War Tennessee, and an inside point of view of being there once the war breaks out."

From the first shots fired at Lexington to the signing of the Declaration of Independence to the negotiations for the Louisiana Purchase, Joseph J. Ellis guides us through the decisive issues of the nation’s founding, and illuminates the emerging philosophies, shifting alliances, and personal and political foibles of our now iconic leaders–Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, and Adams. Set against the extraordinary establishment of the most liberal nation-state in the history of Western Civilization... in the most extensive and richly endowed plot of ground on the planet are the terrible costs of victory, including the perpetuation of slavery and the cruel oppression of Native Americans. Ellis blames the founders' failures on their decision to opt for an evolutionary revolution, not a risky severance with tradition (as would happen, murderously, in France, which necessitated compromises, like retaining slavery).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Divided into a series of essays that bridge the period from the Declaration of Independence to Jefferson's Presidency, it tells the story as it was perceived at the time, with all the complexities, different personalities and array of political issues that the Founding Fathers had to deal with."
"Wonderful synthesis of historical events that defy the fabricated and confined neatness of, say, Trumbull's painting of the Signing."
"Ellis makes the Founding Fathers come alive, while helping us imagine to a much greater extent what it must have been like to live through hose difficult times in our history."
"I would recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about American History."
"As time unfolds, as a people we accept the fact that all are equal and our nation enters the, in truth, never ending trail of the evolving truth."
"Joseph Ellis has a way of bringing history alive."
"Prof. Ellis is a modern master: he offers unusual insights and writes with remarkable grace."
"This book should be required reading before 3rd year high school, and thereafter periodically as an historical refresher."
Best American Old West History

Determined to understand how such a "good boy" could have become Indianized so completely, Zesch travels across the west, digging through archives, speaking with Comanche elders, and tracking eight other child captives from the region with hauntingly similar experiences. Adolph was traded to a band of Quahada Comanches, with whom he lived until November 1872, when the Comanches traded their captives for those held by the U.S. Army. Drawing on his tenacious research and interviews with the captives' descendants, Zesch compiles a gripping account of the lives of these children as they lived and traveled with their Indian captors.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This book focuses on and follows the paths of some of the children who were captured by the Indians."
"A book that keeps your attention."
"The last part of the book slows down but I'm glad I read it."
"Loved this book, fascinating study of the psychology and adaptability of children, white boys made into Comanche warriors."
"A captivating account of the abductions of German settler children by American Indian tribes in the1870ies."
Best American Gilded Age History

Welcome to the Wild North, a desolate wasteland where criminals go to hide—if they can outlast the drought and the dangers of the desert. If the land doesn't get you, the Coilhunter will.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Very creative and different."
"Yes, it is a science fiction story and he can write what he wants but these sections lowered my opinion of the story."
"Wilson's worldbuilding is fantastic, down to the shifting yellow grains of sand that get caught in machine parts, fill exhaust pipes, and clog diesel tanks. As he hunts for those on the wanted posters to earn some coils, the currency in the Wild North, he also searches for justice--or at least revenge--for his murdered family."
"The story pulls the reader into his life of searching for wanted criminals, and sandwiched between these captures and killings is his never-ending search for the murderer of his family. In one instance, when a fleeing criminal takes to the rooftops, Nox “…ran towards the wall, simultaneously throwing a knife from his belt at the stone, where it lodged in place, and then another a little further up, and another higher still."
"That Wilson is good as Westerns isn’t a surprise; what’s surprising to me is that Coilhunter is a Western in the first place, since it’s technically set in the same world as Wilson’s grim Great Iron War series. Even more to the point, though, Wilson makes his Western world all its own, making it stand out from the Great Iron War to the point where it feels less like a spinoff and more like its own series. With bounty hunter towns, old friends, and spectacular lawless zones, Wilson brings the world – and the characters – to life in a satisfying way, all while peppering things with his usual strong action sequences."
"A dark, rough and gritty Outlaw Western set in a dystopian future, where the law keepers aren’t much better than the criminals that they hunt."
Best American Reconstruction History

An unflinching look at the grim years of Southern reconstruction. Thomas Goodrich is a professional writer whose focus is the American West.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Great stories form the people who lived it."
"As a child of the Southland, I found this book positively riveting."
"I once read a book on Sherman's march through the south and became sick of all the destruction caused but this book showed so much more."
"THIS IS A VERY INFORMATIVE BOOK ON WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO LIVE THROUGH RECONSTRUCTION IN 1865-1866..BASED ON FIRST HAND DIARIES AND WRITTEN LETTERS IT IS VERY WELL WRITTEN AND GOOD READING."
"The Day Dixie Died by Debra and Thomas Goodrich. The authors have brought many detailed information sources to light. Their account of daily life as the war ended and occupation began will give most readers a fresh understanding of how much was lost by not following Lincoln's hope to heal the country's wounds. There are details about domestic life, economic hardship, lost opportunities for unity, and a poignant sense of how hopeless the mood was in the occupied South. From analysis of the public outcry against Jefferson Davis and the trial of Wirz of Andersonville to discussion of Jesse James and others who could not find peace, the authors show a many faceted picture of the first bleak year after the war ended. Unfortunately, Lincoln's death and the growing feeling of a need to punish all aspects of the "Great Rebellion" convinced many people in the South that the surrender had been a mistake."
"The surviving eyewitness accounts from the reviewer's home county in Alabama and a few family memories support the theme of this book."
"Indeed, nearly every paragraph details an "eyewitness" account of the hardships of Southern whites, the new "Freedmen" and the "carpet-bagging" Northerners experienced as Dixie went through the death throes of defeat and initial attempts at Reconstruction."
Best Turn of the 19th Century US History

In this fascinating true story, Anthony Bourdain follows Mary through the kitchens of New York, putting a human face to a poor, desperate cook, and an inadvertant killer, and, with his signature swagger, captures an era and a life. Like Lizzie Borden, Mallon has received various writers' interpretations, the last in a 1996 biography by Judith Leavitt of the same title (LJ 5/15/96) that told the tale with more health science and a less cranky style. Chapter titles tend toward the snarky and hip ("There's Something About Mary," "Typhoid sucks"), and only a New York guy would describe bacteria settling into a gall bladder "like rent-controlled pensioners." His light-handed telling concerns a possible hoax from about 1824, when a butcher and a carpenter in New York's old Centre Market purportedly discussed their plan to solve overbuilt Manhattan's dangerous bottom-heaviness by sawing it in half, turning the top part of the island around, and reattaching it at the Battery. Unwittingly responsible for an outbreak of typhoid fever in Oyster Bay, Long Island, in 1904, Mary, a cook, fled when authorities began to suspect that she was a carrier.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Rather superficial overview."
"I just finished reading a biography about a nurse serving islander's on papavray in Scotland ( island name changed to protect identities), and this book came up next."
"Interesting, historical."
"i like anthony bourdain. this is earlier work, he has done research."
"Quite a tale; Bourdain's writing is always superb."
"Love history and this book describes the Irish female experience and the conditions of sanitation during Mary's time."
"This book was very interesting."
"I learned all about Typhoid Mary from the book, and it was told in an interesting format."