Over the past few weeks, reading two books had a profound impact on the way I see the country I live in and the structure of its society. The books are Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen and These Truths by Jill Lepore. Loewen, a college professor, conducted an extensive survey of …
Tag Archives: history
her father’s daughter
“You are your father’s daughter,” Alice’s mother told her. “Neither of you can help being conspicuous.” Stephanie Marie Thornton’s American Princess is a delightful account of the life of Alice Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt’s oldest child. She was one of the most famous teenagers ever to live in the White House, and her adult life was …
embers
An idealistic young Iranian woman finds new life and purpose in America after having her heart broken in Marjan Kamali’s The Stationery Shop. Teenage Roya passes her days with her nose in a book, focusing on her studies and scoffing at her younger sister, who cares more about her appearance and about boys than she …
an amazing life
Barbara Bush was a commanding figure, even though she grew shorter as she aged. In The Matriarch, author Susan Page chronicles the fascinating life of one of the most admired First Ladies (and First Mothers) in our nation’s history. Page had unprecedented access to Barbara Bush’s diaries and conducted extensive interviews with her subject along …
Lincoln, as he knew him
The premise is a fascinating one: a book about Abraham Lincoln before he declared his intention to run for president, written from the perspective of a young man who spent hours documenting his work in the courtroom. The murder case Lincoln is litigating is dramatic, his community is torn, and he has personal entanglements with …
I Like Ike
When I read an article touting the new biography of Dwight Eisenhower, entitled “The Age of Eisenhower,” as a page-turner, I sort of scoffed at the thought. Could a book about a U.S. President that didn’t even serve during a time of war really make it into that category? The answer is…. kind of. First …
get carried away
it’s rare that I actually have to plow my way through a book. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what I was compelled to do with the highly-anticipated “Dead Wake.” This WWI era, non-fiction thriller is at the top of all the lists except for mine (or so it seems). It follows the story of the Lusitania, the …
the narrative
“In Cold Blood” has been described as ground-breaking, a book that opened the doors to the true crime world and ushered in a sensational era of real American horror stories. I’m thrilled to have read it, and found the questions it left behind are just as captivating as the parallel tales it wove together. Truman …
Literal Laura 