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Book Reviews
Microreview: Hayden White: The Historical Imagination by Herman Paul Herman Paul’s book provides an overview of Hayden White’s thinking about historiography over the years. The book begins with White’s trip to Italy to write his thesis on the papal schism of 1130 and follows his publications and lectures chronologically, including plenty of details about who White was working with and likely inspired by. Paul’s …
Microreview: I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy Jennette McCurdy’s mother pressured her daughter into acting in order to fulfill her own ambitions. This honest, well-told memoir gives insight into the life of a child actor who came from a chaotic, unhappy home. I look forward to reading whatever else Jennette decides to write.
Microreview: The Hospital: Life, Death, and Dollars in A Small American Town by Brian Alexander As an independent hospital in the small town of Bryan, Ohio fights to survive, so do the people who live there. A lack of adequate insurance and the time and money needed to stay on top of chronic conditions costs lives. The author’s focus is broader than the title suggests and the book provides a …
Microreview: We Had a Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans in Comedy by Kliph Nesteroff Like the best comedians, the author’s timing is impeccable, with seamless transitions between stories from Native American comedians trying to make a name for themselves today to stars like Will Rogers and Charlie Hill who came before. He knows just when to add a bit of historical context and leaves readers with a long list …
Microreview: White Civility: The Literary Project of English Canada by Daniel Coleman This book explores four different tropes found in Canadian literature: 1. The Loyalist fratricide, 2. The Scottish orphan who makes good, 3. The muscular Christian, 4. The maturing colonial son. Coleman discusses how these characters both illustrate and shape Canadian’s beliefs about their nation’s (white British) origin. Prior knowledge of Canadian history and literature is …
World of Trouble: A Philadelphia Quaker Family’s Journey through the American Revolution by Richard Godbeer Richard Godbeer’s World of Trouble explores the problems faced by Quakers living in Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War. His focus on one specific family illustrates the problems faced by many.
George Magoon and the Downeast Game War by Edward Ives By presenting facts alongside each set of folktales, Ives helps us to see how much truth is in a legend and how much legend is in a man. This book captures folk tales about several poachers entangled with the law and compares them with a 'true' historical account.
Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson This easy to read biography includes a photograph on every other page. The authors use many tools to recreate Johnson's short life, from census records and marriage licenses to interviews with Johnson's contemporaries.