You may be interested in knowing what’s on our bookshelves, so we decided to create this section to list some of our favorite reads. Please check back each month to see what we’ve been reading or recommend.
OCTOBER
This month is one of significant historical events that decided the American Revolution and other wars. It is also one dedicated to the horrors of Halloween. There is plenty of history in the horror genre, some based on true stories and others fictional, set in historical times.
October 7 : King’s Mountain (1780)
Papers of Nathanael Greene, Rhode island Historical Society, 13 vols.
The War of the Revolution, Christopher Ward 2 vols.
October 11: Eleanor Roosevelt is born (1884)
First Lady of Radio, Drury Smith
No ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt- The Homefront in World War II, Doris Kearns Goodwin
My Day: The Best of Eleanor Roosevelt’s Acclaimed Newspaper Columns 1936 – 1962, Eleanor Roosevelt
Grandmere A Personal History of Eleanor Roosevelt, David B. Roosevelt
The Roosevelt Women, Betty Boyd Caroli
October 17: Burgoyne Surrenders at Saratoga (1777)
Saratoga, Turning Point of America’s Revolutionary War, Richard M. Ketcham
The War of the Revolution, Christopher Ward 2 vols.
Public Papers of George Clinton First Governor of New York, New York State
October 17: Sir John Johnson Burns Schoharie Valley (1780)
Burning of the Valleys, Gavin K. Watt
History of Schoharie County and Border Wars of New York, Jeptha R. Simms
The Old Stone Fort – Guardian of Schoharie County’s History Since 1772, Jeff O’Connor
October 19: Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown (1781)
The War of the Revolution, Christopher Ward 2 vols.
October 27: The first Federalist Papers are published (1787)
The Federalist Papers, John Jay, Alexander Hamilton and others
October 31: Battle of Britain ends (1940)
The Second World War, Winston Churchill 6 vols
October 31: Halloween
New York State Ghosts, David J. Pitkin
Ghosts of the Northeast, David J. Pitkin
Great graves of Upstate New York, Chuck D’Imperio
Newes From the Dead, Being a True Story of Anne Green, Mary Hooper
The Anatomy Lesson, Nina Siegal
Making the Monster – the Science Behind Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Kathryn Harkup
Fever, Mary Beth Keane (the real story of “Typhoid Mary”)
Witches, Rakes, and Rogues, D. Brenton Simons
The Lady From the Black Lagoon – Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick, Mallory O’Meara
The Substitute, Nicole Lundrigan
Creepy-Ass Dolls, Stacy Leigh Brooks (captioned photos of vintage dolls; yes, they were loved at one time, but that doesn’t mean we all would have…)
AUGUST
It was usually summer by the time many colonial-era military campaigns, begun in the spring, finally resulted in two combatants engaging on the battlefield. Here are some recommendations on our bookshelves involving August battles and campaigns you may enjoy.
August 6: Oriskany (1777)
Battles of the Revolutionary War 1775-1781, Lt. Col. WJ Wood
August 3 – 9: The Siege of Fort William Henry (1757)
Last of the Mohicans, James Fenimore Cooper
Crucible of War, Fred Anderson
August 12: King Philip’s War ends (1676)
Mayflower, Nathaniel Philbrick
The End of American Independence, Stephen Saunders Webb
August 13: Battle of the Flockey (1777)
Thunder in the Valley, The Story of the Schoharie Valley Loyalist uprising that led to the First cavalry charge of the United States Army at the Battle of the Flockey August 13, 1777, Jeff O’Connor
The Flockey 13 August 1777 – The Defeat of the Tory Uprising in the Schoharie Valley, Gavin K. Watt
August 16: The Battle of Bennington (1777)
Stark – The Life and Wars of John Stark, French & Indian War Ranger, Revolutionary War General, Richard V. Polhemus & John F. Polhemus
August 2-22: The Siege of Fort Schuyler (Stanwix) (1777)
Hero of Fort Schuyler – Selected Correspondence of Brigadier General Peter Gansevoort Jr. edited by David Z. Ranzan & Matthew J. Hollis
August 24-25: The U.S Capitol is burned (1814)
Ladies of Liberty, “Dolly Madison,” Cokie Roberts
August 29: Battle of Newtown (1779)
Journals of the Military Expedition of Major General John Sullivan Against the Six Nations of Indians in 1779, prepared by Frederick Cook
There are also some notable August birthdays with accompanying book titles on our bookshelves you may want to check out:
August 1
Herman Melville – Moby Dick; Heart of the Sea, Nathaniel Philbrick. Heart of the Sea is the true story of the whaler Essex, on which Melville based his book, Moby Dick.
August 17
David Crockett – American Legend, The Real-Life Adventures of David Crockett, Buddy Levy; Three Roads to the Alamo, The Lives and Fortunes of David Crockett, James Bowie, and William Barret Travis, William C. Davis; Exodus From the Alamo, The Anatomy of the Last Stand Myth, Phillip Thomas Tucker. Jeff is also an Alamo buff, with a life-long obsession about what turned out to be a myth of epic proportions. Don’t shoot the messenger, but the Exodus from the Alamo tells a much needed truth that Texans don’t want you to know. Set aside preconceived notions and political beliefs, then read it and see for yourself.
August 19
William Jefferson Clinton – My Life; whether you voted for him or not, its an interesting read.
August 23
Rick Springfield – autobiography, Late, Late at Night; rock icon, musician, songwriter, author, actor. Rolling Stone called his raw & honest autobiography one of Rock’s all time top 25. Jeff’s favorite artist. His perseverance through a career of ups and downs, and life-long bouts of depression, is inspirational. Now in his 70’s, he is producing the best music of his career and still rocks live. Both his autobiography and a science fiction novel “Magnificent Vibration” made it to the New York Times best-sellers list.
August 29
Oliver Wendell Holmes – poem “Old Ironsides”; poem did as much to save the USS Constitution for future generations as its impervious hull.
August 30
Mary Shelley – Making the Monster: Science Behind Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Kathryn Harkup; Little Ice Age, Brian Fagan. It is believed that Mary Shelley’s iconic work was influenced by the period known as the “Little Ice Age” that she grew up in. It ended close to the time she wrote the book, which accompanied advances in scientific theories and technology.
Recent titles one or both of us have read, some borrowed, not necessarily about history:
Dutch House, Ann Patchett (about a house, very little “Dutch” involved)
All the President’s Gardens, Marta McDowell (first recommended by daughter Sara Thom)
The New Girl, Daniel Silva (Fictional spy thriller based on real-life current geo-political crises)
Liberty’s Torch, Elizabeth Mitchell (A surprising account of the making of the Statue of Liberty)
July
On July 2, 2013, we got married and embarked on a historical journey around Boston for our honeymoon. One of our many unforgettable visits was to the John Adams National Historic Park as well as the final resting places of John & Abigail and John Quincy & Louisa. In honor of John Adams’ famous quote that “The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epocha in the history of America…”, we list our favorite John Adams Family books. And yes, we do pay homage to Abigail’s own famous quote to “remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors.” Happy Second/Fourth of July!!
John Adams – David McCullough
The Letters of John and Abigail Adams – Reprint, Hurd & Houghton, 1876
Dearest Friend, A Life of Abigail Adams – Lynne Withey
John Quincy Adams – Paul C. Nagel
American Phoenix, John Quincy and Louisa Adams, the War of 1812 and the Exile that Saved American Independence – Jane Hampton Cook
There are also some notable July birthdays with accompanying book titles on our bookshelves you may want to check out:
July 4
Nathaniel Hawthorne – House of Seven Gables & The Scarlett Letter (fiction); The House of Seven Gables historic site in Salem, MA was a much anticipated stop on our honeymoon journey and did not disappoint.
July 11
John Quincy Adams – see Adams Family books above
July 15
Rembrandt van Rijn – The Anatomy Lesson (fiction) by Nina Siegal
July 27
Major General Nathanael Greene – Nathanael Greene, A Biography of the American Revolution, by Gerald M. Carbone; To the End of the World, Nathanael Greene, Charles Cornwallis, and the Race to the Dan, by Andrew Waters; The Papers of General Nathanael Greene, Vols 1-13, various editors; published by Rhode Island Historical Society
Jeff’s favorite figure of the American Revolution, and history in general, is Nathanael Greene. We visited his 1770-1776 home “Spellwell” in Coventry, RI on an anniversary journey in July, 2019. Jeff read all 13 volumes of his Papers, and other “Papers” of historic figures, like a novel; doesn’t everybody?
July 28
Jacqueline Kennedy – Mrs. Kennedy and Me, by Clint Hill, Special Agent, United States Secret Service; The Best-Loved Poems of Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis, selected and introduced by Caroline Kennedy; Letters to Jackie, Condolences From a Grieving Nation, by Ellen Fitzpatrick