The Donner Party story is synonymous with the idea of the American pioneer and infamous because of the tales of cannibalism that surround the tragedy. However, Daniel James Brown’s The Indifferent Stars Above goes beyond historical stereotypes and salacious details to tell the Donner Party’s story that is truly raw and capitvating.
Read MoreWhat do the books George Washington’s Secret Six and Mount Vernon Love Story have in common? They show readers a unique angle of founding father, George Washington. Whether it’s the largely unknown story of espionage during the Revolutionary War or the love story behind the first president and his wife, both books capture the reader’s imagination when it comes to viewing George Washington outside of a strictly academic light. Although not the most scholarly of sources, both George Washington’s Secret Six and Mount Vernon Love Story are fun, casual reads for fans of American history who are looking to become enthralled by the life of the first president.
Read MorePre-reading, my knowledge of Ulysses S. Grant was largely limited to his Civil War career. Post-reading, I can now drone on about his presidency, death from a baseball-sized throat tumor, and childhood spent riding horses while getting whacked about the head by a circus monkey. Get ready school groups!
Read MoreOriginally published in 2002, I picked up Frady’s book about a year ago during a visit to the Howard University bookstore, in the hopes of deepening my knowledge and appreciation of King the man. It did.
Read MoreWhen the Steinbeck collection arrived, I first read Of Mice & Men, which was a bite-sized (albeit tasty) morsel of a book. Poor, sweet, doughy-headed Lenny! I was only delaying the inevitable, however, as I knew that I'd have to make penance for my youthful transgression and read the much more substantial, Grapes, from cover to cover. So it began.
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