Book reviews and book-nerdy stuff
“The Debatable Land” by Graham Robb brings the historical drama! The author, almost by chance, uncovered one of Britain’s most enduring, and ironically, forgotten mysteries. The question is: should he have left it alone? I can’t say enough about this book in terms of its contribution to understanding the British […]
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Not sure what to get this holiday season? Give books for Christmas! Here are 5 reasons why a book is better than some random trinket or desultory addition to someone else’s clutter pile. As corny as it sounds: give the gift of reading this Christmas, for Christmas’ sake. 1. Promote
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I learned a lot about what I thought I had known about Christopher Columbus; my assumptions challenged, my misconceptions revealed. Laurence Bergreen’s “Christopher Columbus: The Four Voyages” is a literary unmasking of one of history’s most renown subjects, and ironically, one of its least understood. Much enmity and praise has
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My fascination with author James Horn began with a book called “Adapting to a New World” in which he cast the early Virginia colonists not as ‘instant Americans’ (just add Chesapeake water!) but of Englishmen and women who had transplanted their cultural mores from the old country to their new
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“This Is The Day” by football legend turned baseball player Tim Tebow is a GRAND SLAM! As an already accomplished author, Tebow brings more colloquial eloquence to his readers in his latest offering subtitled “reclaim your dream, ignite your purpose, live your passion.” Those themes run throughout the book and
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Make these 10 Airport travel tips a chapter in your travel bible! Read this now and save yourself hours of headache and frustration at airports. I’m sharing some advice I’ve learned through my years of extensive travel. I was raised by parents who were travel agents so I got to
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You should stop what you’re doing right now and read “The Last Book Smuggler” by Birutė Putrius! Its pages are a lesson for all humanity about tragedy, hope, and success beautifully woven like a Lithuanian juosta sash as a masterpiece of historical fiction. Although set in Lithuania in 1902, this
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Reading “The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine” by Serhii Plokhy has had a profound impact on me. Never before did I understand the history of this region which is at the same time both volatile and beautiful; situated at the eastern gateway to Europe its ancient past harks
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Michael North’s book “The Baltic: A History” is like trying to study a train through the window of another train flying in the opposite direction at 80 miles an hour. You can get the gist of the passing train’s composition, color, shape, and length but you would never recognize it
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Over the years the #booknerd in me has scored! I’ve come across a few valuable multi-volume book sets that I bought for dirt cheap at book sales, garage sales, and even libraries. In addition to being an avid reader I also have been collecting books for over 30 years now
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It’s high praises from me for Walter Stahr’s book “John Jay: Founding Father!” In this book we get to meet one of the most crucial, yet lesser known figures in early American history; in particular, a statesman, lawyer, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Governor of New York, and legal mind without
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Ask me why I flew 5,000 miles to get a library card? The Library of Virginia just added a whole slew of new online databases for patrons to research digitally via their website, the only catch: you MUST have a LIBRARY CARD to be able to access them! This was
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Did you know there is a James Madison Museum in addition to the James Madison home Montpelier? Well, there is and it’s a gem of a place to visit! The James Madison Museum of Orange County Heritage (its formal name) is just 5 miles away from the historic home of
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I visited Virginia in July 2018 and let me tell you that not only is Virginia for lovers but it’s also full of books, good history, good food, and good people. I traveled the state from the north in Manassas, to the Northern Neck tidewater area, around Tappahannock, over to
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April 27th 2018 marks the 153rd anniversary of the sinking of the Sultana in 1865. It also commemorates the worst maritime disaster in US history, even worse than the infamous Titanic. On Friday April 27th through Saturday April 28th, descendants and family of those that were on board that fateful
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