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Old Faithful

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Anyone interested in heading West?  One of the books suggested for our next reading group is George Black's epic journey of discovery, Empire of Shadows, where he charts the American discovery and eventually establishment of the National Park by U.S. Grant.  You can pull up a preview at amazon, and here's a chat with Park Ranger George Heinz from 2008 on the active geysers at Yellowstone.

Other books that have been proffered are A Wicked War by Amy Greenberg, Freedom National by James Oakes, and Fall of the House of Dixie by Bruce Levine.  Of course, we are open for suggestions for some Spring reading!

Comments

  1. avrdsMarch 23, 2013 at 1:14 AM

    NICE! I wish I had a stamp like that. I do have the 150 year beer and wine glasses they gave out in the restaurants. Precious collections!

    I liked the George Black book and it might make for an interesting discussion. I loved the book on Polk -- I thought she did a great job in showing that war in context. I could discuss either one.

    ReplyDelete
  2. avrdsMarch 23, 2013 at 1:16 AM

    I also have my eye on Aaron Sachs' newest book on Arcadian America, which I think is about graveyards? Haven't seen it yet. I really enjoyed his book on Humboldt.

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  3. James FergusonMarch 23, 2013 at 8:11 AM

    They all sound like interesting books, so I'm game for any one of them. Here's more on Arcadian America,

    http://yalepress.yale.edu/book.asp?isbn=9780300176407

    ReplyDelete
  4. avrdsMarch 23, 2013 at 2:38 PM

    I am reading Beyond the Blue Horizon right now about the history of seafaring. So far, so good.

    ReplyDelete
  5. James FergusonMarch 26, 2013 at 10:57 AM

    I still have Leviathan sitting on my shelves,

    http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/books/review/Barcott-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TripplerMarch 26, 2013 at 3:46 PM

      I just checked with the local library and the book is available. It does sound like a good read.

      Delete
  6. TripplerMarch 26, 2013 at 3:38 PM

    There was a great bio about Thomas Nast that I read over 30 years ago but can't seem to find it online. Maybe someone else may find it and see if it's cool for the forum.

    ReplyDelete
  7. James FergusonMarch 26, 2013 at 3:43 PM

    You mean this one,

    http://archive.org/stream/thnasthisperiod00paingoog#page/n8/mode/2up

    Unfortunately, it seems the illustrations have been excised.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TripplerMarch 26, 2013 at 3:47 PM

      Looks good but that wasn't it. The one I'm talking about but can't find must have been written in the 1960s or so.

      Delete
    2. TripplerMarch 26, 2013 at 3:48 PM

      Opps, forgot to mention that it contained many illustrations.

      Delete
    3. TripplerMarch 27, 2013 at 2:24 PM

      Gintaras,

      You're probably correct - that likely was the book. I couldn't find anything else so in my dotage I was thinking the book was written recently when it likely was Paine's version:

      http://tinyurl.com/d863mv4



      I just checked with Amazon and they have a few used copies so it still is readily available. In checking thru the Google link one can see that it is a very good book. Nast was one of the USA's most monumental historical figures. One cannot fully appreciate 19th and modern American history without a knowledge and understanding of Nast.





      Delete

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