Tag Archives: American Revolution

First Family

Posted on July 29, 2012 by smellincoffee

First Family: Abigail and John Adams© 2010 Joseph Ellis320 pages ‘Til then, ’til then, I am, as I ever was….yours, yours, yours.  1776, a musical film which celebrates the Declaration of Independence, is an absolutely delightful movie, as funny as … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Founding Brothers

Posted on June 30, 2012 by smellincoffee

Founding Brothers:  the Revolutionary Generation © 2000 288 pages Laboring always at the same oar, with some wave ever ahead threatening to overwhelm us, and yet passing harmless under our bark, we knew not how, we rode through the storm … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A History of the World in Six Glasses

Posted on May 24, 2012 by smellincoffee

A History of the World in Six Glasses© 2006 Tom Standage311 pages A toast to human enterprise! Pick your poison — beer, wine, rum, tea, coffee, or Coca-Cola. Three are alcoholic, three are caffienated: all were the stuff of empires, … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Founding Rivals

Posted on March 16, 2012 by smellincoffee

Founding Rivals | Madison vs. Monroe: the Bill of Rights and the Election that Saved a Nation© 2011 Chris DeRose336 pages In these days of contentious politics, where adversaries rip into one another with all the grace of beasts,  Chris … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Fort

Posted on March 3, 2011 by smellincoffee

The Fort: A Novel of the Revolutionary War© 2010 Bernard Cornwell480 pages It’s the summer of 1799, and Britain’s attempts to restore their wayward colonies to the Crown are not going well. Following the battle of Saratoga, the French and … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Redcoat

Posted on January 17, 2011 by smellincoffee

Redcoat© 1998 Bernard Cornwell485 pages Shortly after the capture of Philadelphia in September 1777, General George Washington led his Continental army in battle against the now-defending British army. In the chaos of his opening assault,  brothers Sam and Nate Gilpin … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

America’s Hidden History

Posted on October 31, 2010 by smellincoffee

America’s Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation© 2008 Kenneth C. Davis272 pages “The stories that unfold in these six chapters, which span a period from the Spanish arrival in … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Birth of the United States

Posted on August 25, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Birth of the United States© 1973 Isaac Asimov274 pages, including a table of dates. While trolling Amazon in search of elusive copies of Isaac Asimov’s Roman history books, I chanced to find evidence of a four-book history series on … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Chainbreaker’s War

Posted on June 29, 2010 by smellincoffee

Chainbreaker’s War: a Seneca Chief Remembers the American Revolution© 2002 ed. Jeanne Winston Adler224 pages On the eastern seaboard, young militia men marched around their town squares, tea-chests floated in Boston Harbor, and the bells of war tolled. Only a … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A People’s History of the American Revolution

Posted on June 30, 2009 by smellincoffee

A People’s History of the American Revolution: How Common People Shaped the Fight for Independence © 2001 Ray Ralphael 386 pages I look for some books, and some books happen to find me. This is one of the latter, as … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , | Leave a comment