Book Reviews of History books
Viking Age: Everyday Life During the Extraordinary Era of the Norsemen by Kirsten Wolf Blurb: “The Viking age comes alive in this vivid, abundantly illustrated exploration of its people and their world. What kinds of houses did the Scandinavians live in? Were they literate? What kinds of clothing did they wear? How did they view …
Hail to the Chief (An Ellis the Elephant Story) by Callista Gingrich Blurb: “Ellis the elephant is back, and he’s headed to the White House! In Hail to the Chief, the sixth in Callista Gingrich’s New York Times bestselling series, Ellis meets some of America’s greatest presidents and discovers how they have led our country throughout …
The Middle Ages by Jeffrey L. Singman Blurb: “How were homes furnished during the medieval period? What did the fashionable aristocracy wear? What types of money were exchanged? What were the daily routines inside a typical monastery? How did most people travel? Filled with a wealth of information on every aspect of medieval times, this …
1776 by David McCullough (Summary taken from the book jacket) “In this stirring book, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with general George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence–when the whole American cause was riding on their success, without which all hope for independence would have been …
Revolutionary Summer by Joseph J. Ellis Blurb: “A distinctive portrait of the crescendo moment in American history from the Pulitzer Prize-winning American historian Joseph J. Ellis. The summer months of 1776 witnessed the most consequential events in the story of our country’s founding. While the thirteen colonies came together and agreed to secede from the …
Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick This book describes the events that happened before the Mayflower left England, during the voyage across the Atlantic, and after the Pilgrims decided to settle Plymouth. It describes the ever-changing relationships between the Pilgrims and the Natives, in great detail. Philbrick spends a lot of time describing King Phillip’s War of …
The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel (Summary taken from amazon.com) “At the same time Adolf Hitler was attempting to take over the western world, his armies were methodically seeking and hoarding the finest art treasures in Europe. The Fuehrer had begun cataloguing the art he planned to collect as well as the art he …
Ancient Egypt: Everyday Life in the Land of the Nile by Bob Brier and Hoyt Hobbs (Summary taken from inside the book jacket) “The civilization of ancient Egypt is perhaps best known for its omnipotent pharaohs, monumental pyramids, and remarkable sculptures and paintings, all of which still captivate us today. But what was life there …
What Would The Founding Fathers Think? by David Bowman (Summary taken from the back of the book) “Join Washington, Franklin, and Madison (via SKYPE/CHAT session) as they discuss our country’s current crisis as compared with their original intentions for America. With wit, humor, and a variety of visuals, David Bowman skillfully teaches preteens and teens …
The Inventor’s Secret by Chad Morris (Summary taken from the press release) “Imagine a school in the year 2074 where students don’t read history, but watch it happen in 3-D holograms–where running in gym class isn’t around a track, but up a virtual mountain, and where learning about animals means becoming one through an avatar. …
