Book Review: Black Bird of the Gallows by Meg Kassel Cadence, Pennsylvania used to be a mining town. The economy never fully recovered from the mines closing down, but the town survived. But there are some disturbing signs. There’s an unseasonably high number of crows for February, and an even more unseasonable number of unusually… Continue reading Book Review: Black Bird of the Gallows
Tag: Pennsylvania
Book Review: You Can’t Eat Peanuts in Church and Other Little-Known Laws
Book Review: You Can’t Eat Peanuts in Church and Other Little-Known Laws by Barbara Seuling Laws have a purpose. It is not always a good purpose, but track them to their passage and you will usually see the reasoning behind them. With the passage of time, that purpose is obscured, and many laws passed to… Continue reading Book Review: You Can’t Eat Peanuts in Church and Other Little-Known Laws
Book Review: The Penguin Guide to the United States Constitution
Book Review: The Penguin Guide to the United States Constitution by Richard Beeman After the last book I reviewed, I felt I needed something a bit more intellectually challenging to recharge my brain cells. Thus this volume, which contains not just the annotated text of the United States Constitution, but the Declaration of Independence, selections… Continue reading Book Review: The Penguin Guide to the United States Constitution
Book Review: The Rebels
Book Review: The Rebels by John Jakes Philip Kent, nee Phillipe Charboneau, would much rather be at home, caring for his pregnant wife Anne. But after he was forced to kill his murderous half-brother in self-defense, Philip has gone all in for the cause of the rebels against British rule. Thus it is that on June… Continue reading Book Review: The Rebels
Book Review: Classic American Short Stories
Book Review: Classic American Short Stories compiled by Michael Kelahan This book is more or less exactly what it says in the title, a compilation of short(ish) stories written by American authors, most of which are acknowledged as classics by American Lit professors. The stories are arranged by author in roughly chronological order from the… Continue reading Book Review: Classic American Short Stories
Book Review: The Year’s Greatest Science-Fiction and Fantasy Second Annual Volume
Book Review: The Year’s Greatest Science-Fiction and Fantasy Second Annual Volume edited by Judith Merril This 1957 volume contains speculative fiction stories from magazines published in roughly the previous year, hand-picked by the editor to represent the best the field had to offer at the time. (I’ve previously reviewed the fifth annual, which switched the… Continue reading Book Review: The Year’s Greatest Science-Fiction and Fantasy Second Annual Volume
Book Review: Second Street Station
Book Review: Second Street Station by Lawrence H. Levy The “historical mystery” sub-genre is the intersection of the mystery and historical fiction genres. Pick a time period in the past (there’s no minimum gap requirement, but it’s best to pick one far enough back that everyone involved is conveniently dead), research it, stir some… Continue reading Book Review: Second Street Station
Book Review: Headstrong
Book Review: Headstrong by Rachel Swaby This is a collection of short biographical sketches of women who made advancements in various scientific fields. According to the introduction, it was inspired when the New York Times ran an obituary of Yvonne Brill that listed her home cooking as her most important accomplishment, followed by being a wife… Continue reading Book Review: Headstrong
Book Review: The Return of George Washington 1783-1789
Book Review: The Return of George Washington 1783-1789 by Edward J. Larson Disclaimer: I received this book through the Goodreads giveaway program on the premise that I would review it. My copy is an Advance Reader’s Edition, and changes will be made in the final version, including an index and more illustrations. George Washington,… Continue reading Book Review: The Return of George Washington 1783-1789
Book Review: Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Final Year
Book Review: Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Final Year by Tavis Smiley with David Ritz Disclaimer: I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. My copy was an advanced reading copy, and the final product (due out September 2014)… Continue reading Book Review: Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Final Year