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Category Archives: Book Reviews, Non-Fiction
Review: Voyagers of the Titanic by Richard Davenport-Hines
Subtitle: Passengers, Sailors, Shipbuilders, Aristocrats, and the Worlds They Came From A friend’s grandfather was on the Titanic when it sank in April 1912. He had traveled from northern Illinois back to England when his father died. Although he had … Continue reading
Posted in Book Reviews, Non-Fiction, History
Tagged 1910s, History, icebergs, Immigration, shipbuilding, Titanic, Trans-Atlantic Ships
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Review: Drew Pearson by Oliver Pilat (1973)
Subtitle: An Unauthorized Biography Drew Pearson (1897-1969) is a secondary character in two books I read recently: Newspaper Titan (the biography of Cissy Patterson, Drew Pearson’s one-time mother-in-law) and Poisoning the Press (about Jack Anderson, Drew Pearson’s successor as writer … Continue reading
Posted in Biography, Book Reviews, Non-Fiction, History
Tagged 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, American Virgin Islands, Chautauqua movement, columnists, Drew Pearson, Eleanor Medill Patterson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Baines Johnson, Newspapers, Quakerism, US Presidents, Washington DC
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Review: December 1941 by Craig Shirley
Subtitle: 31 Days That Changed America and Saved the World A friend introduced me to a new phrase this week: “narrative non-fiction.” She was using it in categorizing non-fiction as written by Erik Larson, author of Devil in the White … Continue reading
Review: American Pickers Guide to Picking by Libby Callaway and others
Let me say this: I am not at all interested in becoming an antique picker. But American Pickers, the reality show on the History Channel, is one of my favorite television shows. (Available on Netflix for those of us who … Continue reading
Posted in Book Reviews, Non-Fiction
Tagged American Pickers, antique picking, Antiques, collectibles, Danielle Colby, Frank Fritz, junk, Mike Wolfe
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Irrepressible by Leslie Brody
Subtitle: The Life and Times of Jessica Mitford Biographies of writers, editors, publishers and journalists are among my favorite reads. Many of those folks, especially the publishers, wind up going a little crazy – power hungry, reclusive, quite alone at … Continue reading
The Binghams of Louisville by David Leon Chandler with Mary Voelz Chandler (1987)
Subtitle: The Dark History Behind One of America’s Great Fortunes When I ordered this book, I thought I would get a story about a newspaper and the family that owned it. What I got instead was a murder mystery. Actually, … Continue reading
Review: A Secret Gift by Ted Gup
Subtitle: How One Man’s Kindness – and a Trove of Letters – Revealed the Hidden History of the Great Depression Sam Stone was a man of mystery, able to sever relationships with his own siblings, but also capable of enormous … Continue reading
Posted in Book Reviews, Non-Fiction, Genealogy, History
Tagged Canton OH, Genealogy, Great Depression, Immigrants, Immigration, letters, Sam Stone, Ted Gup
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Review: Newspaper Titan by Amanda Smith
Subtitle: The Infamous Life and Monumental Times of Cissy Patterson Eleanor Medill Patterson (1881-1948) was high maintenance, high drama and spent more money each year than most people manage to accumulate in a lifetime. She acquired as many enemies as … Continue reading
Posted in Biography, Book Reviews, Non-Fiction, Journalism
Tagged Chicago Tribune, Count Joseph Gizycka, Countess Felicia Gizycka, Drew Pearson, Eleanor Medill Patterson, Elinor Medill Patterson, Joseph Medill, Joseph Patterson, Journalism, Katherine Medill McCormick, Media History, New York Daily News, Robert McCormick, Washington DC, Washington Times-Herald, World War I, World War II
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Review: Bright-Sided by Barbara Ehrenreich
Subtitle: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America Positive thinking can’t be negative, right? Wrong! And Barbara Ehrenreich gives curmudgeons of the world license to be as negative (read: realistic) as we like. I’m tired of all … Continue reading →