Posted by Diana on March 13, 2000 at 10:57:53:
Good Monday morning all!
This past weekend, having had the opportunity to immerse myself for a couple of hours in one of my favorite past times, I made a little discovery. The favorite past time thingy, is to wander the isles of Barnes & Nobles. I love the smell of that place most I think,... the coffee, the new books, etc. I was specifically looking for a recommended read (The Sweet Potato Queens, Book of Love, I just can't resist a Southern female writer doing a little dookey-dishing on the opposite sex - not really, it's just supposed to be funny) and happened upon a table of history books. There on top was a brand new book on the French and Indian War titled "The Crucible of War: The Seven Year's War and the Fate of Empire in British North America 1754-1766" by Fred Anderson. It is a just released 960 page book, which one reviewer (Charles Royster, of The New York Time) calls fast-paced. WOW, I didn't think fast-paced and 960 pages could both be found in the same book! I couldn't get the book just then, seeing as I'd only brought in the usual $20 limit (otherwise, the whole paycheck - ka-bluey - vanished) but knew I could get a deal if I went through the Mohican Book Store to Amazon.com and sure enough there was a considerable price savings! Incidentally, reading another review, another new book title came up which deals in part with the American Revolution, which he called the "inevitable sequel to this event" (event meaning the F&I War). Could it be that this interesting period in history is finally getting some deserved attention? Hope so! The other book mentioned was "The Cousins' War: Religion, Politics, and the Triumph of Anglo-America" by Kevin Phillips, which the reviewer recommended as a companion book (yes, a 707 page companion to the 960 page book - Whew!) to the other. In it Kevin Phillips answers his question of "How the popular culture of Anglo-America rose from a small Tudor kingdom to a global community and world hegemony" and covers the English Civil War, the American War for Independence and the American Civil War. Sounds interesting to me, if anyone has already read these books I'd appreciate an comments!
Also, on the same table was a book about the Battle of Cowpens, which we all know was a pivotal American Revolution battle right here in the Carolinas. Joe Hinson may have mentioned this book before, but in case not, here goes. "A Devil of a Whipping", published in 1998, is written by Lawrence Babits, who I now find out is a co-worker of mine, a Maritime history professor right here at East Carolina University. So I do a little checking, look up the battle at Ask.com and find a site dedicated to the annual reenactment/history festival in January. On the site, is a picture of Dr. Babits, and I recognize him as the fellow who did a living history day for my American History class last semester. I missed the introduction that day because I was my usual 7 minutes late, meant to ask later, forgot to and so on. What a SURPRISE! Small world you know!
Speaking of a small world, I had a patient the other day, who by her name was obviously Native American. I asked about her heritage and she said she was Western Band Cherokee. So I asked (of course) if she was familiar with Wes Studi, to which she replied, "Oh yes, I used to be on a student council there and he was an advisor, but that was before he became an actor. He was so bossy, but he had our better interests at heart I'm sure." She then went on to say that her best friend's uncle was Graham Greene, whom she called "the finest man I've ever known." She seemed very sincere, and if true, they are some neat observations to hear.
Anyway, hopefully the books I previously mentioned will be of interest to some of you. Hey Rich, maybe some new titles to add to your already excellent Mohican Book Store, huh? Everybody just remember to go to Amazon through the book store, so Rich and Elaine get credit, which I hope pertains to new books as well!
Happy Spring All,
Diana