Savannah from Savannah

Author: Denise Hildreth 
Genre: Fiction / Christian Lit
Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2004
Pages: 336
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: I'm coming home to prove something. . .to my city, to my mother, and myself.
It is a plaace known to most as Savannah. It is a place known to me as home. I wish I could you it aws my love for this city that precipitated my return. But I did not return out of mere longing for home. I returned because I have something to prove to home. I am Savannah from Savannah.

Review: This book took me a pathetically long time to read - almost 2 weeks, I believe. That is completely unheard of. I lost interest after a chapter or two and had a hard time resuming reading. However, at the end of the day, I can say I did enjoy it.

I have no plans to finish the series though.

The Johnstown Flood

Author: David McCullough
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1987
Pages: 304
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: At the end of the last century, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was a booming coal-and-steel town filled with hardworking families striving for a piece of the nation's burgeoning industrial prosperity. In the mountains above Johnstown, an old earth dam had been hastily rebuilt to create a lake for an exclusive summer resort patronized by the tycoons of that same industrial prosperity, among them Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and Andrew Mellon. Despite repeated warnings of possible danger, nothing was done about the dam. Then came May 31, 1889, when the dam burst, sending a wall of water thundering down the mountain, smashing through Johnstown, and killing more than 2,000 people. It was a tragedy that became a national scandal.

Graced by David McCullough's remarkable gift for writing richly textured, sympathetic social history, The Johnstown Flood is an absorbing, classic portrait of life in nineteenth-century America, of overweening confidence, of energy, and of tragedy. It also offers a powerful historical lesson for our century and all times: the danger of assuming that because people are in positions of responsibility they are necessarily behaving responsibly.

The bestselling author of The Path Between the Seas and Mornings on Horseback makes available again his classic chronicle of the tragic Johnstown, Pennsylvania flood of 1889.

Review: What a tragedy, and McCullough is the best author to tell the story. Having both read this book, my fiance and I plan to visit Johnstown in the very near future. I visited the flood museum once with an old college friend who grew up in Johnstown. However, I had no real points of reference, nor did I know much about the flood itself. It is sure to be a different experience this time.

Vicksburg is the Key

Author: William L. Shea and Terrence J. Winschel
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press, 2005
Pages: 242
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: The struggle for control of the Mississippi River was the longest and most complex campaign of the Civil War. It was marked by an extraordinary diversity of military and naval operations, including fleet engagements, cavalry raids, amphibious landings, pitched battles, and the two longest sieges in American history. Every existing type of naval vessel, from sailing ship to armored ram, played a role, and military engineers practiced their art on a scale never before witnessed in modern warfare. Union commanders such as Grant, Sherman, Farragut, and Porter demonstrated the skills that would take them to the highest levels of command. When the immense contest finally reached its climax at Vicksburg and Port Hudson in the summer of 1863, the Confederacy suffered a blow from which it never recovered. Here was the true turning point of the Civil War. This fast-paced, gripping narrative of the Civil War struggle for the Mississippi River is the first comprehensive single-volume account to appear in over a century. Vicksburg Is the Key: The Struggle for the Mississippi River tells the story of the series of campaigns the Union conducted on land and water to conquer Vicksburg and of the many efforts by the Confederates to break the siege of the fortress. William L. Shea and Terrence J. Winschel present the unfolding drama of the campaign in a clear and readable style, correct historic myths along the way, and examine the profound strategic effects of the eventual Union victory.

Review: Growing up so close to Gettysburg one can forget that not all battles were as exciting. The battle for control of the Mississippi River was key, but the battle of Vicksburg as one part of it, was anticlimatic. Grant lay seige to the city for weeks and wore the Confederates down until they had no choice but to surrender.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the "battle" were the missteps by both sides. Poor decisions were made a various times by the commanders. The South was also hampered by rampant indecision.

When one studies the civil war it's easy to see that at no point did the South truly have the upper hand.

Overall this was a tough read. Military strategy and ever-changing names made the first 100 pages or so a real challenge. However, I'm glad I stuck with it. I'd like to learn more about the civil war in the South.

Remembering Pittsburgh

~ March's theme is books with cities in the titles ~

Author: Len Barcousky
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: The History Press, 2010
Pages: 160
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: The doomed Whiskey Rebellion, the Great Fire that destroyed a third of the city in 1845 and Lincoln's speech urging residents to shun talk of secession—all have made the pages of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and its predecessors. Since 1786, the paper has covered local events, and reporter Len Barcousky is a part of this long tradition. This collection of his "Eyewitness" columns draws on next-day stories to tell the history of the city, from President Coolidge's almost-silent visit in 1927 to a report on the first woman hanged in Allegheny County. Join Barcousky as he vividly recounts the compelling history of the Steel City.

Review: Today Pittsburgh's role in westward expansion is minimized, if mentioned at all. Pittsburgh was the first gateway to the west and key players of the day all traveled through.

I really enjoyed reading about the Pittsburgh I've only heard about through family lore and stories.

My favorite history professor was also quoted in this book, the late Dr. David Dixon who taught at Slippery Rock University.