BOOK REVIEW: The Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris

BOOK REVIEW: The Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris

My expectations, upon first discovering this new release by Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris, were significantly surpassed as I listened to the Audible edition. As a nurse and a student of history, I crave accuracy in historical fiction, and this title has informed and empowered me to do a better job when including medical practitioners in my nineteenth century fiction. Significant elements of this book have stayed with me for weeks after listening to this book (just released on Halloween [2017]!). Can’t recommend it enough to the curious, to amateur (and professional) historians, and to readers and authors of Historical Fiction. 5 stars!

BOOK REVIEW: The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906

BOOK REVIEW: The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906

111 years ago today, April 18, 1906, an earthquake with a magnitude (estimated) of 7.8 destroyed much of San Francisco. Charles River Editors did a fine job covering this tremendous natural disaster in a brief, concise, instructive manner. See my five-star review.

BOOK REVIEW: Island of Vice, by Richard Zacks

BOOK REVIEW: Island of Vice, by Richard Zacks

Amazon selected ISLAND OF VICEĀ as one of the Top 100 books of 2012; it also selected it as one of the Top Ten history books of the year. I purchased three editions: hardback, audible, and kindle; listened to the audio edition (15 hours, 28 minutes), reread much of the kindle edition and hardback.

From an amateur historian viewpoint–and my fascination with all things late 19th century–this nonfiction title deserves five stars. I learned so very much from every chapter, found myself so ever much better informed about the 1890’s in politics, the Reform Movement (Progressive Era). Review contains two pages of images from the hardback and kindle editions.

BOOK REVIEW: Object: Matrimony by Chris Enss

BOOK REVIEW: Object: Matrimony by Chris Enss

5 STARS!–what did Chris Enss do with this title to earn such a high rating? I explain why I read non-fiction books about the Old West, why I recommend them to readers of fiction, the particular value of OBJECT: MATRIMONY for readers of fiction.