American History September 09 reading

I'm posting this thread because the similar thread works pretty well over on the Military History topic group to bring together all the interesting books folks are reading without having to delve into all the various topics.

I'm part way through Rum: A Social and Sociable History of the Real Spirit of 1776 by Ian Williams. A fairly interesting read, since it also discusses the impact of rum, it's production and consumption, on the colonies and the part it played in instigating the American Revolution.

I have put your book on my Wishlist. What an interesting, as well as tasty, topic. I am currently reading Carrying the Flag by {Gordon Rhea}. I plan to do a review when I am finished if anyone would like to check it out on my home page.

Now reading Triangle by David Von Drehle about the 1911 fire in the Triangle Shirtwaist factory in New York City that killed 146, mostly women. Very well written with lots of good background info to introduce the reader to their world.

Thankx again, JZ. Added Triangle to my wishlist.

The Age of Reagan -- the second volume in Steven Hayward's comprehensive history.

I've almost finished An Artist in Treason: The Extraordinary Double Life of General James Wilkinson by Andro Linklater. Wilkinson is undoubtedly the most interesting character from the founding era that no one knows.

#1. JZ have you finished the Rum book? If so, did it remain worth reading throughout. It sounds interesting.

>6 sgtbigg: Yes I finished Rum: A Social and Sociable History of the Real Spirit of 1776, it remained interesting for most of the book. The premise put forward by the author at the beginning, that rum was a much bigger influence on the American Revolution that is commonly supposed, was thoroughly explained and supported. The latter part of the book dealt with modern rum production and the conflicts between Bacardi and other producers regarding copyrights and markets; that part wasn't as interesting but the majority of the book was worth the read.

>7 jztemple: Thanks, I'll add it to the never ending list.

Started, read some of, and then gave up on Fire on the Mountain: The True Story of the South Canyon Fire. John N. Maclean is the son of Norman Maclean who wrote the seminal Young Men and Fire. Sadly, the son fails to live up to the promise of the father; his book consists more of gossiping and pointing fingers rather than telling a tale. If I was interested in learning more about the fire for the purpose of finding blame it might be the right book, but as a narrative it is sorely lacking appeal.

I am reading The Glorious Cause:The American Revolution 1763-1789 by Robert Middlekauff. It is really very good and has some new material on a topic that has been written about a lot. It makes the third volume of the Oxford History of the United States that I have read this year. They have all been excellent and I am putting the remaining volumes on my tbr list.

Hmm, that rum book looks interesting. There were two chapter that touched on this in a history of the world in 6 glasses, but I felt that that book was rather cursory in most of the topics it dealt with...

I don't know that I want to invest in an entire book on the subject at the moment, but I'll keep it in mind...

Triangle is down deep in my very tall ToBeRead stack.