Categotry Archives: History

The Comic Book Story of Video Games

The Comic Book Story of Video Games Book Cover The Comic Book Story of Video Games
Jonathan Hennessey
Comics & Graphic Novels
Ten Speed Press
2017
192

A complete, illustrated history of video games--highlighting the machines, games, and people who have made gaming a worldwide, billion dollar industry/artform--told in a graphic novel format. Author Jonathan Hennessey and illustrator Jack McGowan present the first full-color, chronological origin story for this hugely successful, omnipresent artform and business. Hennessey provides readers with everything they need to know about video games--from their early beginnings during World War II to the emergence of arcade games in the 1970s to the rise of Nintendo to today's app-based games like Angry Birds and Pokemon Go. Hennessey and McGowan also analyze the evolution of gaming as an artform and its impact on society. Each chapter features spotlights on major players in the development of games and gaming that contains everything that gamers and non-gamers alike need to understand and appreciate this incredible phenomenon.

 

Review:

“The Comic Book Story of Video Games” is definitely not light reading, but it is entertaining and full of information.  I believe I learned something new on almost every page.  This is perfect for kids interested in engineering and technology, as well as adults.  It could also fit easily into a STEM curriculum.  Highly recommended for all of us video game nerds out there!

This unbiased review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.

 

Maladies and Medicine

Maladies and Medicine Book Cover Maladies and Medicine
Sara Read, Jennifer Evans,
History
Pen & Sword Books
October 19, 2017

Maladies and Medicine offers a lively exploration of health and medical cures in early modern England. The introduction sets out the background in which the body was understood, covering the theory of the four humors and the ways that male and female bodies were conceptualized. It also explains the hierarchy of healers from university trained physicians, to the itinerant women healers who traveled the country offering cures based on inherited knowledge of homemade remedies. It covers the print explosion of medical health guides, which began to appear in the sixteenth century from more academic medical text books to cheap almanacs. The book has twenty chapters covering attitudes towards, and explanations of some of, the most common diseases and medical conditions in the period and the ways people understood them, along with the steps people took to get better. It explores the body from head to toe, from migraines to gout. It was an era when tooth cavities were thought to be caused by tiny worms and smallpox by an inflammation of the blood, and cures ranged from herbal potions, cooling cordials, blistering the skin, and of course letting blood. Case studies and personal anecdotes taken from doctors notes, personal journals, diaries, letters and even court records show the reactions of individuals to their illnesses and treatments, bringing the reader into close proximity with people who lived around 400 years ago. This fascinating and richly illustrated study will appeal to anyone curious about the history of the body and the way our ancestors lived.

 

Review:

I wanted to enjoy “Maladies and Medicine,” but it was a struggle to maintain focus and keep my mind from drifting.  It’s way more technical than I was expecting and seemed aimed more at professionals than the average lay person.  There were some interesting facts in the book, but I can’t recommend it.

This unbiased review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.

Presidential Pets

Presidential Pets Book Cover Presidential Pets
Julia Moberg
Juvenile Nonfiction
Imagine Publishing
January 1, 2012
95

The Wierd, wacky, little, big, scary, strange animals that have lived in the White House.

 

Review:

“Presidential Pets” is an excellent introduction to the history of the American presidents for children.  The hook is obviously the pet facts, but each president also has brief and easy-to-digest facts about their presidency on their pages.  The illustrations are wonderful, as well.  Highly recommended to animal and history lovers of all ages.

This review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

It Ended Badly: Thirteen of the Worst Breakups in History

It Ended Badly Book Cover It Ended Badly
Jennifer Wright
History
Henry Holt and Company
November 3, 2015
256

A humorous, well-researched pop history of the disastrous love lives of prominent historical figures, from Lord Byron to Elizabeth Taylor If you are lying in bed right now, a pint of ice cream in one hand, a bottle of scotch in the other, and this book clenched between your teeth (one tooth is missing from last night's bar fight), with tears streaming down your face over how much you loved, loved, loved your ex, let me commend you on how well you are coping. You could be doing so much worse. So much worse. You could be beheading your ex, or castrating strangers, or starting an exciting new life with a sex doll. YOU ARE A HERO. In It Ended Badly, New York Observer columnist Jennifer Wright guides you through thirteen of the worst breakups of notable figures in history--from Emperor Nero (sadist, murderer several times over), to Viennese artist Oskar Kokoschka (he of the aforementioned sex doll), to Norman Mailer (public stabbing). With her conversational tone and considerable wit, Wright digs deep into the archives to bring these terrible breakups to life. It's fun, pop history that educates, entertains, and really puts your own bad breakup behavior into perspective. It Ended Badly is for anyone who's loved and lost and maybe sent one too many ill-considered, late-night emails to their ex--reminding us that no matter how badly we've behaved, no one is as bad as Henry VIII.

 

Review:

“It Ended Badly” is one of the perfect kinds of books.  Not only do you get to learn something, but you also get to laugh.  Educational Entertainment:  What’s not to love about that?

There are thirteen true tales of love gone wrong that will have you grateful for the relationship you have, as well as the ones you no longer have.  At least they didn’t end THAT way.  “It Ended Badly” is also a perfect gift for a friend or a loved one who is suffering a recent heartbreak.  By the end of the book they will be laughing so hard they’ll forget what was wrong in the first place.

I recommend “It Ended Badly” for pretty much any adult who loves history or a unique book of humor.  Five enthusiastic stars!

This review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

When It Was Just A Game: Remembering the First Super Bowl

When It Was Just a Game Book Cover When It Was Just a Game
Harvey Frommer
HISTORY
Taylor Trade Pub
September 9, 2015
252

The first Super Bowl in 1967 was actually called The World Championship Game, and pitted the upstart American Football League, represented by the Kansas City Chiefs, against the National Football League, represented by the Green Bay Packers. This book consists of oral interviews with many of the surviving players and/or their children, as well as the recently discovered unpublished memoirs of Chiefs coach Hank Stram.

 

Review:

As a diehard Packers fan (I bleed green and gold), I’m not entirely sure I can be completely unbiased in reviewing “When It Was Just A Game”.  What can ever be better than a comprehensive history of the first Super Bowl?

The book is an excellent resource that covers almost every facet of what went into the epic 1967 game between the Packers and the Chiefs.  It’s packed with facts and direct quotes from people ranging from the players to the fans and everyone in between.  Not the least of it is from the recently deceased legend Frank Gifford.  Reading how it was at the beginning of what has become such a large event is a good reminder of what the game is meant to be at the start of this new NFL season.

“When It Was Just A Game” is the perfect gift for any football fan you may have on your holiday list.  It’s a must-have for any Packers fans out there. GO PACK GO!

This review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey

The Oregon Trail Book Cover The Oregon Trail
Rinker Buck
History
Simon and Schuster
2015-06-30
464

In the bestselling tradition of Bill Bryson and Tony Horwitz, Rinker Buck's The Oregon Trail is a major work of participatory history: an epic account of traveling the 2,000-mile length of the Oregon Trail the old-fashioned way, in a covered wagon with a team of mules—which hasn't been done in a century—that also tells the rich history of the trail, the people who made the migration, and its significance to the country. Spanning 2,000 miles and traversing six states from Missouri to the Pacific Ocean, the Oregon Trail is the route that made America. In the fifteen years before the Civil War, when 400,000 pioneers used it to emigrate West—historians still regard this as the largest land migration of all time—the trail united the coasts, doubled the size of the country, and laid the groundwork for the railroads. The trail years also solidified the American character: our plucky determination in the face of adversity, our impetuous cycle of financial bubbles and busts, the fractious clash of ethnic populations competing for the same jobs and space. Today, amazingly, the trail is all but forgotten. Rinker Buck is no stranger to grand adventures. The New Yorker described his first travel narrative,Flight of Passage, as “a funny, cocky gem of a book,” and with The Oregon Trailhe seeks to bring the most important road in American history back to life. At once a majestic American journey, a significant work of history, and a personal saga reminiscent of bestsellers by Bill Bryson and Cheryl Strayed, the book tells the story of Buck's 2,000-mile expedition across the plains with tremendous humor and heart. He was accompanied by three cantankerous mules, his boisterous brother, Nick, and an “incurably filthy” Jack Russell terrier named Olive Oyl. Along the way, Buck dodges thunderstorms in Nebraska, chases his runaway mules across miles of Wyoming plains, scouts more than five hundred miles of nearly vanished trail on foot, crosses the Rockies, makes desperate fifty-mile forced marches for water, and repairs so many broken wheels and axels that he nearly reinvents the art of wagon travel itself. Apart from charting his own geographical and emotional adventure, Buck introduces readers to the evangelists, shysters, natives, trailblazers, and everyday dreamers who were among the first of the pioneers to make the journey west. With a rare narrative power, a refreshing candor about his own weakness and mistakes, and an extremely attractive obsession for history and travel,The Oregon Trail draws readers into the journey of a lifetime.

 

Review:

I should be upfront and say that this review of “The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey” may be skewed because the author, Rinker Buck, did something in writing it that I have always wanted to do.  He took a piece of history, researched it, and then set out to live it.  This is basically a historian’s dream.

There are actually two parts to the book:  the journey itself and the history of the Oregon Trail.  I’ll begin with the journey.  The time and effort Mr. Buck took in researching and developing his plans for the trip are astounding.  Quite a bit of time went into planning the journey to avoid modern civilization as much as possible, and even the wagon was purchased in Missouri and authentic.  The author has a true way with words.  The descriptions of the scenery along the way are breathtaking, and the stories of what happens along the way make you feel as if you are riding along shotgun.  Conversations with his brother add a very real familial element to it all.  The only downside is it can drag a bit at times, but then again, I’m sure the journey did as well.

The second part of the book is the history of the original Oregon Trail, and as I said above, it is thoroughly researched.  This part could have stood on its own and still been a fascinating read.  None of it is dry, as some history books tend to be, so it is actually perfectly suited for someone who wants to sneak in a little actual American History with a good story.  Sort of the way you can trick kids into eating peas by pureeing them and dumping them into something better.  (Not that I myself have an aversion to peas or history.)

“The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey” is an excellent book from both a historical and an autobiographical standpoint, but it’s more than that.  It’s a good and entertaining story for high schoolers and up.  Even those who don’t like nonfiction or history will like this one.

This review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

 

Content Warning:

As this is an adult book, there are no content warnings.

Ask the Past: Pertinent and Impertinent Advice From Yesteryear

Ask the Past Book Cover Ask the Past
Elizabeth P. Archibald
Humor
Hachette Books
2015-05-05
304

Want to know how to garden with lobsters? How to sober up? Grow a beard? Or simply how to make a perfect omelet? Look no further. Rather, look backward. Based on the popular blog, Ask the Past is full of the wisdom of the ages--as well as the fad diets, zany pickup lines, and bacon Band-Aids of the ages. Drawn from centuries of antique texts by historian and bibliophile Elizabeth P. Archibald, Ask the Past offers a delightful array of advice both wise and weird. Whether it's eighteenth-century bedbug advice (sprinkle bed with gunpowder and let smolder), budget fashion tips of the Middle Ages (save on the clothes, splurge on the purse) or a sixteenth-century primer on seduction (hint: do no pass gas), Ask the Past is a wildly entertaining guide to life from the people who lived it first.

 

Review:

Historian Elizabeth P. Archibald does a wonderful job in “Ask the Past” of showing that history can be fun and entertaining.  Her collection of some of the best/worst excerpts from antique etiquette and advice books and pamphlets, along with accompanying illustrations, had me laughing so hard that I could not breathe.  Her snarky “translations” at the end of each excerpt doubled the entertainment value.

Aside from being entertaining, her introduction breaks down her research methods in a way that will help novice historians learn how to take tiny bits of information and use it to get an overall picture of the society of the time.

Also, I would like to note that I am forever grateful to the person who established that it is not appropriate to attack someone who is defecating.  Where would we be as a society if that was still an acceptable practice?

“Ask the Past” is the perfect gift for anyone old enough for fart and sex jokes made classier through Old English.

This review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

 

Content Warning:

As this is an adult book, there is no content warning.

The Liberation of the Camps: The End of the Holocaust and Its Aftermath

The Liberation of the Camps Book Cover The Liberation of the Camps
Dan Stone
History
Yale University Press
2015-04-21
288

Seventy years have passed since the tortured inmates of Hitler’s concentration and extermination camps were liberated. When the horror of the atrocities came fully to light, it was easy for others to imagine the joyful relief of freed prisoners. Yet for those who had survived the unimaginable, the experience of liberation was a slow, grueling journey back to life. In this unprecedented inquiry into the days, months, and years following the arrival of Allied forces at the Nazi camps, a foremost historian of the Holocaust draws on archival sources and especially on eyewitness testimonies to reveal the complex challenges liberated victims faced and the daunting tasks their liberators undertook to help them reclaim their shattered lives.

Historian Dan Stone focuses on the survivors—their feelings of guilt, exhaustion, fear, shame for having survived, and devastating grief for lost family members; their immense medical problems; and their later demands to be released from Displaced Persons camps and resettled in countries of their own choosing. Stone also tracks the efforts of British, American, Canadian, and Russian liberators as they contended with survivors’ immediate needs, then grappled with longer-term issues that shaped the postwar world and ushered in the first chill of the Cold War years ahead.

 

Review:

“The Liberation of the Camps” is a book that manages to make itself unique in a history genre that can feel a bit crowded at times.

What sets the book apart is the liberal use of primary sources from a variety of different situations that occurred after liberation.  Many of them, including the fact that many Survivors were kept in the camp for a long period after the actual liberation, are unknown to many people.  It’s a very comprehensive resource for those with an interest in Holocaust history.

The one major flaw is that it can be dry at times.  It’s definitely by an academic and meant for those with a scholarly interest in the Holocaust, but even by those standards it can be dry.  I have a degree in history, so feel like I have seen both sides of the “dry history” spectrum.  This one is not awful, simply dry in the medium range on the spectrum.  Not enough to be boring, but not something to be consumed in large doses.

Overall, the content and primary sources make “The Liberation of the Camps” worth the time for those with an academic interest in the Holocaust.  However, for anyone else it would probably be a bit of a bore.  Four stars are given for the wealth of information provided, not the writing itself.

This review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

 

Content Warning:

As this is an adult and non-fiction title, there are no content warnings.

Wicked Women

Wicked Women Book Cover Wicked Women
Chris Enss
Biography & Autobiography
TwoDot
2015-01-20
224

This collection of short, action-filled stories of the Old West s most egregiously badly behaved female outlaws, gamblers, soiled doves, and other wicked women by award-winning Western history author Chris Enss offers a glimpse into Western Women s experience that's less sunbonnets and more six-shooters. Pulling together stories of ladies caught in the acts of mayhem, distraction, murder, and highway robbery, it will include famous names like Belle Starr and Big Nose Kate, as well as lesser known characters."

 

Review:

“Wicked Women” is a fun read that also includes a wealth of little-known history.  It’s obviously well-researched and written from a point of love of the wild west.  The stories feature a wide variety of women whose stories will have you laughing and horrified, sometimes both at the same time.

I definitely recommend “Wicked Women” for anyone with an interest in women’s history, the wild west, or even history in general.  It’s an easy read that can appeal to anyone.

This review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

 

Content Warning:

As this is a book meant for an adult, there is no content warning.

Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography

Pioneer Girl Book Cover Pioneer Girl
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Biography & Autobiography
2014-09-01

Laura Ingalls Wilder's unedited, and unpublished, draft of her autobiography that was written for an adult audience and eventually served as the foundation for her popular Little House on the Prairie series includes not-safe-for-children tales that feature stark scenes of domestic abuse, love triangles gone awry and a man who lit himself on fire while drunk off whiskey.

 

Review:

As with many readers, much of my early reading involved the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  Of course, that world was also brought into our homes through the television series of the same name.  It is not a stretch to say it has been a beloved staple of childhood for generations, including my own.  Therefore, I was thrilled to get an advanced copy “Pioneer Girl:  The Annotated Biography” through the Goodreads First Reads program in exchange for an honest review.

Here comes the honesty: this edition of “Pioneer Girl”  is an absolute must have for all Laura Ingalls Wilder fans, fans of either form of Little House on the Prairie, as well as anyone interested in the history of the great plains.  It is everything I hoped it would be and more.

The annotations are thorough and include little known facts about Mrs. Wilder herself, but also about the daily living of her time.  Photos give a wonderful glimpse into the real people behind the stories and include such additions of schoolyard play in small towns.  Her life comes alive in the minds of readers thanks to the photography and annotations.

Perhaps the biggest draw of “Pioneer Girl” is it was written as more of a diary of memories, skipping back and forth as her mind saw fit, and it was not changed as the Little House on the Prairie books were to add that little zing of which publishers are so fond.  This is her story, stark, detailed, and wonderful, as she meant it to be.

I give “Pioneer Girl:  The Annotated Autobiography” a hundred stars, but the rating system will only allow me to put five of them here.  And don’t forget, this would make an excellent gift for the fans of Little House in the prairie in your life!