History & Historical Fiction Books - Page 5

My Brother Sam Is Dead (Apple Signature)

James Lincoln Collier

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 331 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Very good, deep book 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

For one, I would like to start out that I am thirteen and my name is not "Bernease" as it may show up, but my grandmothers. Now that that's out of the way...

I'm really astounded by the amount of ignorant people who are reviewing this book. This book is supposed to be an inside look of what life was like during the Revolutionary War. It does a perfect job of that. I think that James and Christopher did a great job of showing just how bad life was in the era: the scarceness of food and clothes, and of course, the violence. Yes, the book does have some pretty gory scenes, but I wouldn't really call it "action". Most of it tends to be of Tim or a solider describing what he had seen during the war, and without this info we can't really tell how bad the war really was.

Granted, this book was published around the 1970's and the Vietnam War was still raging, so perhaps children at the time were more resistant to the violence portrayed in the book, mabye from the influence of the war.

Also, what is with the people complaining with the plot? The plot is just fine the way it is. Really, the plot isn't meant to portray a story of adventure, it helps the reader understand what life was like during the war. Since most of the readers are about the same age as Tim Meeker, they can probably understand how he is feeling.

Still, the plot does occasionally have some tense parts where you wait, wondering "what's going to happen next" though truthfully after awhile it tends to get to predictable;you know he is going to die. At least some characters defy this logic used a lot throughout the book.

Well, while the book can come to a quick ending(about a day or 2) and the title is quite an annoying spoiler, this book is well worth the five dollars, and will be quite an interesting read.

Editorial Review:

All his life, Tim Meeker has looked up to his brother Sam. Sam's smart and brave -- and is now a part of the American Revolution. Not everyone in town wants to be a part of the rebellion. Most are supporters of the British -- including Tim and Sam's father. With the war soon raging, Tim know he'll have to make a choice -- between the Revolutionaries and the Redcoats . . . and between his brother and his father.

Anna Karenina

Leo Tolstoy

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 238 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Please enter a title for your review 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Half the content is elaborate banal detail used to establish context, but in it's more consequential moments this novel is the final word on the disingenuous nature of institutionalized aspects of social behaviour. It's a theme I've pondered and seen touched on in a few other books, but I was blown away by how comprehensively Tolstoy articulates and extrapolates my own thoughts.
This novel is primarily a work of philosophy, using the characters to illustrate social observations at the expense of a fully cohesive narrative.
It's difficult to understand how fans of classic fiction, who generally consider "reading" a neccessity for respectable people, don't take offense to this book as it seems to be constantly critcizing that kind of cultural pretense.
Another interesting thing I got from the book is how culture 100+ years ago doesn't seem as formal and conservative as I had previously been led to believe. Parents were already complaining about tradition falling out of favor among the younger generation and governmental red-tape was already something criticized as getting in the way of practical goals. On the other hand the doctors of the era are presented as having no medical knowledge whatsoever.
my fave quote:
"The word talent, which they understood to mean an innate and almost physical capacity, independent of mind and heart, and which was their term for everything an artist lives through, occurred very often in their conversation, since they required it as a name for something which they did not at all understand, but about which they wanted to talk."

Editorial Review:

Translated by Constance Garnett, Introduction by Leonard J. Kent and Nina Berberova

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Elizabeth George Speare

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• Childrens Books
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 383 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Classic 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I originally read this way back in jr. high and sadly only remember being entranced by it--not recalling any of the plot. I finally got around to the rereading and recalled why I had the original feeling of enchantment. This is one good book.

Kit Tyler is a sixteen-year-old girl who leaves Barbados after her grandfather's death for the more austere world of Puritan New England to say with her aunt's family. But Kit is completely unprepared for the ways of these people. Even so, she manages to grow in unimaginable ways as she connects with people with whom she would have never seen herself.

And it's not a simple moralistic book. It's a book about a girl coming of age. Unlike other books of the Puritans, there are no villains, just those who are different and it's amazing to see Kit come to understand that.

The characters are entrancing and dimensional, the setting is described in an honest prose that only shows Speare's love of New England.

It deserves its Newberry.

Editorial Review:

Orphaned Kit Tyler knows, as she gazes for the first time at the cold, bleak shores of Connecticut Colony, that her new home will never be like the shimmering Caribbean island she left behind. In her relatives' stern Puritan community, she feels like a tropical bird that has flown to the wrong part of the world, a bird that is now caged and lonely. The only place where Kit feels completely free is in the meadows, where she enjoys the company of the old Quaker woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond, and on occasion, her young sailor friend Nat. But when Kit's friendship with the "witch" is discovered, Kit is faced with suspicion, fear, and anger. She herself is accused of witchcraft!

The Education of Little Tree

Forrest Carter

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 203 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Education of Little Tree tells of a boy orphaned very young, who is adopted by his Cherokee grandmother and half-Cherokee grandfather in the Appalachian mountains of Tennessee during the Great Depression.

“Little Tree” as his grandparents call him is shown how to hunt and survive in the mountains, to respect nature in the Cherokee Way, taking only what is needed, leaving the rest for nature to run its course.

Little Tree also learns the often callous ways of white businessmen and tax collectors, and how Granpa, in hilarious vignettes, scares them away from his illegal attempts to enter the cash economy. Granma teaches Little Tree the joys of reading and education. But when Little Tree is taken away by whites for schooling, we learn of the cruelty meted out to Indian children in an attempt to assimilate them and of Little Tree’s perception of the Anglo world and how it differs from the Cherokee Way.

A classic of its era, and an enduring book for all ages, The Education of Little Tree has now been redesigned for this twenty-fifth anniversary edition.

When I Was Young in the Mountains

Cynthia Rylant

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

LOVE THIS LITTLE BOOK. 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

This work is rather realistic. For anyone who grew up in similiar surroundings, it brings on waves of nostalgia. Growing up in the Ozark Mountains was quite similar to the setting of this story. These were simpler times, for good and bad, and it is good that we have something like this to pass on to our children. The illustrations in this book are soft and wonderful. The text is quite to the point and quite readable and understandable. The book leaves much room for open discussion, although it helps a lot if you actually grew up in these conditions, when discussing it with the young ones. I find that the simple fact there there was no electricity, no T.V., no radios, no running water, etc. quite difficult for children to understand and grasp. This book helps a lot. Recommend this one highly.

Editorial Review:

For twenty years, Cynthia Rylant's story of childhood in the Appalachian Mountains has been an enduring favorite. Growing up in the mountains is depicted with a spare, lyrical text and beautiful, tender illustrations by Diane Goode. The book was awarded a Caldecott Honor Medal.

To celebrate its twentieth anniversary, When I Was Young in the Mountains is being released with a commemorative copper-colored band.

Illustrated by Diane Goode

Princess Ben

Catherine Murdock

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A fabulous new fairy tale 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Princess Benevolence has lived a carefree life in the Kingdom of Montagne. With her uncle as King and her father as Prince, she is surrounded with luxury, though she has always been more interested in playing and eating sweets than wearing stylish gowns and attending fancy balls. Her mother tries to keep her earthbound by insisting they live over the guards' quarters instead of directly in the palace, and sets an example of generosity by treating the sick and wounded people of their kingdom.

Soon following Ben's 15th birthday party, the anniversary of her grandfather's death arrives, and the royal family departs to visit his grave. Unfortunately, Ben has overdone her party festivities and comes down with a cold, so she must stay in bed rather than accompany the family. Within hours, news of the horrid tragedy spreads across the country --- the King and Ben's mom have been murdered! And Ben's father, intent on following the killer for revenge, has disappeared into the surrounding mountains. The kingdom of Montagne falls into mourning.

With her father missing, Princess Ben becomes the next heir. But since she's underage, the ruling of the kingdom falls on the shoulders of Ben's strict aunt, Queen Sophia. The queen takes it upon herself to prepare Ben for her royal responsibilities, enrollling her in a no-nonsense crash course --- including language, etiquette and sewing lessons, all of which Ben despises --- and putting her on a strict diet to try to slim out her rather rounded figure. She is determined to shape Ben into a charming and beautiful princess in order to marry her off to strengthen the Kingdom's ties.

Starving, mourning her family and disgruntled with her aunt's unreasonable demands, Ben finds herself miserable. The one solace she has is the secret basket of food that a sympathetic employee leaves under her bed. But when Ben fails to lose weight, Sophia investigates and discovers the hidden stash. Life then goes from bad to worse, as her aunt forces her to move into a desolate tower cell attached to the queen's own quarters.

But then Ben discovers a hidden room connected to her cell. The dusty, secret nook contains a book of magic that teaches her spells, including conjuring fire and flying on a broom. Ben practices diligently every night, perfecting her skills in hopes they may help her escape out from under her aunt's clutches. However, she has no idea of the dangerous world in which she is about to enter, including war, enslavement --- and falling in love.

PRINCESS BEN is Catherine Gilbert Murdock's third novel, and she has proven once again her charming talent in weaving an entertaining story. She brings imagination, a sense of humor, adventure and colorful characters to the pages of her book, engaging readers until the very end. Murdock has chosen a poised and dignified voice for her main character, perfectly fitting of a royal princess, even though our young, clumsy heroine doesn't quite fit the mold as perfectly, at least in the beginning. Readers of this energetic fairy tale will enjoy accompanying Ben on her journey to maturity and in learning how to best serve her kingdom.

--- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman, author of FINDING MY LIGHT and THE BLACK POND

Editorial Review:

Benevolence is not your typical princess and Princess Ben is certainly not your typical fairy tale. With her parents lost to unknown assassins, Princess Ben ends up under the thumb of the conniving Queen Sophia, who is intent on marrying her off to the first available "specimen of imbecilic manhood." Starved and miserable, locked in the castle's highest tower, Ben stumbles upon a mysterious enchanted room. So begins her secret education in the magical arts: mastering an obstinate flying broomstick, furtively emptying the castle pantries, setting her hair on fire . . . But Ben's private adventures are soon overwhelmed by a mortal threat facing the castle and indeed the entire country. Can Princess Ben save her kingdom from annihilation and herself from permanent enslavement?

Princess Ben

Catherine Murdock

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A fabulous new fairy tale 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Princess Benevolence has lived a carefree life in the Kingdom of Montagne. With her uncle as King and her father as Prince, she is surrounded with luxury, though she has always been more interested in playing and eating sweets than wearing stylish gowns and attending fancy balls. Her mother tries to keep her earthbound by insisting they live over the guards' quarters instead of directly in the palace, and sets an example of generosity by treating the sick and wounded people of their kingdom.

Soon following Ben's 15th birthday party, the anniversary of her grandfather's death arrives, and the royal family departs to visit his grave. Unfortunately, Ben has overdone her party festivities and comes down with a cold, so she must stay in bed rather than accompany the family. Within hours, news of the horrid tragedy spreads across the country --- the King and Ben's mom have been murdered! And Ben's father, intent on following the killer for revenge, has disappeared into the surrounding mountains. The kingdom of Montagne falls into mourning.

With her father missing, Princess Ben becomes the next heir. But since she's underage, the ruling of the kingdom falls on the shoulders of Ben's strict aunt, Queen Sophia. The queen takes it upon herself to prepare Ben for her royal responsibilities, enrollling her in a no-nonsense crash course --- including language, etiquette and sewing lessons, all of which Ben despises --- and putting her on a strict diet to try to slim out her rather rounded figure. She is determined to shape Ben into a charming and beautiful princess in order to marry her off to strengthen the Kingdom's ties.

Starving, mourning her family and disgruntled with her aunt's unreasonable demands, Ben finds herself miserable. The one solace she has is the secret basket of food that a sympathetic employee leaves under her bed. But when Ben fails to lose weight, Sophia investigates and discovers the hidden stash. Life then goes from bad to worse, as her aunt forces her to move into a desolate tower cell attached to the queen's own quarters.

But then Ben discovers a hidden room connected to her cell. The dusty, secret nook contains a book of magic that teaches her spells, including conjuring fire and flying on a broom. Ben practices diligently every night, perfecting her skills in hopes they may help her escape out from under her aunt's clutches. However, she has no idea of the dangerous world in which she is about to enter, including war, enslavement --- and falling in love.

PRINCESS BEN is Catherine Gilbert Murdock's third novel, and she has proven once again her charming talent in weaving an entertaining story. She brings imagination, a sense of humor, adventure and colorful characters to the pages of her book, engaging readers until the very end. Murdock has chosen a poised and dignified voice for her main character, perfectly fitting of a royal princess, even though our young, clumsy heroine doesn't quite fit the mold as perfectly, at least in the beginning. Readers of this energetic fairy tale will enjoy accompanying Ben on her journey to maturity and in learning how to best serve her kingdom.

--- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman, author of FINDING MY LIGHT and THE BLACK POND

Editorial Review:

Catherine Gilbert Murdock's talents for storytelling and creating strong female characters take a fresh turn in this spirited and sophisticated fairy tale.

Benevolence is not your typical princess.
With her parents lost to assassins, Princess Ben ends up under the thumb of the conniving Queen Sophia. Starved and miserable, locked in the castle's highest tower, Ben stumbles upon a mysterious enchanted room. So begins her secret education in the magical arts: mastering an obstinate flying broomstick, furtively emptying the castle pantries, setting her hair on fire . . . But Ben's private adventures are soon overwhelmed by a mortal threat to her kingdom. Can Ben save the country and herself from foul tyranny?

*"[A] deliciously frothy fairy tale."—Horn Book Magazine, starred review

*"The wild adventure, intricately imagined setting, memorable characters, and romance will charm readers, especially fans of Gail Carson Levine's Fairest."—Booklist, starred review

Hawaii

James A. Michener

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 105 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In Hawaii, Pulitzer Prize–winning author James Michener weaves the classic saga that brought Hawaii’s epic history vividly alive to the American public on its initial publication in 1959, and continues to mesmerize even today.

The volcanic processes by which the Hawaiian Islands grew from the ocean floor were inconceivably slow, and the land remained untouched by man for countless centuries until, little more than a thousand years ago, Polynesian seafarers made the perilous journey across the Pacific and discovered their new home. They lived and flourished in this tropical paradise according to their ancient traditions and beliefs until, in the early nineteenth century, American missionaries arrived, bringing a new creed and a new way of life to a Stone Age society. The impact of the missionaries had only begun to be absorbed when other national groups, with equally different customs, began to migrate in great numbers to the islands. The story of modern Hawaii, and of this novel, is one of how disparate peoples, struggling to keep their identity yet live with one another in harmony, ultimately joined together to build America’s strong and vital fiftieth state.

The Clan of the Cave Bear (Earth's Children)

Jean M. Auel

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 428 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Hooked me 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

A bit difficult to start. But once I got past the first chapter I was hooked. Pre-History Fiction - never thought I'd enjoy it, never thought I'd read it. Jean Auel did a wonderful job with her vivid writing style; just what I need to get through any book. Loved it!

Good Book 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I learned a lot about herbs and what they were used for ..loved the honesty and overall good characters in the book

Clan of the Cave Bear 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book was delivered on time and in the condition advertised. I would purchase a used book again from this source.

Editorial Review:

The story of Ayla begins when, as a five-year-old orphan, she is adopted by the Clan, a group of Neanderthals. Initially, she inspires surprise, then wariness and finally acceptance by the Clan. She is cared for by its medicine woman, Iza, and its wise holy man, Creb. But she makes an implacable enemy of the group's future leader, Broud. He will do all he can to destroy her - but Ayla is a survivor. Jean Auel's imaginative reconstruction of pre-historic life, rich in detail of language, culture, myth and ritual, has become a set text in schools and colleges around the world.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party (The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation)

M.T. Anderson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

one of the best novels I've read in the past year--YA or otherwise 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 11 people found this review helpful.

I LOVED this book. However, it is most certainly not for everyone. This is a challenging read. The language is difficult and even antiquated in parts, but 1) I make it a habit to read with a dictionary nearby so this didn't faze me, and 2) even when I wasn't in the mood to stop reading to look something up, I was still able to figure out the meaning of the text based on the overall context. Besides, after about 50 pages or so, I became accustomed to the writing style and then I blazed through the rest of the book.

If you're willing to put in the effort, the payoff is huge. The characters are believable. The story is horrific, heartbreaking, and somehow hopeful at the same time. The language is stunningly gorgeous in parts. The subject matter is fascinating, and it made me think about our country's history from a different perspective. Also, if you don't read too many reviews that all but spoil the plot for you (Anderson slowly reveals the reality of the situation to the reader as Octavian begins to realize what's going on), the tension and mystery of it propels you along. The cliffhanger ending was perfect, and I cannot wait for the second book in the series to be published.

Editorial Review:

Young Octavian is being raised by a group of rational philosophers known only by numbers. After he opens a forbidden door he learns the hideous nature of their experiments and his own chilling role in them. Set in Revolutionary Boston, M.T. Anderson's mesmerizing novel takes place at a time when Patriots battled to win liberty while African slaves were entreated to risk their own lives for a freedom they would never claim. The first of two parts (volume two will be published in fall 2008), this deeply provocative novel reimagines the past as an eerie place that has startling resonance for readers today.