MBR: The American History Shelf

The American History Shelf

Vote Lincoln!, expanded edition
John Locke Scripps and Abraham Lincoln
Daniel W. Bradford, editor
Boston Hill Press
PO Box 215583, Sacramento, CA 95821
9780978799243 $37.95

Originally created by Lincoln himself along with Chicago Tribune
founder John Locke Scripps, Vote Lincoln! is the original, authorized
campaign biography of Abraham Lincoln, now available in a restored
edition annotated with modern-day explanations of its terms by editor
Daniel W. Bradford. Vote Lincoln! remains especially notable today for
its critical and severe warnings of the threat slavery posed to
America's democracy. Additional essays and editor's notes round out
this absolute "must-read" for any historian seeking to better
understand Lincoln. Vote Lincoln! is a key addition to college library
history shelves, and worthy of the highest possible recommendation.

Tracing the Santa Fe Trail
Ronald J. Dulle
Mountain Press
1301 South Third Street West, PO Box 2399, Missoula, MT 59806
9780878425716, $22.00, www.mountain-press.com

Mexico, a new nation at the time, drew much attention and adoration
even from Americans. "Tracing the Santa Fe Trail: Today's Views,
Yesterday's Voices" looks back at the historical presence of the Santa
Fe Trail, as the young city drew influence from two nations and
developed into a very unique country unlike anywhere else. With plenty
of full color photos and scholarly discussion of this historic period,
"Tracing the Santa Fe Trail" is a fine addition to any history
collection and a fine pick for photography collections as well.

Notebook on Shipwrecks
H. Richard Moale
Heritage Books
100 Railroad Ave., #104, Westminster, MD 21157
9780788451713, $45.00, www.heritagebooks.com

The Chesapeake Bay has given Maryland untold prosperity, but as it
gives, it also spoils with its cruelty. "Notebook on Shipwrecks:
Chesapeake Bay 1800-1977" follows nearly two hundred years of the
Bay's wrath, as H. Richard Moale puts forth decades of work as he
compiles shipwrecks in chronological and alphabetical order, listing
to his research all that is known about lost ships that have occurred
throughout the region. An intriguing text with additional research
notes for those who wish to do research of their own, "Notebook on
Shipwrecks" is a labor of love from Moale, highly recommended.

Creating a Confederate Kentucky
Anne E. Marshall
University of North Carolina Press
116 South Boundary Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514-3808
9780807834367 $35.00 www.uncpress.unc.edu 1-800-848-6224

Creating a Confederate Kentucky: The Lost Cause and Civil War Memory
in a Border State tells of how the state of Kentucky retained strong
ties to the Confederacy, even though Kentucky never seceded from the
Union and more Kentucky citizens ostensibly fought for the North than
for the South. After the Civil War, the people of Kentucky rallied to
Democratic politics, and the racial violence and Jim Crow laws
strongly associated with former Confederate states took root in
Kentucky soil. Creating a Confederate Kentucky examines all sides of
Kentucky's Union-Confederate postwar dialogue, from political and
economic motivations to what the Kentucky people's activities (public
memorial ceremonies, dedications of monuments, veterans organizations'
events, and more) revealed about their motivations and drives.
Chapters tell of Kentucky sentiments from 1792 up through 1935 in this
thoughtful, carefully researched and plausibly presented historical
study, illustrated with a handful of vintage black-and-white
photographs. Highly recommended, especially for Kentucky state history
shelves.

The Wreck of the Red Arrow
Dennis P. McIlnay
Seven Oaks Press
826 Walnut Street, Hollidaysburg, PA 16648
9780977980536, $24.95, www.sevenoakspress.com

When something goes horribly wrong, the situation grows ever more
dire. "The Wreck of the Red Arrow" tells the story of the vicious
wreck of the Red Arrow train, which on a winter morning in 1947 left a
town in disarray. Detailing the event, the immediate response, and the
long road to recovery, Dennis P. McIlnay gives a solid and complete
and comprehensive history. "The Wreck of the Red Arrow" is a fine
addition to any American History collection in general, and
Railroading History reading list in particular.

Inherently Unequal
Lawrence Goldstone
Walker & Company
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
9780802717924 $26.00 www.walkerbooks.com

Inherently Unequal: The Betrayal of Equal Rights by the Supreme Court,
1865-1903 is the riveting true story of how, after the Civil War, the
conservative Supreme Court was instrumental in sustaining the Jim Crow
era of segregation and discrimination against African-Americans. In
1875, the most comprehensive civil rights legislation seen at the time
promised all Americans "the full and equal enjoyment" of public areas,
but eight years later the Supreme Court voted 8 to 1 to overturn the
Civil Rights Act as unconstitutional. Further rulings all but
destroyed the equal protection passages of the fourteenth amendment.
Inherently Unequal examines the process by which the United States
became a nation defined by Jim Crow laws at the dawn of the twentieth
century, drawing upon court records and period testimonies. From the
well-known case of Plessy v. Ferguson to oft-overlooked cases like
Williams v. Mississippi, Inherently Unequal reveals how the sum of the
Supreme Court's decisions empowered racism, prejudice, and the dismal
status quo, prompting mass migrations of African-Americans to the
North to flee the tyranny of the state as well as seek economic
sustenance. Inherently Unequal is an invaluable addition to public and
college library American history shelves, and highly recommended.

Mapping America: Exploring the Continent
Tom Howells & Duncan McCorquodale, Editors
Black Dog Publishing
9781907317088, $45.00, www.blackdogonline.com

Mapping America: Exploring the Continent traces the formation of the
U.S. from its colonial roots through changing country and state
borders to its present state, blending history and geography in a
finely illustrated survey that includes not just human movements and
settlements, but flora, fauna, and geology as well. Color photos and
illustrations abound in a reference especially recommended for high
school to college-level geography and history holdings.

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