Sarah and Angelina Grimke are revered figures in American history, famous for rejecting their privileged lives on a plantation in South Carolina to become firebrand activists in the North. Yet retellings of their epic story have long obscured their Black relatives. [Read more…] about The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery in an American Family
Recent Books About New York State
Authors and publishers of new books related to New York State can have their books noticed on the New York Almanack by following the submission guidelines HERE.
South Bronx Rising
A new edition of South Bronx Rising: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of an American City (Fordham University Press, 2022) by Jill Jonnes with foreword by Nilka Martell chronicles the ongoing revival of the South Bronx, thirty-five years after this landmark of urban history first captured the rise, fall, and rebirth of a once-thriving New York City borough — ravaged in the 1970s and ’80s by disinvestment and fires, then heroically revived and rebuilt in the 1990s by community activists. [Read more…] about South Bronx Rising
Meltdown: A History of Glacier Science
Formed over hundreds-even millions-of years ago, glaciers support a vast network of life. Yet, climate change is causing them to melt at an unprecedented rate. If we don’t change course, their disappearance will change the world as we know it.
This week on The Historians Podcast, environmental educator discusses her book Meltdown: Discover Earth’s Irreplaceable Glaciers And Learn What You Can Do To Save Them (Workman Publishing Co, 2022). [Read more…] about Meltdown: A History of Glacier Science
Contagion of Liberty: Politics of Smallpox in the American Revolution
Inoculation, a shocking procedure introduced to America by an enslaved African, became the most sought-after medical procedure of the eighteenth century. The difficulty lay in providing it to all Americans and not just the fortunate few. Across the colonies, poor Americans rioted for equal access to medicine, while cities and towns shut down for quarantines. In Marblehead, Massachusetts, sailors burned down an expensive private hospital just weeks after the Boston Tea Party.
The Revolutionary War broke out during a smallpox epidemic, and in response, General George Washington ordered the inoculation of the Continental Army. But Washington did not have to convince fearful colonists to protect themselves against smallpox ― they were the ones demanding it. [Read more…] about Contagion of Liberty: Politics of Smallpox in the American Revolution
Olmsted’s Elmwood: Buffalo’s Parkway Neighborhood
The new book Olmsted’s Elmwood: The Rise, Decline and Renewal of Buffalo’s Parkway Neighborhood, A Model for America’s Cities (City of Light Publishing, 2022) by Clinton E. Brown and Ramona Pando Whitaker takes a look at the fascinating story of Buffalo‘s the historic Elmwood District, named one of America’s top ten neighborhoods. [Read more…] about Olmsted’s Elmwood: Buffalo’s Parkway Neighborhood
Roger Lamb’s American Revolution: A British Soldier’s Story Updated
Of all the British soldiers who served in North America during the American Revolution, none wrote more about his experiences than Roger Lamb. His service in two of the most important campaigns — the 1777 Saratoga campaign and the 1781 campaign through the Carolinas to Virginia — put him in the thick of some of the war’s most famous battles. [Read more…] about Roger Lamb’s American Revolution: A British Soldier’s Story Updated
Washington’s Revenge: The 1777 New Jersey Campaign
In late August 1776, a badly defeated Continental Army retreated from Long Island to Manhattan. By early November, George Washington’s inexperienced army withdrew further into New Jersey and, by the end of the year, into Pennsylvania. During this dark night of the American Revolution — “the times that try men’s souls” — Washington began developing the strategy that would win the war. [Read more…] about Washington’s Revenge: The 1777 New Jersey Campaign
Misinformation Nation: Truth in Revolutionary America
The new book Misinformation Nation: Foreign News and the Politics of Truth in Revolutionary America (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022) by Jordan E. Taylor reveals how foreign news defined the boundaries of American politics and ultimately drove colonists to revolt against Britain and create a new nation.
“Fake news” is not new. Just like millions of Americans today, the revolutionaries of the eighteenth century worried that they were entering a “post-truth” era. Their fears, however, were not fixated on social media or click-bait, but rather on peoples’ increasing reliance on reading news gathered from foreign newspapers. [Read more…] about Misinformation Nation: Truth in Revolutionary America
A New Archaeological History of New York City
The new book Buried Beneath the City: An Archaeological History of New York (Columbia University Press, 2022) by Nan A. Rothschild, Amanda Sutphin, H. Arthur Bankoff, and Jessica Striebel MacLean uses urban archaeology to retell the history of New York, from the deeper layers of the past to the topsoil of recent events. [Read more…] about A New Archaeological History of New York City
New Empire State Trail Cycling Guide Released
Parks & Trails New York (PTNY) has announced the publication of a new trail travel guidebook, Cycling the Hudson and Champlain Valleys. The 400-mile north-south route of the Empire State Trail, the longest statewide trail in the nation, is the focus of the new book. [Read more…] about New Empire State Trail Cycling Guide Released