A Journey Through History

Jana Littrell facilitates A Journey through History book group and will lead the discussion on 9/2/25 at 8pm Eastern of  James K. Polk DBC27665 by John Seigenthaler.

James K. Polk DBC27665

Author: Seigenthaler, John

Reading Time: 5 hours, 21 minutes

Read by: Raines, Eric

Subjects: Biography, Government and Politics, U.S. History

The story of a pivotal president who watched over our westward expansion and solidified the dream of Jacksonian democracy. James K. Polk was a shrewd and decisive commander in chief, who served as Speaker of the House and governor of Tennessee before taking office in 1845. Shortly after his inauguration, he settled the disputed Oregon boundary and by 1846 had declared war on Mexico for the annexation of Texas and California. The considerably smaller American army never lost a battle. At home, however, Polk suffered a political firestorm of antiwar attacks from many fronts. And yet despite his tremendous accomplishments, he left office an extremely unpopular man, whose stresses had taken such a physical toll that he died within three months of departing Washington. Fellow Tennessean John Seigenthaler traces the life of this President who, as Truman noted, “said what he intended to do and did it.” Adult.

New York : Times Books, 2004.

This book can be found on Bookshare at the following link:

https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/70191?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPUphbWVzJTJCSy4lMkJQb2xr

David Faucheux will join us again on 8/5/25 at 8pm Eastern to facilitate the discussion of The Colony Club: a novel DB127808 by Shelley Noble.

NLS annotation

“When young Gilded Age society matron Daisy Harriman is refused a room at the Waldorf because they don’t cater to unaccompanied females, she takes matters into her own hands. She establishes the Colony Club, the first women’s club in Manhattan, where visiting women can stay overnight and dine with their friends; where they can discuss new ideas, take on social issues, and make their voices heard. She hires the most sought-after architect in New York, Stanford White, to design the clubhouse. As “the best dressed actress on the Rialto” Elsie de Wolfe has an eye for décor, but her career is stagnating. So when White asks her to design the clubhouse interiors, she jumps at the chance and the opportunity to add a woman’s touch. He promises to send her an assistant, a young woman he’s hired as a draftsman. Raised in the Lower East Side tenements, Nora Bromely is determined to become an architect in spite of hostility and sabotage from her male colleagues. She is disappointed and angry when White “foists” her off on this new women’s club project. But when White is murdered and the ensuing Trial of the Century discloses the architect’s scandalous personal life, fearful backers begin to withdraw their support. It’s questionable whether the club will survive long enough to open.Daisy, Elsie, and Nora have nothing in common but their determination to carry on. But to do so, they must overcome not only society’s mores but their own prejudices about women, wealth, and each other. Together they strive to transform Daisy’s dream of the Colony Club into a reality, a place that will nurture social justice and ensure the work of the women who earned the nickname “Mink Brigade” far into the future.”– From publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

New York : HarperAudio, 2024.

https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/6193331?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPVRoZSUyQmNvbG9ueSUyQmNsdWI

NLS annotation

“A gripping exploration of the intense psychology and character of Benedict Arnold, arguing that he was essential to victory before he was a traitor. Benedict Arnold committed treason — for more than two centuries, that’s all that most Americans have known about him. Yet Arnold was much more than a turncoat — his achievements during the early years of the Revolutionary War defined him as the most successful soldier of the era. GOD SAVE BENEDICT ARNOLD tells the gripping story of Arnold’s rush of audacious feats — his capture of Fort Ticonderoga, his Maine mountain expedition to attack Quebec, the famous artillery brawl at Valcour Island, the turning-point battle at Saratoga — that laid the groundwork for our independence. Arnold was a superb leader, a brilliant tactician, a supremely courageous military officer. He was also imperfect, disloyal, villainous. One of the most paradoxical characters in American history, and one of the most interesting. GOD SAVE BENEDICT ARNOLD does not exonerate him for his treason — the stain on his character is permanent. But Kelly’s insightful exploration of Arnold’s career as a warrior shines a new light on this gutsy, fearless, and enigmatic figure. In the process, the book offers a fresh perspective on the reasons for Arnold’s momentous change of heart”– Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

New York : Tantor Media, Inc., 2023.

https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/5795457?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPUdvZCUyQnNhdmUlMkJCZW5lZGljdCUyQkFybm9sZCUyNTNBJTJCdGhlJTJCdHJ1ZSUyQnN0b3J5JTJCb2YlMkJBbWVyaWNhJTI1MjYlMjUyMzM5JTI1M0JzJTJCbW9zdCUyQmhhdGVkJTJCbWFu

David Faucheux will join us again on 4/1/25 at 8pm Eastern to facilitate the discussion of the historical fiction novel The house is on fire DB120593 by Rachel Beanland.

NLS annotation

“Richmond, Virginia 1811. It’s the height of the winter social season, the General Assembly is in session, and many of Virginia’s gentleman planters, along with their wives and children, have made the long and arduous journey to the capital in hopes of whiling away the darkest days of the year. At the city’s only theater, the Charleston-based Placide & Green Company puts on two plays a night to meet the demand of a populace that’s done looking for enlightenment at the front of a church. On the night after Christmas, the theater is packed with more than six hundred holiday revelers. In the third-floor boxes, sits newly-widowed Sally Henry Campbell, who is glad for any opportunity to relive the happy times she shared with her husband. One floor away, in the colored gallery, Cecily Patterson doesn’t give a whit about the play but is grateful for a four-hour reprieve from a life that has recently gone from bad to worse. Backstage, young stagehand Jack Gibson hopes that, if he can impress the theater’s managers, he’ll be offered a permanent job with the company. And on the other side of town, blacksmith Gilbert Hunt dreams of one day being able to bring his wife to the theater, but he’ll have to buy her freedom first. When the theater goes up in flames in the middle of the performance, Sally, Cecily, Jack, and Gilbert make a series of split-second decisions that will not only affect their own lives but those of countless others. And in the days following the fire, as news of the disaster spreads across the United States, the paths of these four people will become forever intertwined. Based on the true story of Richmond’s theater fire, The House Is on Fire offers proof that sometimes, in the midst of great tragedy, we are offered our most precious–and fleeting–chances at redemption” — Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

Waterville, Maine : Simon & Schuster Audio, 2023.

https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/5948434?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPVRoZSUyQmhvdXNlJTJCaXMlMkJvbiUyQmZpcmU

NLS  annotation

The first conspiracy: the secret plot against George Washington DB93794

Authors: Meltzer, Brad, Mensch, Josh

Reading Time: 11 hours, 10 minutes

Read by: Scott Brick

Subject: U.S. History

An account of a treasonous plan by George Washington’s bodyguards, working together with New York City mayor David Mathews and New York governor William Tryon, to kill the commander in the months leading up to the Revolutionary War. Some violence. Commercial audiobook. 2019.

[New York, NY] : Macmillan Audio, 2019.

Bookshare

This book can be found at Bookshare at the following link:

https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/3674411?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPVRoZSUyQmZpcnN0JTJCY29uc3BpcmFjeQ

NLS annotation

“One of the most extraordinary mother and daughter stories of all time – Anne Boleyn, the most famous of Henry VIII’s wives and her daughter Elizabeth, the ‘Virgin Queen’. Anne Boleyn is a subject of enduring fascination. By far the most famous of Henry VIII’s six wives, she has inspired books, documentaries and films, and is the subject of intense debate even today, almost 500 years after her violent death. For the most part, she is considered in the context of her relationship with Tudor England’s much-married monarch. Dramatic though this story is, of even greater interest – and significance – is the relationship between Anne and her daughter, the future Elizabeth I. Elizabeth was less than three years old when her mother was executed. Given that she could have held precious few memories of Anne, it is often assumed that her mother exerted little influence over her. But this is both inaccurate and misleading. Elizabeth knew that she had to be discreet about Anne, but there is compelling evidence that her mother exerted a profound influence on her character, beliefs and reign. Even during Henry’s lifetime, Elizabeth dared to express her sympathy for her late mother by secretly wearing Anne’s famous ‘A’ pendant when she sat for a painting with her father and siblings. Piecing together evidence from original documents and artefacts, this book tells the story of Anne Boleyn’s relationship with, and influence over her daughter Elizabeth. In so doing, it sheds new light on two of the most famous and influential women in history.”– From publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/5297406?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPUFubmUlMkJCb2xleW4lMkIlMjUyNmFtcCUyNTNCJTJCRWxpemFiZXRoJTJCSQ

The situation room: the inside story of presidents in crisis DB121216

Authors: Stephanopoulos, George, Dickey, Lisa

Reading Time: 10 hours, 10 minutes

Read by: Peter Ganim, George Stephanopoulos, Elisabeth Rodgers

Subjects: U.S. History, Government and Politics

“George Stephanopoulos, former senior advisor to President Clinton and for more than 20 years host of This Week and Good Morning America, recounts never-before-told crises that decided the course of history, from the place 12 presidents made their highest-pressure decisions: the White House Situation Room. No room better defines American power and its role in the world than the White House Situation Room. And yet, none is more shrouded in secrecy and mystery. Created under President Kennedy, the Sit Room has been the epicenter of crisis management for presidents for more than six decades. Time and again, the decisions made within the Sit Room complex affect the lives of every person on this planet. Detailing close calls made and disasters narrowly averted, THE SITUATION ROOM will take readers through dramatic turning points in a dozen presidential administrations, including: –Incredible minute-by-minute transcripts from the Sit Room after both Presidents Kennedy and Reagan were shot –The shocking moment when Henry Kissinger raised the military alert level to DEFCON III while President Nixon was drunk in the White House residence –The extraordinary scene when President Carter asked for help from secret government psychics to rescue American hostages in Iran –A vivid retelling of the harrowing hours during the 9/11 attack –New details from Obama administration officials leading up to the raid on Osama Bin Laden –And a first-ever account of January 6th from the staff inside the Sit Room. THE SITUATION ROOM is the definitive, past-the-security-clearance look at the room where it happened, and the people–the famous and those you’ve never heard of–who have made history within its walls”– Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

New York : Hachette Audio, 2024.

This book can be found at Bookshare at the following link:

https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/6017442?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPVRoZSUyQnNpdHVhdGlvbiUyQnJvb20

David Faucheux will be leading a historical fiction discussion as he does three times a year of Ella: a novel DB123445 by Diane Richards. Below is a book review submitted by David of this novel followed by its NLS annotation, Bookshare link, and Zoom invitation.

First the NLS annotation:

I have always found biographical novels of interest because they somehow — and in a way that nonfiction simply cannot – manage to bring characters to life and make us care. Sometimes, after taking one of these historic novels in, I look for a nonfiction biography to add depth or another perspective.

Reviewer’s Note: See the short bibliography at the conclusion of this review.

I found this novel about Ella Fitzgerald’s early life interesting if a bit upsetting. The novel opens on July 18, 1948, with her about to appear on The very new Ed Sullivan Show. But then we are taken back to January of 1932 when Ella is told by her mother that she will have to help out in the laundry where the mother works. Ella, needless to say, is not amused. She loves to dance and has been practicing with her neighbor; they live in Yonkers and Ella lives for dance contests especially because participants who do well can earn money prizes.

In any event, the mother unexpectedly dies at work, her white boyfriend becomes abusive to Ella who goes to live with her aunt in Harlem where she takes up with a criminal element and becomes a Numbers Runner in order to bring in much-needed income as the money is very good in the numbers racket. Her mentor is killed when the white mob decides that they want to muscle in on the lucrative numbers game. In typical mob fashion, people start dying as bullets start flying.

Because Ella has been missing so much school at the excellent institution where her aunt has enrolled her, she is picked up by the truant officer. With the help of several police officers who have accompanied the truant officer, Ella is taken to jail. She then is sent to an upstate reformatory where she is badly treated as are other “colored” girls who are told “to know your place.” They are not taught typical high school subjects such as English as are the white girls but rather made to work in the reformatory garden. They learn from other imprisoned girls about the sexual predations of several low-life white, male workers at the reformatory. Ella herself is locked up in solitary for over a week.

She manages to escape after a year when several of the girls, both white and African-American, are chosen to sing Christmas carols at the nearby town. With the help of several women hiding in the train yard, she hops a train to New York City and lives on the streets of Harlem where she dances with street kids for coins.

Due to a lucky break (she draws the shortest straw), She is chosen for a coveted spot to participate in an early Amateur Night at the famed Apollo where the audience is known for its ruthless critique; if they like you — they love you. Otherwise, they scream and boo and you are swept off the stage by a broom-wielding tap dancing someone called The Executioner.

Ella was supposed to dance but as she was put on first during Amateur Night, she would follow the conclusion of the professional show which consisted of two superb twin sister dancers clad in vivid yellow dresses spangled with sequins, even to their sparkly dance shoes. Ella manages to convince the emcee to let her sing which she does. The audience falls in love.

Then, suddenly, we are back with Ed Sullivan and she goes on and sings. How Ella gets from the stage at the Apollo in November of 1934 to Sullivan’s world in 1948 is anyone’s guess as the novel does not explain.

All in all, an excellent intro to Ella Fitzgerald with some interesting singing by narrator Alexandra Grey who herself has an interesting story to tell. Meet Alexandra Grey, the 2016 Breakout Star of … – ScreenCrush

For further interest:

And on BARD

She persisted: Ella Fitzgerald DB115988

Becoming Ella Fitzgerald: the jazz singer who transformed American song DB118643

Dangerous rhythms: jazz and the underworld DB109819

And I would encourage anyone interested in either Ella Fitzgerald or Marilyn Monroe to keep checking on BARD as I’m sure the novel Can’t We Be Friends by Denny Bryce and Eliza Knight that came out earlier this year should appear there at some point. A search indicated at this time the book is not in progress, but I think it will eventually make it. I reviewed it for Library Journal and enjoyed it. There are certainly enough books, fiction and nonfiction, about Marilyn. Enjoy

“When fifteen-year-old Ella Fitzgerald’s mother dies at the height of the Depression in 1932, the teenager goes to work for the mob to support herself and her family. When the law finally catches up, the “ungovernable” adolescent is incarcerated in the New York Training School for Girls in upstate New York–a wicked prison infamous for its harsh treatment of inmates, especially Black ones. Determined to be free, Ella escapes and makes her way back to Harlem, where she is forced to dance for pennies on the street. Looking for a break into show business, Ella draws straws to appear at the Apollo Theater’s Amateur Night on November 21, 1934. Rather than perform a dance routine directly after “The World Famous Edwards Sisters” number, the homeless Ella, wearing men’s galoshes a size too big, risks everything when she decides to sing Judy instead. Four years later, at barely twenty-one, Ella Fitzgerald has become the bestselling female vocalist in America.”– From publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

New York : HarperAudio, [2024]

https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/6016879?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZsaWJyYXJ5VG9TZWFyY2g9Ym9va3NoYXJlJmF1dGhvckZpbHRlcj1EaWFuZSUyQlJpY2hhcmRzJmF1dGhvcj1EaWFuZSUyQlJpY2hhcmRzJnNvcnRPcmRlcj1SRUxFVkFOQ0U

We will be discussing the book Master slave husband wife: an epic journey from slavery to freedom DB112758 by Ilyon Woo.

“The remarkable true story of Ellen and William Craft, who escaped slavery through daring, determination, and disguise, with Ellen passing as a wealthy, disabled White man and William posing as “his” slave. In 1848, a year of international democratic revolt, a young, enslaved couple, Ellen and William Craft, achieved one of the boldest feats of self-emancipation in American history. Posing as master and slave, while sustained by their love as husband and wife, they made their escape together across more than 1,000 miles, riding out in the open on steamboats, carriages, and trains that took them from bondage in Georgia to the free states of the North. Along the way, they dodged slave traders, military officers, and even friends of their enslavers, who might have revealed their true identities. The tale of their adventure soon made them celebrities, and generated headlines around the country. Americans could not get enough of this charismatic young couple, who traveled another 1,000 miles criss-crossing New England, drawing thunderous applause as they spoke alongside some of the greatest abolitionist luminaries of the day—among them Frederick Douglass and William Wells Brown. But even then, they were not out of danger. With the passage of an infamous new Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, all Americans became accountable for returning refugees like the Crafts to slavery. Then yet another adventure began, as slave hunters came up from Georgia, forcing the Crafts to flee once again—this time from the United States, their lives and thousands more on the line and the stakes never higher. With three epic journeys compressed into one monumental bid for freedom, Master Slave Husband Wife is an American love story—one that would challenge the nation’s core precepts of life, liberty, and justice for all—one that challenges us even now.” — Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller.

Jana Littrell has generously volunteered some of her new retirement time to leading and programming this group’s discussion, congratulations Jana ! Her first book is Walls: A History Of Civilization In Blood And Brick, DB 92383, by David Frye. Approximately 10 hours in reading time.

A historian discusses the role of man-made edifices and barriers throughout history. Explores the importance of walls in ancient civilizations, a thousand-mile-long wall in Asia, sieges of fortified cities, political conflicts centered upon walls, gated communities, and more. 2018.