Cannonball Read 15

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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I know him, that can’t be

John Adams by David McCullough

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One of my first favorite books was Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes. It won the Newberry Medal in 1944 and I must have read a dozen times starting in fourth or fifth grade. Since then, I have loved revolutionary America. Naturally then, I’ve wanted to read this book for quite some time. I read 1776, also by David McCullough, while in college and found myself interested in this book.  As a history major, I didn’t specialize in any specific era but colonial America would have […]

It was fine!

You Never Forget Your First by Alexis Coe

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The title is fun! The cover is cheeky! The opening quote from Brad Neely’s beloved “Washington” video was greatly appreciated! It seemed like we were off to the races, but then… … … it got awkward. I listened to this as an audio book. The performance was fine, but the layout of the opening was just a mess. It probably worked better on paper, but the book started with ten minutes of list-reading. Then a prologue. Then an introduction. Then more list reading. I found […]

My annoyance with Jefferson continues

Founding Gardners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation by Andrea Wulf

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What can the founding fathers’ gardens tell you about them and early America? According to Andrea Wulf everything! Taking what could be a dry topic, Wulf digs into the botanical side of history to show how the farms and gardens of each of the founding fathers were microcosms of how they wished to shape America. Washington, the reluctant general and post-war president, focuses on popularizing native species and developing a distinctly American farm. Jefferson loves the theory of planning an elaborate plantation but struggles with […]

The ten-dollar Founding Father without a father

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My first CBR 10 Bingo entry: Not my wheelhouse! I don’t read much history and I don’t read many biographies; an historical biography might be an actual first for me. I confess, I was swept away by the Hamilton Mania triggered by Lin-Manual Miranda’s fabulous musical about the founding father who grew up an orphan, immigrated to America, fought in the American Revolution, started the First Bank of the United States, and died as a result of a gunshot wound administered by Aaron Burr. Let’s […]

Decent Historical Fiction Novel Bogged Down by a Horrible Narrator

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This one is a bit frustrating because there were certainly things I liked about this novel, other things where I liked the concept more than the execution, and then the parts that just made this a difficult read to get through – which actually is rather closely related to the concept that could have worked with a slightly different execution. Having finally been swept up in the Hamilton craze, the Hamilton bio still feels rather daunting so I decided to start with this historical fiction […]



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