Ok- The book that got me started down this professional historian road is
Harold Keith's "Rifles for Watie"- ( Winner, 1958 Newbery Medal- Notable
Children's Books of 1957 (ALA)-
1964 Lewis Carroll Shelf Award) this is a
young adult book set in the Civil War- but like others mentioned it's one I
re-read often- it is the book that finally drove home to me that history was
made up of people with connections and emotions and not just dates and events-
parts of it are definately of the period it was written, but all in all, a good
read
And don't forget "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare-
the Amazon review reads in part "A thoroughly exciting and rewarding Newbery
Medal winner and ALA Notable Children's Book, Elizabeth George Speare's The
Witch of Blackbird Pond brings this frightening period of witch hysteria to
life." - I first read this book in junior high and am on my third copy
because it gets re-read and lent out so often- a small book and a quick read,
but would go well as a compare/contrast to another book dealing with the witch
hunt phenom
And... The number one selling book in our museum store is "Soiled Doves:
Prostitutes in the Early West" by Ann Seagraves- accurate and factual while
being well written and a good read
For a different look at the old west Glenda Riley and Richard W. Etulain
have a series of books out including one on the Hollywood west and the people
who shaped it
have fun-
Nikkie
Nikkie Cooper, Curator
Fort Morgan Museum