Summer Reading Challenge Book Review 8

I have finished reading another book, and like the previous seven books posted, this book was on the reading list for my history class.

The book I read this time was Washington County: Politics and Community in Antebellum America by Paul Bourke and Donald De Bats (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995). As you probably could guess from the book's title, the book focuses on the politics and society in Washington County, Oregon before the Civil War.

(October 15, 2009: I had originally planned to post my opinion on this book, but due to the amount of time that has past, I have chosen to post this review without my thoughts.)

Summer Reading Challenge Book Review 7

Well, I have finished reading another book, and like the previous six books, the book I had to read was also on the reading list for my history class. This time, I read Reforming Men & Women: Gender in the Antebellum City by Bruce Dorsey (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 2002).

This book deals with the history of gender ideology in the reform movements in the Antebellum North. The primary focus is on how white men defined their view of manliness against women, African Americans and European immigrants.

(Note from October 10: Since I waited too long to post this book review, I have decided to omit my opinion of the book so that I can post this review.)

Summer Reading Challenge Book Review 5

I have finished reading another book, and like the previous four books I read, this book was also on my reading list for my fall history class. This time, I read A Shopkeeper's Millennium: Society and Revivals in Rochester, New York, 1815-1837 by Paul E. Johnson (New York: Hill and Wang, 2004).

As you tell from the title, the book is about the social history of the early years of Rochester, New York and the Evangelical revivals that occurred in Rochester in the early 1830s. The author explores the formation of political parties in Rochester, and examines which classes made up the parties. He also explores the Temperance and Anti-Masonic movements, and how those movements and the political parties created a climate that made the Evangelical revivals successful in Rochester.

The book is fairly short - under 200 pages - so it is a quick read. I enjoyed reading the book, and I found the information to be quite interesting. Obviously, if a genealogist has an ancestor who lived in Rochester in this time, he or she would probably find this book useful in trying to understand the society of Rochester at this time. I would recommend this book to others. I hope someone enjoys this book as I did.