Welcome to Litsy!

This book is a collection of Lepore‘s essays from the last 10 years, mostly previously published in The New Yorker (so, with a liberal lean, which works just fine for me). I thought it was terrific. My only regret is that I would have liked to linger over it a bit, but the library due date pushed me to get through it faster.

Book #28 of the year: “A History of Women in America” by Carol Hymowitz and Michaele Weissman

This is an older one, published in 1977, so it‘s missing a few decades. Having been published in the 70s, by Jewish women, about women, it‘s fantastically researched and studded with primary sources. There are undoubtedly more updated versions but the topic is one worth reading more about.

I feel generally disappointed with American public school history curriculum. I do not remember studying the French and Indian War (aka The Seven Years War in Europe) in any significant way. But this short history shows how the changing alliances and enormous expenses of this conflict formed the foundation for American independence. The pic depicts the amphibious Battle of Quebec.

Meet Lady the forever pardoned turkey. All my birds remember last year and are hiding. Lady is never hiding, so I was surprised to see her in the chickens coop. (My birds are free range) 😅🫣 Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates! 🦃🍽

It was intrinsically absurd...until Donald Trump.

1. My elder kiddo is coming home from college for the first time since we dropped them off in August! I'm SO excited! (And we're getting COVID boosters tomorrow, cooking a low-key dinner Thursday, then Christmas decorations on Friday.)
2. The tagged really influenced how I see Thanksgiving and the way that history shifts into legend, particularly as it serves the interests of the dominant culture. (Sorry... buzz kill.)
@TheSpineView #Two4Tuesday

This is an excellent, well-written, heavily researched, non-partisan account of the creation of the AR-15 and its impact on American society. It is also harrowing in its depiction of the use of the military version, the M16, in Vietnam, and the AR-15's role in increasingly frequent mass shootings. This book offers no easy answers but it does give necessary context for a uniquely American tragedy that we seem unwilling or unable to end.

This book takes the US history we were all taught and shows the role the Native people who were always there played, rather than allowing their continued erasure. It‘s dense but really well done. I learned a lot, got pissed off a few times, and am really glad I read this.

NBA short list, nonfiction

I read this last month. It‘s excellent!! The author examines 3 racist crimes in 3 disparate American cities. He goes in depth into the ideological framework of European invaders/conquerors and how this influenced lasting prejudices in our culture. A must-read!!!