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A Field Guide to America's History
Walking through the stony hills of New England, driving through the farmland of the Midwest, or strolling through a small Mission town in the West, history is all around us. . . . A Field Guide to America's History gives you all the information you'll need to make history come alive for you and your family.
- GenresHistory
320 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1984
11 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 20, 2022
This guide to the human impress on the American landscape provides a host of information for anyone conducting “a personal expedition into the everyday history of his surroundings,” information about such things as mills, nails, canals, bridges, bottles, potteries, farmhouses, and blacksmith shops. I recommend it heartily to fledgling amateur historians. The author (who's a mystery to me), though not a master of the writer’s craft, enjoys word play and includes some well-turned sentences.
The book’s chief weakness is something for which Brownstone cannot be held liable: it’s forty years old. Four decades later, we would not encourage neophytes to begin a local history investigation by acquiring a cassette recorder or to make a dowsing rod from a coat hanger in search of a deserted blacksmith shop. In fact, someone with the internet at his back might redevelop the notion of this book and illustrate it with a host of helpful color diagrams and photographs.
The book’s chief weakness is something for which Brownstone cannot be held liable: it’s forty years old. Four decades later, we would not encourage neophytes to begin a local history investigation by acquiring a cassette recorder or to make a dowsing rod from a coat hanger in search of a deserted blacksmith shop. In fact, someone with the internet at his back might redevelop the notion of this book and illustrate it with a host of helpful color diagrams and photographs.
October 4, 2023
Interesting read. Reads like a travel guide, helping you recognize those forgotten, hidden places and things that were commonly found and used in days gone by.
February 17, 2021
This book provides an excellent breakdown of American towns. Each chapter is dedicated to a particular industry and the author goes into detail about why those businesses existed, where they could be found and what to look for in the modern landscape. It was an easy read and I found my self frequently thinking about all the places I had been and what the abandoned buildings I had seen may have been. Anyone who loves history would do well to read this book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews