Sub-title: and the volcano that darkened the world and changed history
This was written by a history professor and his son, a meteorologist. The story was told in the first 25 pages and dragged on for over another 200. It explains the effect that the volcanic eruption of Tambora Mountainin in Indonesia had on weather across the U.S. Eastern states and Europe for the next two years. It gets bogged down in reciting first person accounts and minute details. The areas experienced massive crop failures which contributed to civil unrest and population shifts. A good reference for those interested in 1816 to 1818 history and a glimpse of the potential impact of any future severe weather disturbances.
Published: 2013 Read: October 2016 Genre: history
Showing posts with label 1800's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1800's. Show all posts
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Saturday, April 9, 2016
At the Edge of the Orchard - Tracy Chevalier
This was a book my step-daughter got me for Easter, by the author of The Girl with the Pearl Earring, which I read many years ago. It's the story of a family in the 1800's that moves from Connecticut to Ohio to create a homestead and grow apples. The first half of the story tells of their struggles in Ohio and the second half is the life of their son who heads west for a better life.
I found the book painful to read because the mother, Sadie, is a mean-spirited, broken woman who abuses applejack and takes out her unhappiness on her children and husband. He's completely absorbed in raising the apple trees and blandly overlooks her nastiness as long as the orchard thrives. Johnny Appleseed is an occasional visitor to the family, feeding Sadie's need for hard cider.
The story shifts abruptly to their son, Robert, who strikes out as a teen for the west. He quickly wanders across America, ending up in California during the gold rush. He hooks up with a botanist in the Calaveras big trees area, collecting seeds of the giant trees to be exported to England, all the time keeping a secret of his family's past. We visited this park back in 2008 and I liked the backstory this book provided on its use in the 1800's.
There's a lot of research here on the life of pioneer settlers but with unlikeable characters, the story is hard to enjoy.
Published: 2016 Read: April 2016 Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 978 0 525 95300 5
I found the book painful to read because the mother, Sadie, is a mean-spirited, broken woman who abuses applejack and takes out her unhappiness on her children and husband. He's completely absorbed in raising the apple trees and blandly overlooks her nastiness as long as the orchard thrives. Johnny Appleseed is an occasional visitor to the family, feeding Sadie's need for hard cider.
The story shifts abruptly to their son, Robert, who strikes out as a teen for the west. He quickly wanders across America, ending up in California during the gold rush. He hooks up with a botanist in the Calaveras big trees area, collecting seeds of the giant trees to be exported to England, all the time keeping a secret of his family's past. We visited this park back in 2008 and I liked the backstory this book provided on its use in the 1800's.
There's a lot of research here on the life of pioneer settlers but with unlikeable characters, the story is hard to enjoy.
Published: 2016 Read: April 2016 Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 978 0 525 95300 5
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