History Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Life on the Ohio Frontier by Jacqueline Miller Bachar

A first-person account of faith, resilience, and solitude, Life on the Ohio Frontier: A Collection of Letters from Mary Lott to Deacon John Phillips 1826-1846 by Jacqueline Miller Bachar is an eye-opening historical account, and personal labor of love.

Through twenty years of heartfelt and meticulously penned letters from sister to brother, readers are offered a visceral glimpse into the challenges of survival in 19th-century America. Prefaced with a brief family history and an explanation of the project by the author, who is a direct descendant of Mary and John, this epistolic story details Mary’s everyday struggles and discoveries on […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-05-28T15:26:47+02:00May 28th, 2025|Categories: New Releases|Tags: History Book Reviews|

Review: Delaware from Freeways to E-ways by Dave Tabler

A wide-ranging and captivating review of the twentieth century in America’s first state, Delaware from Freeways to E-ways: First State, Solid-State by Dave Tabler is an accessible and entertaining piece of coffee table history, and the informative third book in the Delaware History Overview series. For a citizen of Delaware or any lover of US history, this book neatly sews Delaware’s contributions into the broader fabric of the American story.

Divided into four distinct sections – early century ambitions, the varied impacts of wartime, Delaware’s response to broader societal changes, and pioneering steps towards a digital future – this format […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2024-11-19T11:55:10+02:00November 19th, 2024|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: History Book Reviews|

JFK Assassination Aftermath by Dr. Diane Holloway Cheney

Author Diane Holloway Cheney leans on intensive research and firsthand experience in her critical work of history, JFK Assassination Aftermath: What Happened to Key Figures 1963-2024?

Beginning with a recounting of the events on the infamous afternoon in Dallas, and the reactions of political and cultural leaders in the days and weeks that followed, this book is a compressed and accessible record of this watershed moment, which sheds new light on the major players involved. Examining subsequent investigations into the assassination, the Warren Commission, the handling of sudden presidential leadership by LBJ, and reactions from dozens of people forever linked […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2024-08-12T22:08:20+02:00August 12th, 2024|Categories: New Releases|Tags: History Book Reviews|

Review: Walking with Evaristo by Christian Nill

Passionate and personal confessions from a justice-driven storyteller, Walking With Evaristo: A Memoir of Celebration and Tragedy in the Land of the Achí Maya by Christian Nill is a captivating account of a nearly forgotten calamity.

After embarking on a journey to Guatemala for extended service in the Peace Corps, the author is exposed to the eye-opening wonders of a culture far removed from anything he’s ever experienced, yet he soon finds connection through shared values, curiosity, and basic human kindness. While working on various infrastructural and ecological projects in the municipio of Rabinal, he engages with the local Mayan […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2024-06-13T17:41:40+02:00May 10th, 2024|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: History Book Reviews, Memoir Book Reviews|

Review: Little Boy, I Know Your Name by Mitchell Raff

Gripping autobiographical reflections from a child of Holocaust survivors, Little Boy, I Know Your Name by Mitchell Raff is a visceral, heartrending, and timely work of history and memoir.

Growing up in a non-traditional Jewish family permanently scarred by concentration camps and gulags, young Mitchell also had to navigate split custody with his unpredictably violent mother, acting as guardian to his half-sister while having to endure familial abuse. When he is uprooted and moved to Israel, he doesn’t escape his mistreatment, which is compounded by a life of isolation and uncertainty about the future, without his beloved family members there […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2024-01-08T19:10:17+02:00January 8th, 2024|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: History Book Reviews, Memoir Book Reviews|

Across the Kentucky Color Line by Lee Durham Stone

Exploring racial dynamics in the context of Kentucky’s complex history, Across the Kentucky Color Line: Cultural Landscapes of Race from the Lost Cause to Integration by Lee Durham Stone is a brilliant work of sociological study.

From the color-blind struggle of miners and the gruesome history of public hangings to manifested visions of emancipation and the generations of psychic damage enacted on people of color in America, this is a relentless account of prejudice, trauma, and resilience at the dark heart of the American Dream. Interrogating the whitewashed legacy of an oppressed people through the lens of personal anecdotes, historical […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2023-11-21T14:09:14+02:00November 21st, 2023|Categories: New Releases|Tags: History Book Reviews, Social Science Book Reviews|

Review: Delaware From Railways to Freeways by Dave Tabler

A photographic and curiosity-inspiring tour through the “First State” during the bustling 19^th century, Delaware From Railways to Freeways: First State, Second Phase by Dave Tabler is the second installment of his eye-opening series about an oft-overlooked state.

Like Tabler’s first book in this deep-dive state trilogy, each turn of the page reveals stunning images and well-penned anecdotes lined with historical intrigue, surprising revelations, and carefully chosen details that many tourist guides would lack. The 19^th century was marked across much of America by massive developments in industry, social progress, and bitter conflicts, and the history of Delaware […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2023-08-22T13:54:14+02:00August 21st, 2023|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: History Book Reviews, Photography Book Reviews|

Review: The Great Flip by Donald J. Fraser

Excavating an often overlooked but massively significant change in American political consciousness, The Great Flip by Donald J. Fraser is a brilliant examination of how the United States became so divided. The timeless dialectic of minimal government and individual capability vs. big government and collective responsibility is the foundation of American partisanship, and the crux of this meticulously crafted text.

The modern political landscape has turned into a battleground over the intended ideals of the founders 250 years ago, and this book brings readers back into the conversations, conflicts, and watershed moments that are still being referenced as precedent today. […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2023-10-06T12:45:50+02:00August 14th, 2023|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: History Book Reviews, Politics Book Reviews|