Welcome to Litsy!

Lyrical and evocative, with a compelling range of voices, this slim but mighty novel explores 17th century colonial America before slavery was identified by race, and before a nation and its psyche developed the concepts of racial superiority and inferiority. An incredible reading experience.

#blackhistory #americanhistory #bookish #fiction #tonimorrison #classics

This book tells the story of how white Americans drove the buffalo to the brink of extinction then a few individuals helped save enough animals to allow the species to survive. It‘s well done with interviews from many sources, including Native voices. It has many illustrations, which I appreciated. Apparently there‘s an associated documentary if you want to check that out.

A well done, investigative reporting in Appalachia of a community before and after a white nationalist march in Pikeville, KY. Interviews with residents give shape to the frustrations of loss, shame, and poverty though they work hard yet can‘t get ahead. It‘s a great book, but it didn‘t make me feel better.

For the last 7 years I‘ve read a biography based off a list The Washington Post published of the best bios for each president. I was eager to read about Jackson who is almost mythic in American history, &I was interested to see the presumed strengths of his presidency weighed against the weaknesses of his character.This book, unfortunately, didn‘t deliver that.Really disappointed in this rose-colored-glasses view of a man who didn‘t deserve them.

An incredible book that explains the threat posed by political extremism especially from the far right on liberal democracies.
In the age of information, social media is fomenting and radicalizing lone wolf domestic terrorists easier than generations ago. This book eloquently lays out the threat from groups spawned by extremist ideologies and how nations can battle against them.

Next up for reading. At around 870 pages, it's likely going to take a while to get through.
#civilwar

Good, busy weekend, but started getting a scratchy throat yesterday. And this today. It's going to be a long week (and the next 208 weeks as well)...

Absolutely essential writings of our nation's founding. Poetry, memoir, letters, reportage - it's all here from the triumphal to the horrific realities of Black life in early America. I took my time with this one dipping in and out over the last year. Baskerville has built a solid collection.

This is actually my first experience with a Library of America title (imma Penguin Classic girlie) and I was genuinely surprised to see it as an ARC.

#FirstLineFridays

“Samuel Adams delivered what may count as the most remarkable second act in American life.”

Schweikart bases his arguments on the assumption that pre-college students are actually interested in history and that they have enough grasp of language to process implicit bias.

More than half the “lies” are the most random things that were marginally, if ever, in any textbooks I had.

What I appreciate about this book is the window it has given me to fallacious conservative arguments.

Bro should chill on the exclamation points!!