Kentucky Books

I enjoyed it immensely. Beautiful cover picture on this, nice sized text, elaborate notes, full bibliography and index. All in all, a great read, thoroughly researched.

One place that the author should have researched is in the court records in the Archives in Frankfort. Sehlinger mentions Preston's participation in protecting minorities during the Bloody Monday riots, but he makes no mention of Preston's being cornered by a mob, of him pulling a gun and looking around as if wondering which thug to shoot first and saying, "Have I no friends here?"

"Yes, you have," said a voice from behind him, and Joshua Speed, Abraham Lincoln's great friend, came forward with a pistol. Together they faced down the mob, but Preston was afterwards arrested and tried for having an illegal firearm at the polls. The account of this trial, too, is interesting.

Also there were other court cases and duels, fights, etc., which Preston participated in which are not mentioned in the biography. His testimony, and his everyday record as a lawyer, can be had by going through these Circuit and Criminal court cases, and would have made an interesting facet of the man's biography.

But the author uncovered much that I have not seen in print elsewhere, and he has organized and written it up here in a professional way. Highly recommended.

The States and the Nation Series is a collection of Bicentennial Histories, each about 200 pages, about the fifty states and the District of Columbia. Each author has written about his home state. I have long been a fan of this series. I think that "Kentucky: a Bicentennial History" is the twenty-third of this series that I have read and it is one of the best.

Author Steven A. Channing has the benefit of having a state with a history both interesting in itself and of significance to the nation. Channing does an excellent job of weaving Kentucky's story into that of the nation without straying from his subject. He starts with the early migration to this first of the Western states and tells how it gradually came to see itself as different from Virginia and why. He writes of Daniel Boone and the vulnerability of Kentucky to raiding from Britain's Indian allies during the Revolution. I have often heard of treasonous schemes to separate the west from the U.S., but this book tells why the plans made sense. To an economy dependent on Ohio and Mississippi River transportation for the movement of its produce, a relationship with the Spanish rulers of New Orleans seemed much more advantageous than a federal union with states on the other side of the mountain which looked more across the Atlantic than across the Appalachians. The mention that Congress toyed with the idea of trading navigation rights on the Mississippi (of crucial importance to Kentucky) for a commercial treaty with Spain (of benefit to the eastern seaboard only) makes Kentucky's uncertainty about its place in the U.S. very understandable and illustrates the early fragility of our Union.

Firmly incorporated into the Union, Kentucky became a crossroads of thought and sentiment. With a large slave population and a largely small farm economy, Kentucky was to sit astride the widening chasm between North and South. The necessity to see both sides may have played a role in the rise of the Great Compromiser, Henry Clay.

As Kentucky, along with the rest of the nation, drifted toward Civil War, the divisions between North and South were reflected in the divisions within Kentucky itself. Torn between its broad employment of the "peculiar institution" and its small farm and growing urban economy, Kentucky sent soldiers to fight for both of its native sons, Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis. Channing does an excellent job of showing why Kentucky, more than any of the other Border States, was crucial to the outcome of the war. With its large population and long Ohio River coastline, it had the potential to carry victory to whichever side it chose. Initially declaring neutrality, like most European countries at the start of World War II, Kentucky's strategic importance made its invasion, by both sides, inevitable.

After the Civil War, Kentucky's importance seems to the nation seems to decline so Channing focuses largely on the story of Kentucky's own governance. He explains why the post-bellum glorification of the Lost Cause played so well in a state in which the majority support had been Unionist. He shows the rise and fall of the political parties, the role Kentucky played in the Populist movement and how the different interest and economic groups competed for control of the Commonwealth. This story carries on to the Bicentennial Era.

I recommend this book to anyone looking for an introduction to the history of Kentucky. For any other state, look for its book in the States and the Nation Series.

Parenting can be so frustrating ... especially when your kids seem bored and are begging for creative ideas on something fun to do. Most of the time you end up at the local playground or amusement center for lack of better ideas.

"Entertaining children shouldn't be so hard. We wanted to make having fun family time easy. So, we researched and wrote this book" say parents/authors George and Michele Zavatsky. After 1000 hours of research and publishing, the result is their book, KIDS LOVE KENTUCKY. This book is part of a regional best-selling series including other titles for Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

KIDS LOVE KENTUCKY has kid-tested descriptions including great hints on what kids like best. This guide contains almost 200 pages packed full of 500 some places and events specifically designed for children between the ages of 2 - 15.

Kids can discover places from Boone to Burgoo, from Caves to Corvettes, and from Lincoln to Lands of Horses. It'll tell you how Appalacian and Pioneer folks live(d) and even how to pow-wow with Native Americans. You'll know where to go to stand side-by-side a Braille printer (and even get to try your hand at it), steer a boat, blow the whistle of a train, or learn the secrets of yummy chocolates.

Another weekend you'll have all the travel details you need to go behind the scenes of car assembly or learn the secrets to perfect pottery and woven linens (Secret: it takes loads of practice!). Of course, there's plenty of details on nationally known sites like skipping stones in creeks near Abe Lincoln's Boyhood Homes or purchasing a raccoon "Boone" cap and pretending to provide for your family while trying to keep peace with the Natives. There's lots of kid-friendly info on famous caves (even one you take a boat ride through!), singing a tune at My Old Kentucky Home and gazing at beautiful horses.

Getting back to nature is easy when you stay overnight in a wigwam, get inches away from a real shark, pet wallabies and kangaroos, see a prehistoric alligator turtle, hear the roar of humungous cascading falls, stroll through a bird paradise, or walk across a Natural Bridge.

If you're hungry, KIDS LOVE KENTUCKY knows where to dine on "hot browns", be a candy taste-tester, watch soft drinks mixed and bottled, and tell you how to eat your way through apple, barbecue, chicken, pumpkin, and sorghum festivals. Unusual theme restaurants include a log cabin, a real stagecoach stop or a riverboat.

The book is formatted in 6 geographical zones providing addresses, websites, telephone numbers, directions, admissions and descriptions to save you lots of time. It's a wonderful resource to make short vacation plans or to get to know your hometown area better. You will probably find there are at least 50 things to do within an hour of your home! Best of all, if you have a limited budget, the book has found lots of places to visit for little or no charge and a bonus chapter of inexpensive seasonal and special events.

In the 1730s there erupted a brief but significant war between the continental powers of Europe, including Russia but excluding England. The issue: the vacancy of the Polish (elective) throne and France's consequent determination to reinstall, as king, a French-sympathizing candidate, Stanislaus Leszczynski, who had previously been deposed by the House of Saxony. When the Russians and Austrians resisted the plan - favoring another Saxon, Augustus III - war was inevitable; thus began the brief series of campaigns in Poland, Italy and the Rhineland that were known as the War of the Polish Succession. The main thing about the war, historically, is that it provided the swansong for two of the leading military figures of the War of Spanish Succession, Prince Eugen and the Duke of Berwick (the latter of whom was decapitated by a shell at the siege of Philipsburg), and that it proved an entree for two of the leading figures of the next two wars, Maurice of Saxony and Frederick the Great (the latter of whom was ushered around the Phlilipsburg defense works as a teenage observer). Sutton's work deals comprehensively with the military and political machinations behind the conflict; it provides particularly valuable insights into the French system during the early adulthood of Louis XIII.

Take it from a UK fanatic - this book gives you the inside scoop from players, coaches, and others close to the program. He obviously loves his subject, and it comes through in his writing. His other books are really good as well - we have all of them.

Hearn was one of the great early amateur ethnographers, and this is a revealing collection of his work, though incomplete.

The biographical introduction is excellent.

This book is a must own for anyone with ties to this area of the country.

It is full of photographs of the towns before Fort Knox and the people who lived there. The photographs are amazing. Not just places, but people too. It's a great way to learn more about the Ft. Knox area, or to refamiliarize yourself with it.

I have backpacked the north south trail twice. Spent several days on the lake fishing and skiing. This handbook is the best book anywhere I have looked for mileage, campsites and boat ramps. I would like better maps than what it has. Mileage of trails are right on!

This is another fine book about the world of crim and the language it uses. Maurer did extensive interviews and research in the 1920's and 30's, for all of his books. A professor of lingistics at Univ. of Louisville, his works are fun to read and informative. This one, along with his opus, "The Big Con" (which is the basis for the Oscar winning movie "The Sting") along with "Kentucky Moonshine" and "Whiz Mob" (about pickpockets) are excellent works.

I had the good fortune to have Bob Lapham make a presentation to our oprganization before he passed away. For history buffs, this is a must read on WW II