The Return of Lafayette
June 21, 2025
Marian Klamkin, The Return of Lafayette, 1824-1825, (New York, 1975). Earlier this year I visited historic Halifax and there is an historical marker there about his stay there, so I read this book about his tour.
The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence
June 21, 2025
William Henry Hoyt, The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. A Study of Evidence Showing that the Alleged Early Declaration of Independence by Mecklenburg County , North Carolina, on May 20th, 1775 is Spurious, (New York, 1907). This book studies the evidence that the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence was an actual document declaring independence from England. The original was lost by fire and reconstructed years later from memory. Some old newpapers from that time do show a similar resolution but the date is off by 11 days and it does not call for independence but just a suspension of British rule.
Napoleons's Buttons
June 28, 2025
Peny Le Couteur and Jay Burreson, Napoleon's Buttons - 17 Molecuiles That Changed History, (New York, 2004). As the title suggests there are 17 chapters each about a molecule that produced important products.
Conquerors
June 28, 2025
Roger Crowley, Conquerors, How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire, (New York, 2015). History book about how Portugal discovered the sea route to the Indian Ocean and the early years of conquest of India.