Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Have You Read....?

My reading material is generally mystery or suspense books, but occasionally I choose something that would be called "genealogy-related," either in the history or geography field. In the past few months I have read three books in that category.


The Fourth Part of the World by Toby Lester is a story of the Waldseemüller map produced in 1507 and the explorers whose discoveries led to its creation. The title refers to the fact that mapmakers of the time were aware of Europe, Asia and Africa and the unknown "fourth part" beyond the ocean. I read the book over several weeks and was surprised how much I enjoyed it. There are reproductions of many maps of the time showing the changes made after new discoveries.


I just finished Dead Wake by Erik Larson. He writes the story of the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915 from the perspective of the ship itself and the U-boat that is involved. It works as a history of that time period and was fascinating reading.
 

I have also been working my way through How the States Got Their Shapes by Mark Stein. The History Channel used this book as the basis for a series of the same name, and we happened to see one or two of those programs. It is of genealogical interest depending on when your ancestors might have been in a certain location.  

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