Friday Reads

It's Friday (hooray!), and if you're looking for a good read to tackle this weekend, here's what a few of our staff members are reading right now. (Can you tell we're all history nerds?)

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If you want: Texas and Fort Bend County History

Old 300: Gone to Texas
By Paul N. Spellman

"This is an encyclopedic account of the Old 300 families themselves that looks at the story of Austin's famous colony from the inside out. If you ever wanted to know just how diverse and intricate the stories of these settlers were, this is a book worth reading. The level of detail is pretty incredible, but you'll finish this book with a deeper knowledge of the challenges of settling Texas than ever seemed possible from the general narrative that is so often told today."

-- Merritt Peele, Outreach Coordinator

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If you want: Oregon Trail History/Travel Memoir

The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey
By Rinker Buck

"It's the true story about a guy and his brother who recently spent a summer traveling the Oregon Trail in a covered wagon. His style is an engaging mix of history and travelogue, with a little bit of comic relief thrown in on the side. He doesn’t try to be historically accurate in his journey – especially because parts of the Oregon Trail are Interstate highways today – but his stories about his mules and adventures along the way make for a fun read."

-- Jennifer Farrell, Director of Marketing

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If you want: American/Founding Father History

John Adams
By David McCullough

"One of my favorite history reads is John Adams by David McCullough. I enjoyed the historical background on a Founding Father that I didn't know much about...and who doesn't get as much fame maybe as Washington, Jefferson and Franklin. I'm not sure that you can go wrong with anything written by McCullough. He is a great writer and a better historian."

-- Chris Godbold, Curator of Collections

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If you want: American Social History

American Home Life: 1880-1930
A Social History of Spaces and Services
Edited by Jessica H. Foy and Thomas J. Schlereth

"The book is a collection of essays on how American domestic life and family behaviors underwent remarkable change during the late-Victorian and early 20th-century periods. Fascinating on its own, the book also will help our tours of the historic Moore Home and provide deeper insight into daily life of the Moore family in the early Twentieth Century."

-- Jessica Avery, Education Coordinator