New Books for Christmas!

Wow! Have I really neglected the blog for almost two weeks? Things have been busy, but really.....

So, no one actually bought me books for Christmas (which is probably a good thing), but I did get a couple of gift cards from Barnes & Noble. Thanks to a 30% employee discount courtesy of a friend of mine, I was able to stretch my money and parlay the gift card funds into three books. First, I got Francis Parkman's classic history of the French and Indian War, Montcalm and Wolfe. The other two books I picked up were both new titles (or fairly new anyway); Jay Winik's The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World, 1788-1800, and Robert W. Merry's A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, the Mexican War, and the Conquest of the American Continent.

In looking back over all my book purchases and acquisitions in 2009, I have noticed a trend. My library has been greatly expanded in the area of US history from 1781 to 1850. While Civil War books are always in the mix, my recent acquisitions have focused on the New Republic, Jacksonian America, and the Mexican War. Upon further reflection, it seems that in 2008 my collection grew in the areas of colonial/F&I/American Revolution. While I am still acquiring books that deal with those earlier time periods, this year's focus seems to have shifted forward, and thus has served to start bridging the gap between the earlier time periods and the Civil War.

My American history library is becoming more complete. Once my new office is finished and I can unpack all of it, you are welcome to come visit!