The American History Shelf

The New Civil Rights Movement Reader
Traci Parker, editor
Marcia Walker-McWilliams, editor
University of Massachusetts Press
https://www.umasspress.com
9781625346896, $36.95, PB, 600pp

https://www.amazon.com/New-Civil-Rights-Movement-Reader/dp/1625346891

Synopsis: In the United States, the fight to secure full civil rights for A= frican American people has endured for centuries. The movement has included=
many voices, among them, working people, charismatic activists, musicians = and artists, the LGBTQIA community, veterans, suburbanites, and elected off= icials.

Moving from the labor struggles of the 1930s to the sit-ins and boycotts of=
midcentury, and the Black Lives Matter protests of today, "The New Civil R= ights Movement Reader: Resistance, Resilience, and Justice" is an expansive=
volume that brings together first-person accounts, political documents and=
speeches, and historical photographs from each region of the country.

Designed for use in college and university courses and also engaging for th=
e non-specialist general reader, "The New Civil Rights Movement Reader" is = new compilation is the most diverse, most inclusive, and most comprehensive=
resource available for teaching and learning about the civil rights moveme= nt.

With chronological and geographical depth, "The New Civil Rights Movement R= eader" directly addresses a range of key topics, including youth activism, = regional and local freedom struggles, voting rights, economic inequality, g= ender, sexuality, and culture, and the movement's global

Critique: Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by academicians Traci Park=
er and Marcia Walker-McWilliams, "The New Civil Rights Movement Reader: Res= istance, Resilience, and Justice" is an impressive, high value, and unreser= vedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, a=
nd university library American History and Race Relations collections, as w= ell as supplemental African-American History curriculum studies lists. It s= hould be noted for students, academia, historian, political activists, and = non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Ne=
w Civil Rights Movement Reader: Resistance, Resilience, and Justice" is als=
o available in a digital book format (Kindle, $30.99).

Editorial Note #1: Traci Parker (https://traciparker.com) is associate prof= essor of Afro-American studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst a=
nd author of Department Stores and the Black Freedom Movement: Workers, Con= sumers, and Civil Rights from the 1930s to the 1980s.

Editorial Note #2: Marcia Walker-McWilliams ((https://www.linkedin.com/in/m= arciaphd)) is executive director of the Black Metropolis Research Consortiu=
m and author of Reverend Addie Wyatt: Faith and the Fight for Labor, Gender=
, and Racial Equality.

Settling Ohio: First Peoples and Beyond
Timothy G. Anderson, editor
Brian Schoen, editor
Ohio University Press
215 Columbus Road, Suite 101, Athens, OH 45701
www.ohioswallow.com
9780821425268, $55.00, HC, 292pp

https://www.amazon.com/Settling-Ohio-Peoples-Approaches-Midwestern/dp/08214= 25269

Synopsis: The Ohio Valley possesses some of the most resource-rich terrain =
in the world. Its settlement by humans was thus consequential not only for = shaping the geographic and cultural landscape of the region but also for fo= rming the United States and impacting the future of world history.

Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by academicians and historians Timot=
hy G. Anderson and Brian Schoen, "Settling Ohio: First Peoples and Beyond",=
begins with an overview of the first people who inhabited the region, who = built civilizations that moved massive amounts of earth and left an archaeo= logical record that drew the interest of subsequent settlers and continues =
to intrigue scholars. It highlights how, in the eighteenth century, Native = Americans who migrated from the East and North interacted with Europeans to=
develop impressive trading networks and how they navigated complicated war=
s and sought to preserve national identities in the face of violent attempt=
s to remove them from their lands.

The contributors to "Settling Ohio" situates the traditional story of Ohio = settlement, including the Northwest Ordinance, the dealings of the Ohio Com= pany of Associates, and early road building, into a far richer story of con= tested spaces, competing visions of nationhood, and complicated relations w= ith Indian peoples. By so doing, they provide valuable new insights into ho=
w chaotic and contingent early national politics and frontier development t= ruly were.

Chapters highlighting the role of apple-growing culture, education, African=
American settlers, and the diverse migration flows into Ohio from the East=
and Europe further demonstrate the complex multiethnic composition of Ohio=
's early settlements and the tensions that resulted.

A final theme of "Settling Ohio" is the desirability of working to recover = the often-forgotten history of non-White peoples displaced by the processes=
of settler colonialism that has been, until recently, undervalued in the s= cholarship.

Critique: With its twelve chapters deftly organized into three major sectio=
ns (First Nation; American Foundations; Alternate Histories), and featuring=
a sixteen page Appendix, a six page listing of the contributors and their = credentials, and a nine page Index, "Settling Ohio: First Peoples and Beyon=
d" is an impressive work of seminal scholarship and an unreservedly recomme= nded addition to personal, community, and academic library American History=
collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted = for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest=
in the subject that "Settling Ohio: First Peoples and Beyond" is also avai= lable in a paperback edition (9780821425275, $28.95) and in a digital book = format (Kindle, $15.65).

Editorial Note #1: Timothy G. Anderson (https://www.ohio.edu/cas/anderst1) =
is an historical geographer and is an Associate Professor of Geography at O= hio University.

Editorial Note #2: Brian Schoen (https://www.ohio.edu/cas/schoen) is the ch= air of the Department of History and the James Richard Hamilton/Baker & Hos= tetler Distinguished Professor of Teaching in the Humanities at Ohio Univer= sity. He is the author of The Fragile Fabric of Union: Cotton, Federal Poli= tics, and the Global Origins of the Civil War and has co-edited three other=
collections.

To the Last Extremity
Mark Maloy
Savas Beatie
PO Box 4527, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
www.savasbeatie.com
9781611216431, $16.95, PB, 192pp

https://www.amazon.com/Last-Extremity-Charleston-1776-1782-Revolutionary/dp= /1611216435

Synopsis: June 1776: Just a month before America declared its independence = from Great Britain, a British fleet of warships and thousands of British so= ldiers appeared off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. After a day-lo=
ng battle, the most powerful navy in the world was bloodily repulsed by the=
Americans.

In the spring of 1779, a British force brazenly marched from Savannah to Ch= arleston and tested the city's defenses before falling back. Finally, in th=
e spring of 1780, a large British force returned to Charleston and laid sie=
ge to the city. The result was the worst American defeat of the Revolutiona=
ry War for the Americans, which cost them the city and an entire army of ne= arly 6,000 men. The citizens and soldiers suffered more than two years of o= ccupation and imprisonment.

However, the siege of Charleston also marked the beginning of the end of th=
e war. The fall of Charleston initiated a series of events that resulted in=
the American victory at Yorktown and the successful independence of the co= lonies.

South Carolina's historic port city is one of the most beautiful and histor=
ic in the United States. Numerous sites, battlefields, and buildings from t= his period still exist. In "To the Last Extremity: The Battles for Charlest= on, 1776-1782", historian Mark Maloy not only recounts the Revolutionary Wa=
r history of Charleston, but takes you to the places where these events occ= urred.

Through it all, brave patriots were willing to defend the city and their li= berty "to the last extremity."

Critique: Armchair historians and students of the American Revolution will = enjoy "To the Last Extremity: The Battles for Charleston, 1776-1782", a tru=
e story outnumbered patriots forcing back the most powerful navy in the wor=
ld at that time -- and where soldiers of the American Revolution bravely de= fended the city in 1779 and 1780, and where thousands suffered under occupa= tion. While highly recommended for school and community library American Re= volution History collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists=
that "To the Last Extremity: The Battles for Charleston, 1776-1782" is als=
o available in a digital book format (Kindle, $8.99).

Editorial Note: Mark Maloy (https://www.battlefields.org/contributors/mark-= maloy) is an historian and currently works for the National Park Service in=
Virginia. He holds an undergraduate degree in History from the College of = William and Mary and a graduate degree in History from George Mason Univers= ity. He has worked at numerous public historic sites and archaeological dig=
s for the past fifteen years. He is also a Revolutionary War reenactor.

A Maritime History of the American Revolutionary War
Theodore Corbett
Pen & Sword Books
https://www.penandswordbooks.com
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
9781399040419, $34.95, HC, 280pp

https://www.amazon.com/Maritime-History-American-Revolutionary-Atlantic-Wid= e/dp/1399040413

Synopsis: While many books have been written on the naval history of the Re= volution, "A Maritime History of the American Revolutionary War: An Atlanti= c-Wide Conflict over Independence and Empire" by independent scholar Theodo=
re Corbett is one of the first to treat it in its entirety as an Atlantic-w= ide conflict.

While its geographical scope is vast, this seminal study features overlooke=
d aspects of the war in which sloops and barges fought, actions which prove=
d to be as decisive as the familiar ship of the line confrontations.

This is also history from the bottom up, emphasizing the role of the crew a=
s much the not always heroic officers.

From naval perspective the rebellious colonies did not gain a military vict= ory, though Benjamin Franklin was able to secure their independence at the = peace table in Europe. The final chapter of "A Maritime History of the Amer= ican Revolutionary War" is on the Royal Navy's evacuation of white and blac=
k loyalists.

Critique: A original, meticulous, detailed, documented, and fascinating his= torical study, "A Maritime History of the American Revolutionary War: An At= lantic-Wide Conflict over Independence and Empire" is informatively enhance=
d for the reader with the inclusion of a section of b/w plates, thirty-eigh=
t pages of Notes, and a four page Index. A work of throughly impressive sch= olarship that is thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentat= ion, (and also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99), "A Mari= time History of the American Revolutionary War: An Atlantic-Wide Conflict" =
is highly recommended as a core addition to personal, professional, communi= ty, college, and university library American Revolutionary History collecti= ons and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Theodore Corbett (https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Theodore-= Corbett/a/4970) is a scholar of the American Revolutionary War, an interest=
which grew during a career in teaching at several universities. He has pub= lished the award-winning No Turning Point, The Saratoga Campaign in Perspec= tive and two community studies of the war, Revolutionary New Castle and Rev= olutionary Chestertown. For this maritime history, he has done research at = the Caird Library, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, Archives Centre, Th=
e Maritime Museum of Liverpool and the New York Historical Society as a Gil= der Lehrman Fellow.

The Schlager Anthology of Hispanic America
Edited by Aaron E. Sanchez
Schlager Group Inc.
https://www.schlagergroup.com
9781935306849, $285.00 print/$260.00 ebook

https://www.schlagergroup.com/9781935306849/the-schlager-anthology-of-hispa= nic-america/

Libraries interested in acquiring a definitive reference to primary resourc=
e materials in Hispanic American history will find The Schlager Anthology o=
f Hispanic America: A Student's Guide to Essential Primary Sources an essen= tial acquisition. This book contains two volumes and chapters that move fro=
m pre-contact 1100s America to modern times, and is the sixth volume in the=
"Schlager Anthologies for Students" series.

Its focus is on exploring and exposing materials "from often-marginalized c= ommunities and voices that are frequently ignored in other anthologies and = historical accounts." Each chapter provides an introductory history before = delving into the source materials and references of overviews of primary so= urce material documents (articles, writings, websites) and their place in H= ispanic history. The abridgements of their contents and bibliographic conne= ctions allow researchers from high school to college and general-interest a= udiences to pursue more of the history on their own.

The 150 documents and accompanying commentary are accented by more than 100=
photographs and illustrations that add colorful visuals of art and vintage=
embellishment to the articles and overviews. Glossaries, chapter questions=
for student consideration, and roundups of associated documents and themes=
both enhance and enlarge the subjects profiled in this wide-reaching antho= logy of social, political, historical, and even literary works.

One might anticipate that the depth of this coverage would impart a scholar=
ly tone over a lively discourse, but one of the strengths of this collectio=
n is its surprising ability to remain informative, authoritative, yet thoro= ughly engrossing and relevant to everyday readers.

With over six hundred pages packed with essential and rare references, The = Schlager Anthology of Hispanic America: A Student's Guide to Essential Prim= ary Sources should not only be considered a foundation reference for any li= brary interested in Hispanic topics and history, but a resource for broaden= ing and expanding the subjects, nature, and focuses of Latino challenges an=
d concerns throughout American literature, history, and society.

Its essential and rare opportunities for discussions and enlightenment also=
make The Schlager Anthology of Hispanic America: A Student's Guide to Esse= ntial Primary Sources a strong recommendation for discussion groups interes= ted in pursing a range of Hispanic history topics. The questions at each ch= apter's end encourage debate: "Badillo states, 'Workfare was anathema to De= mocrats, but not to me.' How does this reflect his own personal and politic=
al journey? Does it also reflect the political journey of other Latinx peop= le? Explain."

EDITOR'S NOTE:

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James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129

To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugal= muse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publish= er, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number=
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James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review

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