Book Reviews

I have three books I want to recommend. The first is called, The American Patriot's Almanac by William J. Bennett and John T.E. Cribb. It has daily readings on America. Each day of the year they tell what things have happened on that day over the years. They will highlight one event with a short article, then have a listing of days and more events at the bottom of the page. Such as, January 9, in 1776, Thomas Paine published Common Sense, it was a pamphlet that caused the colonies to long for independence. Other things that happened on that day: in 1788 Connecticut became the 5th state, in 1861 the Union merchant ship Star of the West is fired on in Charleston harbor as it attempts to resupply Fort Sumter, it was the first shots fired of the Civil War. My husband reads it to us at the beginning of our dinner meal. It is a lot of fun to see what has happened over the years each day.

Second, I want to recommend Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig Ph.D. I had heard it talked about for about 3 or 4 years and finally decided to pick it up when some friends of mine shared a recipe from it. I am so glad that I got it. It is so much more than a cook book. It tells you what your nutritional needs are and shows a lot of the misinformation that we are fed from nutritionists and the medical community as a whole. My eyes have been opened a lot. Did you know this about homogenization: "This is the process whereby the fat particles of cream are strained through tiny pores under great pressure. The resulting fat particles are so small that they stay in suspension rather than rise to the top of the milk. This makes the fat and choesterol more susceptible to rancidity and oxidation, and some research indicates that homogenized fats may contribute to heart disease."
The third book I am recommending, is brand new. It is called, For You They Signed by Marilyn Boyer. This is a book that tells the stories about all the signers of the Declaration of Independence. It can be used as a curriculum or just read through. How many of us even know who signed it, let alone their stories. Did you know that the day they signed the Declaration of Independence that they started that day with prayer and that they declared a fast for the whole continent? Did you know that the signers, started on the right hand side of the page and signed by state beginning with New Hampshire? These and a lot of other questions will be answered as you read this very important part of history. I look forward to reading this with my daughters.