politics Archives – Rebecca Reads

American Lion by Jon Meecham

November 9, 2016 by Rebecca Reid

If there is any president of the United States that I have both disgust and intrigue for, it is Andrew Jackson, the southern president who completely changed the face of the presidency from upper class elite to “man of the people.” A president who approved and carried out the first of many Native American relocation (an early government-approved genocide). What was his presidency actually like? Who was he, as a man? How did he rise to the presidency, and what are the modern-day implications of his policies?

In American Lion by Jon Meecham, Andrew Jackson’s presidency is described for the curious, and biography of the widower is shared for the modern understanding. Jackson was unique in his approach to the presidency, and his new approach did change politics in the USA for ever. Since I feel last night’s election is likewise ushering in a new type of president, it seems appropriate to finally write my thoughts about Meecham’s biography of Jackson, which I read half a year ago.

I Am Malala by Malala Yousafsai

May 21, 2015 by Rebecca Reid

I Am Malala by Malala Yousafsai (Little, Brown and Company, 2013) is a powerful story of a girl’s courage to stand up against wrong and demand an education in the Taliban-controlled regions of Pakistan. The work done by Malala, who still is a teenager, is so remarkable that she became the youngest receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. Her first-person account of her life is an engaging and inspiring read for all who desire courage to stand for what they know to be right.Continue Reading

A History of the World in 12 Maps by Jerry Brotton

June 20, 2014 by Rebecca Reid

A History of the World in 12 Maps by Jerry Brotton (Viking, November 2013) is not truly a world history story. It is, however, a look at how maps and history are intricately related. Each map throughout history tells what is important to the learned in the era in which it has been created. Likewise, each map contributes to how the subsequent generations continue to interpret the world.Continue Reading

Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis

December 7, 2012 by Rebecca Reid

As I’ve scoured the lists of books about revolutionary America for a book to read for my own education, I struggled to find one that covered a variety of people (I love biographies, but I can’t read one about everyone!) and eras (I would love to learn about all eras of the revolution, from the pre-revolution, the actual war years, to the beginning of the republic and later political fall out). At the same time that I’m I’ve been searching for the perfect book about the revolutionary era, I remembered I had picked up a used copy of Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph Ellis (Vintage Books, 2000) in a previous year’s book sale. I decided it was the book to read right now.

I was expecting Founding Brothers to be a collection of mini-biographies about the “brothers” of the revolutionary generation. Or maybe it would be about the Constitutional Convention and how they all worked together. Honestly, I did not know what it was, but any expectations I did have were far surpassed in Ellis’s complex portrait of the generation that founded the country. His work is both thorough and completely readable.Continue Reading

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