This is the final list of books I am recommending to readers for their holiday gift-giving or personal reading list. Each of these volumes is to my mind a work well worth the time involved for both the author and their readers.
The 1619 Project was a collective effort by a host of writers convened by the New York Times regarding slavery in North America. It documents the impact on America from the first arrival of African slaves in 1619, through the struggle to eliminate slavery in the 19th Century and the continuing effort by activists, politicians, academics and civil society to ensure that the freed slaves and their descendants are not treated as second class citizens.
This history is fraught with contradictions and cruelty. Thomas Jefferson, in the Declaration of Independence penned the founding fathers’ belief that “All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Jefferson was an owner of slaves and had several children with at least two female slaves.
The book details how Blacks, over centuries, were made to suffer discrimination, were subject to violence and death, and were denied ability to own property, to vote and to attend many institutions of learning.
With its publication, the history of the United States was reframed by placing slavery and its continuing legacy at the centre of the national narrative. Every reader will experience an awakening to what really happened and what needs to be done to accept the burdens of past abuses.
In The House of Morgan, Ron Chernow, the celebrated author of award-winning histories of American finance, has outdone himself. This book is a superb examination of how the American financial industry grew from the mid 1800BԪַ to become the dominant global financial power house of today. In particular, it is an exposition of four generations of the powerful Morgan family and their secretive firms that, to no small degree, created the modern financial world.
This tour de force was awarded the National Book Award for Nonfiction and selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 Best Books of the Twentieth Century. It is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the money and power behind the major historical events of the last 150 years.
Fawn WeaverBԪַ Love and Whiskey is the true story of Jack Daniels and Nearest Green, a Black distiller. Nearest Green, and the whiskey company Weaver founded to honor and amplify GreenBԪַ legacy was a by-product of her research into the life of Nearest Green and his relationship with Jack Daniel.
Set against the backdrop of Lynchburg Tennessee, the tale combines a blend of personal discovery, historical investiga-
tion and the revelation of a story long overshadowed by time. Equally important is the story of the community of Lynchburg that minimized the differences between races.
Weaver details the barriers she encountered in an industry that had no female executives and a tight control on who could and could not sell whisky within the US and around the world. Her perseverance has resulted in her company now being worth more that $1.5 billion.
A Grave in the Woods by Martin Walker is the 14th installment in the “Bruno, Chief of Police” mysteries set in the fictitious town of St. Denis in the picturesque Dordogne. Like its predecessors, this is an informative and fascinating reflection of both the town and its population.
The plot centres on an unmarked grave discovered by a couple who want to convert an abandoned farm into a tourist resort. The question for the town is how to treat this discovery. Does it preclude the development or can it be turned into a memorial to the retreating German forces and the French Résistance in the waning days of World War II?
I am a dedicated fan of Bruno and particularly admire how the author focuses on the fictional townBԪַ humane reaction to the discovery of the of the 80-year-old grave of young German women who were obviously raped and then killed and buried without ceremony.
There are enough problems involved to make this a good read and, of course, several scenes featuring the delicious cuisine of the region. A good book for a snowy evening.
