{Whatcha Reading?} History Lessons

I just finished reading Don't Hurry Me Down to Hades: The Civil War In The Words of Those Who Lived It by Susannath J. Ural. Instead of including complete letters, which is what I expected after reading the book's description, the author weaves quotes into the chapters. It works well, providing a context for the letters that I probably would have missed otherwise.  The book exposed me to a lot of  details about the Civil War that I'd never heard about before.


I've also been reading Quilts in Everyday Life, 1855-1955: A 100-Year Photographic History.  It's a collection of previously unpublished photographs, providing information about the history of both quilts and photography. All of the photographs are in black (sepia?) and white and many of the quilts are hidden in the background.  Some of the photos are easier to make out than others, but considering their age and the fact that many were found in estate sales and antique shops, I'm not sure we can complain.

My favorite pictures are the ones of quilts hanging on clotheslines between buildings and the one (on page 29) of a family standing in front of their old farmhouse. Through an open upstairs window, you can just glimpse a folded quilt.

It's an interesting book to browse through, but I don't think you'll find any antique quilts to copy. There are a lot of postmortem photographs of young children and adults (more in the earlier pages, since the book is arranged chronologically) that might be unsettling for some readers who aren't expecting them.

Disclosure -- Don't Hurry Me Down to Hades was provided by the publisher. Quilts in Everyday Life came from the library.