#Harlow Giles Unger

[nordleuchten]

What do you think the best biography on Lafayette is? I’ve read the ones by Mike Duncan, Laura Auricchio, and Jason Lane (and of course Laf’s own memoirs!). I know of the Harlow Giles Unger one but just haven’t gotten my hands on it.

Dear Anon,

that is a good question, actually. It normally depends on the question that you want to get an answer to. The books by Harlow Giles Unger (Lafayette) and Mike Duncan (The Hero of Two Worlds) are probably the most “general” biographies out there at the moment. Other books put a bit more focus on a specific topic, like La Fayette’s relationship to George Washington and America, his involvement in the French Revolution, his time in prison and exile or his political agenda in the 1820s and 30s.

That aside, my favourite is probably For Liberty and Glory by James R. Gains. That was my third (or so) book on La Fayette and I really enjoyed it and like to pick it up again from time to time. I also liked The Marquis: Lafayette Reconsidered, the book by Laura Auricchio that you mentioned. Another good one (but only available in German) is General Lafayette in Wittmoldt: ein Leben für die Freiheit by Alfons Galette.

There are many good books about La Fayette and for me personally, in order to stand out, a book needs to have something special, like some new insights or an interesting research focus. But in the end it depends on what you “want” from the book.

I hope you have/had a wonderful day!

[cultivating-wildflowers]

2024 Reading - May

I definitely succeeded in making May a reread month, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. A few of these were not on my original list for the month, and I still haven't gotten to some of my bigger rereads, but oh well.

Total books: 8  |  New reads: 1   |   2024 TBR completed: 2 (1 DNF) / 16/36 total   |   2024 Reading Goal: 28/100

April | June

potential reading list from May 1st

#1 - Lion of Liberty: Patrick Henry and the Call to a New Nation by Harlow Giles Unger - 5/5 stars ('24 TBR, audio)

Now this is the sort of historical nonfiction I like! Splendidly arranged and told, never too dense, and weirdly fun?

More like this: Honestly, I would happily take recommendations for more in this line! For my part, Ben Macintyre's writing comes closest to this in style, though the one book I've read of his so far was about a figure in WWII.

#2 - The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope - 5/5 stars (reread, mixed print and audio)

Original review here. It definitely holds up on a reread.

#3 - Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card - 5/5 stars (reread, audio)

Original review, such as it is, here. Still a great one.

#4 - Xenocide by Orson Scott Card - 4/5 stars (reread, audio)

The first time I read this, it wasn't remarkable enough for me to write a single-sentence review. In fairness, I read Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide back-to-back and they kind of blur in my mind. I know I gushed about Speaker to Ruby (it's a favorite of mine), while I was so-so on Xenocide. It gets so dense at points, and while I can appreciate what Card does with Qin-jao, I cannot bring myself to sympathize with her.

I definitely liked it more this time around. It's still not as great to me as Speaker for the Dead, but it's classic Card and still fun to read.

(Admittedly, I also decided to revisit this series now because I stubbornly want to get another full alphabet of titles in 2024 and there simply aren't any "X" titles I haven't read that I'm interested in.... I'm enjoying my reread, but I have ulterior motives.)

#5 - Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card - 5/5 stars (reread, audio)

Unlike the first time I read Children of the Mind, this time I had access to this installment via audio! There's definitely details I'm missing by listening instead of reading, but it remains a solid story. And revisiting this book after reading part of the Ender's Shadow series gave me a fresh perspective on Peter Wiggin. Despite the fact that Speaker for the Dead is on my favorite books list, there's a chapter in Children of the Mind that has stuck in my memory ever since I first read it; it's probably the most memorable to me of the whole series.

As evidenced by my original review, I do take issue with certain aspects of Card's worldview, particularly his treatment of marriage. I'll probably always be grumpy about that. But I did give it half a star more than my original rating, after realizing how many of my favorite things about this series are in this final book.

#6 - DragonSpell by Donita K. Paul - 5/5 stars (reread)

Lee and several other lovely people from the tumblr-sphere invited me to join them in reading through this series, and I was so excited to take them up on the offer.

That was back in January.

I got distracted.

But it's ok! Even if I'm (way, way, way) behind, getting to revisit one of my teen-years favorites has been so fun. And intriguing. I knew this was one of those formative books that impacted my writing style, but it's intriguing to see exactly how big of an impact it had.

I will say this didn't quite hold up on a reread, but that makes sense considering it's been years since I read it and I fell in love with it as a teen, when my tastes were completely different. This won't affect my five-star rating, if only because it was so formative for me (and I have a rule personal rule to never lower a rating on a reread).

That said, I don't currently have plans to read the rest of the series. I'm worried doing so may mar my fond memories of the story as a whole.

#7 - The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley - 5/5 stars (reread)

Old review here. I’m slightly less than indifferent now toward the romance, but I still had to skim over the incredibly stilted and awkward declarations of love near the end. As for the rest of the story, I continue to adore everything about it. Top Five book for me.

#8 - Persuasion by Jane Austen - 5/5 stars (reread)

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

DNF

Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington ('24 TBR) - The first part was fascinating as a historical account, but narratively dry and emotionless. By around the 40% mark it turned into a slog, and reviews suggest this continues to the end.

Good Fortune by C.K. Chau - Fantastic premise, decent execution, but not for me.

Currently Reading:

Nothing! (for like 12 hours)

[ciceroprofacto]

SOA supplementals

Primary Sources / Letters

Papers of George Washington RevWar Series volume 11 (all)

The Army Correspondence of Colonel John Laurens in the Years 1777-1778 compiled by William Gilmore Simms (p.145-162)

The Papers of Henry Laurens volume 13 (p.33-140)

The Political Writings of Alexander Hamilton by Holloway and Wilson (p.7-117)

Backstory / additional context

The First Conspiracy by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch (all)

The Great New York Fire of 1776: A Lost Story of the American Revolution by Benjamin Carp (all)

Kidnapping the Enemy by Christian M. McBurney (all)

Strategy, Politics, Staff

Fatal Sunday by Lender and Stone (p.xi-122)

Washington's Secret War by Thomas Fleming (all: p.223-244)

To Starve the Army at Pleasure by E. Wayne Carp (various)

The Valley Forge Winter by Wayne Bodle (all: p.163-220)

George Washington's Indispensable Men by Arthur Leftkowitz (p.15, 45-157)

John Laurens and the American Revolution by Gregory Massey (p.86-106)

Washington's General: Nathaniel Greene and the Triumph of the American Revolution by Terry Galloway (p.165-171)

Wives / Women of the Army

Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation by Cokie Roberts (various)

The General & Mrs Washington by Bruce Chadwick (p.209-222)

Martha Washington: An American Life by Patricia Brady (p.118-126)

Caty: A Biography of Catherine Littlefield Greene by John & Janet Stegeman (p.48-59)

Pox Americana by Elizabeth Fenn (p.98-103)

Spies

Revolutionary Spies Intelligence and Espionage in America's First War by Tim McNeese (p.99-209)

General Washington's Spies on Long Island and in New York by Morton Pennypacker (p.1-119)

Washington's Spies by Alexander Rose (all)

Spies in the Continental Capital by John Nagy (all)

George Washington's Secret Spy War: The Making of America's First Spymaster by John Nagy (all)

Allies / foreign officers / special forces

Unlikely Allies: How a Merchant, a Playwright, and a Spy Saved the American Revolution by Joe Richard Paul (all)

Thomas Paine: Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations by Craig Nelson (p.99-145)

Special Operations During the American Revolution by Robert Tonsetic (p.7-149)

Light Horse Harry: A Biography of Washington's Great Cavalryman by Noel B. Gerson (p.1-60)

John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy by Evan Thomas (p.97-133)

The Admiral and the Ambassador by Scott Martelle (p.49-54)

Tadeusz Kościuszko and Casimir Pulaski: The Lives of the Revolutionary War's Most Famous Polish Officers by Charles River Editors (Pulaski section)

Pulaski: A Portrait of Freedom by R.D. Jamro (p.85-99)

Steuben / Drill

The Drillmaster of Valley Forge by Paul Lockhart (p.105-113)

The Life of Von Steuben by Frederich Kapp (p.120-136)

Baron Von Steuben's Revolutionary Drill Manual: A Facsimile Reprint of the 1794 Edition (all)

Lafayette

For Liberty and Glory: Washington, Lafayette and Their Revolutions by James R. Gaines (p.98-106)

Adopted Son by David Clary (p.154-179)

Lafayette by Harlow Giles Unger (p.65-71)

The Marquis: Lafayette Reconsidered by Laura Auricchio (p.59-64)

[deadpresidents]

GEORGE WASHINGTON •Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •George Washington: A Life by Willard Sterne Randall (BOOK)

JOHN ADAMS •John Adams by David McCullough (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams by Joseph J. Ellis (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •John Adams: Party of One by James Grant (BOOK)

THOMAS JEFFERSON •Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History by Fawn Brodie (BOOK)

JAMES MADISON •The Three Lives of James Madison: Genius, Partisan, President by Noah Feldman (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •James Madison: A Life Reconsidered by Lynne Cheney (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •James Madison: A Biography by Ralph Ketcham (BOOK | AUDIO)

JAMES MONROE •James Monroe: A Life by Tim McGrath (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness by Harlow Giles Unger (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity by Harry Ammon (BOOK)

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS •John Quincy Adams: American Visionary by Fred Kaplan (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, A Private Life by Paul C. Nagel (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •The Lost Founding Father: John Quincy Adams and the Transformation of American Politics by William J. Cooper (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •The Remarkable Education of John Quincy Adams by Phyllis Lee Levin (BOOK | KINDLE)

ANDREW JACKSON •American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times by H.W. Brands (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Andrew Jackson, Volume I: The Course of American Empire, 1767-1821 by Robert V. Remini (BOOK) •Andrew Jackson, Volume II: The Course of American Freedom, 1822-1832 by Robert V. Remini (BOOK | KINDLE) •Andrew Jackson, Volume III: The Course of American Democracy, 1833-1845 by Robert V. Remini (BOOK)

MARTIN VAN BUREN •Martin Van Buren and the American Political System by Donald B. Cole (BOOK | KINDLE) •Martin Van Buren and the Emergence of American Popular Politics by Joel H. Silbey (BOOK) •Martin Van Buren: The Romantic Age of American Politics by John Niven (BOOK)

WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON •A Child of the Revolution: William Henry Harrison and His World, 1773-1798 by Hendrik Booraem V (BOOK | KINDLE) •Mr. Jefferson's Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy by Robert M. Owens (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •The Carnival Campaign: How the Rollicking 1840 Campaign of "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" Changed Presidential Elections Forever by Ronald G. Shafer (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO)

[pub-lius]

happy 4th of july, here's lafayette pt. 1

i hope you're all excited for this edition of appeasing @thereallvrb0y because he's my son. i haven't finished the research for this so im gonna be doing that as i go, but i have. so. much. information on this man. and by that i mean im limiting it to just two of my books that have info on him, Lafayette by Harlow Giles Unger, and The Marquis Lafayette Reconsidered by Laura Auricchio. I highly recommend both of these, individually or together. okay let's go

Early Life in Chavaniac

Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette was born into a noble, provincial family that belonged to the Nobility of the Sword, meaning they earned their titles through military achievements, on September 6, 1757 in Chavaniac, France. His childhood home was the Chateau de Chavaniac which had 18 rooms, so he was always rich. The countryside was referred to as the Auvergne, so if you hear the term "Auvergne nobility/princes/princesses", they mean hillbilly rich people.

Gilbert/Lafayette (which are the two names for him I will be rotating between) had this dad named Roch-Gilbert, Marquis de Lafayette, who was killed in the Seven Years War at the Battle of Minden, and that made young Gilbert want to be a solider. Roch-Gilbert was one of many generations in his family to die in historical (mostly military) events.

Roch-Gilbert, however, was the first of his line to marry into the Nobility of the Court, which are old money people who are just rich because they were born that way, and they have direct ties to the royal family. The Nobility of the Court lived in Paris and Versailles for the most part, and looked down heavily on the Auvergne nobility the same way Elon Musk would look down on someone like Shane Dawson.

The senior Marquis de Lafayette married Marie-Julie de La Rivière, who was from a very prestigious family that were very well connected (included some members of the Order of Saint Louis for military service). Since she was Nobility of the Court, she spent a lot of her time in Paris, and was pretty absent from her son's life.

Despite this, Lafayette was still raised primarily by women. His grandmother was the head of the household at the chateau, and took care of all family matters. His two aunts and an older female cousin helped to raise the little marquis.

He was a feisty little kid too. I'm sure if you've been around for a while in Lafayette spaces you've heard the story of the Beast of Gèvaudan. Basically there were some rumors going around that there was a scary monster roaming the countryside killing people and animals. Lafayette, who was about 6 at the time, gathered his gang of friends to go kill it, but never found it. The going theory was that it was a starving wolf.

"I recall nothing in my life that preceded my enthusiasm for glorious tales or my plans to travel the world in search of renown." -Lafayette, 1780

Move to Paris

Lafayette traveled to accompany his mother in Paris in December 1767, which was a massive change for a ten year old. Paris was a huge city full of people richer than him, and at this time, he wasn't used to not being the richest person in the room.

Lafayette's tutor, Abbè Fayon, accompanied him on the journy. Up until this point, Fayon was focused on teaching Lafayette tradition, and everything he needed to know to uphold his rank, such as the history of their lineage, a little bit of Greek and Latin, and more necessary information to become an army officer and feudal landholder, as that was the system France was still under: lords owning large portions of land and allowing peasants to leave and work on them for an exchange of a portion of the profit. (spoiler alert: this doesn't end well). Fayon would remain in Lafayette's employ from the rest of his life.

In Paris, Lafayette would be surrounded with Enlightenment philosophy, which only turned his ambition into rebelliousness as he went into his teenage years.

Lafayette first attended the Collége du Plessis, where he had a close group of friends who looked up to him and generally did whatever he said. There was one time where they didn't, when Lafayette "wanted to mount a revolt to prevent the unjust punishment of one of my comrades... I was not as well-supported as I might have hoped." -Lafayette, "Autobiographie".

Lafayette was very skilled in Latin rhetoric, and won a prize for it (though did not win the university wide competition, which was disappointing). This sparked a fascination with Republican Rome, and he eventually started reading the works of Louis-Sébastien Mercier, who would become a heavy influence.

When he was 13, he was secured a place in the Black Musketeers by his great-grandfather, Comte de La Rivière. The Black Musketeers were soldiers of the King's guard. Lafayette was very excited for the appointment, but later realized it was ceremonial.

He had been thrilled "to ride to Versailles in full uniform to hear the king tell me... that he had nothing to order, and to report back to the commander of the musketeers the same news that was repeated to him three hundred and sixty-five days a year." -"Autobiographie"

(side note: "Autobiographie" is one of Lafayette's memoirs. He began one in 1780, and finished another later on.)

Lafayette's mother and grandfather both died in 1770, leaving him with a vast inheritance and more mommy issues. His greatest income, after he inherited all the older generations' properties, was around 130,000 livres per year, and, in a society where a skilled employer with a steady income earned around 1,000 lives per year, this was, in academic terms, a shit ton of money. This is why people say Lafayette was the richest man in France at the age of 12.

With all this money, the focus became on getting Lafayette in the court, which meant he would have to get married sooner rather than later. That's around when he was introduced to Marie Adrienne Francoise de Noailles.

The Noailles family is like. the most important family besides the royal family in the Court of Versailles. This family is like literally the court. Adrienne's father was one of Louis XV's closest advisors, the family belonged to several chivalric orders, and they had direct connections to both Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

It is very abnormal that a family like this would marry one of their daughters to a provincial nobleman, but Lafayette was a really strange case. He was. unnecessarily rich. Like there is no other Auvergne nobleman who made this amount of money. France also used the dowry system, and Adrienne's father, Duc d'Ayen had five daughters he would need to pay dowries for- but he wouldn't have to give Lafayette a dowry because he was SO. FUCKING. RICH.

Adrienne was the second of Duc d'Ayen's daughters, and he wanted to marry off her and her older sister as soon as possible. However, the Duchesse refused to let him marry her TWELVE YEAR OLD DAUGHTER, and this caused a lot of issues between them.

"You don't know my wife. No matter how bitterly she argues, she'll apologize like a rueful little girl if you show her she is wrong, but she will never budge if she doesn't see it." -duc d'Ayen

"My mother and father were constantly quarreling- and refused to tell us why." -Adrienne

The duchesse was entirely right btw, and the duc was really creepy! she also just didn't want to be separated from her children. there's just so many tragic situations here and all the time in the french court

Eventually, Adrienne's parents agreed to post pone the marriage for two years, so Adrienne and Gilbert were married when he was 16 and she 14. However, in the meantime, they were completely unaware that the marriage was happening.

“The two marriages were arranged [Adrienne’s aforementioned sister was being married at the same time to Vicomte de Noailles], but only on condition that no one was to mention them to my sister before a year had passed and to me before eighteen months. My mother agreed that Monsieur de Noailles and Monsieur de Lafayette would meet us haphazardly from time to time, either at my mother’s home or on walks. But my mother did not want us to be distracted from our education.” -Adrienne de Lafayette

During those eighteen months, Adrienne developed a major crush on Gilbert, but he was more focused on organizing his little friendgroup's shenanigans.

That wouldn't last long because Gilbert moved into the Noailles mansion at Versailles in February 1773, and was enrolled in the Académie de Versailles. This was a school for very high ranking noblemen, including Princes of the Blood, which is what relatives of the royal family were callled.

Gilbert was embraced by the Noailles' as a son, and he was very happy to have a family again. However, as we shall soon see, Lafayette didn't quite live up to the duc's expectations for a Noailles son.

Lafayette and Adrienne had a very grand wedding, but were not permitted to consummate their marriage for some Catholic reason I forgot, but it was a gateway for Lafayette to enter to King's court for the first time. More about that next time on the Disney channel

[dropoutdetector]

AS RACISTS PLEDGED TO LYNCH HIM ON THE CAPITOL STEPS, fiery little John Quincy Adams thundered his reply: “God commands the slave to rise!” His words still echo in this gripping biography at amazon.com/Quincy-Adams-Harlow-Giles-Unger/dp/030682129X/ref

[thephantomofthelibrary]

Having changed the course of history  in the new world, the marquis de Lafayette sailed back to France in January 1785 determined to do the same in the old. Americans and Frenchmen sensed it; Washington, Franklin , and Jefferson knew it; the king of France and other European monarchs feared it. And with good reason. Lafayette was obsessed with re-creating the America he loved in the France he loved, with sweeping social reforms and republican self-government.

Harlow Giles Unger, Lafayette, (2002) p.207

[thisbibliophiile]

Books of 2022 #45

Lion of Liberty by Harlow Giles Unger

[benedictusantonius]

[2021|056] John Quincy Adams (2012) written by Harlow Giles Unger

[marq-de-laf]

Marquis de Lafayette (age 6, far right), his aunt Charlotte, and a portrait of her daughter/his cousin, Marie, who he thought of as a sister. This information is according to Harlow Giles Unger in his book, Lafayette. 

In all of Lafayette’s childhood portraits, Gilbert is smiling, on the verge of a smile, or has a bright, attentive countenance. I love them all. Look at his little face! I’m sorry. I’m sentimentalizing. BUT LOOK AT HIS FACE.

[sonofhistory]

As governor of Virginia, Monroe sought to bring education to illiterate children by establishing the first state-supported public schools. He also proposed building a network of publicly built roads to speed Virginia's farm products to market.

James Monroe by Harlow Giles Unger

This passages fails to mention until later in the book his work in establishing mixed schools for both sexes. 

[nordleuchten]

Have you read Mike Duncan's Hero of Two Worlds? if you did, do you recommend it?

Thank you!

Dear Anon,

yes, I did read Mike Duncan’s Hero of Two Worlds and although it has been a few years, I knew that I was quite exited when the book was first released. I am not a Podcast-person, but I had been told that Duncan is quite an excellent history podcaster, and his book was a more recent publication then some other works out there. Duncan covers La Fayette’s life from cradle to grave with a marked focus on the American and French Revolution – as was expected. His writing style is very comprehensible and although the book is around 500-ish pages, it still was an easy and fast read.

As to recommending it, that depends a bit on what you are looking for in a book about La Fayette. As a general overview about the Marquis’ life, I can recommend the book. Harlow Giles Unger’s Lafayette is often cited as the best general biography but while Unger’s book is maybe a tad more detailed, I prefer Duncan’s handling of source material. There were a few little things that made me pause while reading but these were mostly differentiating interpretations.

As I said, it is a very general biography that covers La Fayette’s whole life in one book. If you are looking for an insight into a specific aspect of La Fayette’s life or a very detailed analyzes of his every move, Duncan’s book understandably falls flat.

I remember that I liked the book when reading it, but I was not blown out of the water. There was nothing one had not heard of before and by that time I had read enough about La Fayette to not be surprised by the book. But Duncan proofed that he understood the core of La Fayette’s character.

In short, Hero of Two Worlds is a fine book – especially if you are trying to get an overview of La Fayette’s life and this is maybe one of your first books about him.

I hope that helped and I hope you have/had a wonderful day. Happy reading! :-)

[cultivating-wildflowers]

Alphabet Book Titles!

For the second year in a row, I've completed a challenge to myself to read one new-to-me book title for every letter of the alphabet. The only reread present is the "X" title, because there simply aren't enough of those for me to read a subpar title for the sake of a challenge.

For the tricky letters: "Y" and "U" both appeared by happy accident; I had "Z" and "Q" titles on my shelf at the beginning of the year and DNF'd both, then spent too long trying to find substitutes; and for some reason "H", "M", and "T" all gave me some difficulty. But I got there in the end.

NOTE: This list contains the first title I finished for each letter. As such, this is not strictly a list of recommendations (though by and large I enjoyed all of these).

Are Women Human? by Dorothy L. Sayers (January)

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown (September)

The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkein (June)

Dorothy and Jack: by Gina Dalfonzo (March)

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett (January)

The Food Explorer: The True Adventures of the Globe-Trotting Botanist Who Transformed What America Eats by Daniel Stone (July)

Guardian by Cathy McCrumb (April)

Heidi by Johanna Spyri (August)

In the Forests of Serre by Patricia McKillip (September)

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell by Susanna Clarke (August)

The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany (August)

Lion of Liberty: Patrick Henry and the Call to a New Nation by Harlow Giles Unger (May)

A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters (July)

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan (March)

Od Magic by Patricia A. McKillip (September)

The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis (February)

Q's Legacy by Helene Hanff (December)

The Republic of Pirates by Colin Woodard (October)

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadaveres by Mary Roach (January)

Time Travelling with a Hamster by Ross Welford (August)

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol 1 by Beth Brower (August)

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser (July)

A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher (January)

Xenocide by Orson Scott Card (my only reread; May)

Yours from the Tower by Sally Nichols (September)

Zero G by Dan Wells (October)

[deadpresidents]

Could you recommend books on the Supreme Court? I honestly didn’t think there were any.

There are countless numbers of books about the Supreme Court, so it really depends on what exactly you're interested in reading about, whether that might be a general history of the Court itself, biographies of the most influential justices, landmark cases, and so on.

By no means is this a complete list, but here's some suggestions that I can recommend:

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE SUPREME COURT •A People's History of the Supreme Court: The Men and Women Whose Cases and Decisions Have Shaped Our Constitution by Peter Irons (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Nine Scorpions in a Bottle: Great Judges and Cases of the Supreme Court by Max Lerner and edited by Richard Cummings (BOOK) •The Supreme Court by William H. Rehnquist (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) -- This history of the Court is especially interesting because it was written by the incumbent Chief Justice. •The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO)

BOOKS ABOUT SPECIFIC JUSTICES OR COURTS •The Oath: The Obama White House and the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Leaving the Bench: Supreme Court Justices at the End by David N. Atkinson (BOOK) -- A unique book about Justices at the end of their time on the Court and how they ultimately left the Court. Most of them died in office because the Court is a lifetime appointment, but the book looks at how some Justices held on to their seats and remained on the bench despite failing health or faltering cognitive abilities. •First: Sandra Day O'Connor by Evan Thomas (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Sisters In Law: How Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World by Linda Hirshman (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) -- An excellent dual biography about the first two women ever appointed to the Supreme Court and the impact they had on American law. •The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court by Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) -- The legendary journalist from the Washington Post gives the Woodward treatment to the Supreme Court presided over by Chief Justice Warren E. Burger. •The Showdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination That Changed America by Wil Haygood (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) -- The remarkable life of Thurgood Marshall, who was already a legendary figure in the annals of American justice as a civil rights lawyer who successfully argued the case the led to the Supreme Court striking down Brown v. the Board of Education. Marshall's place in history became even more important when President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated him as the first-ever Black Supreme Court Justice. •Five Chiefs: A Supreme Court Memoir by John Paul Stevens (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) -- This is probably my favorite of the recommendations. John Paul Stevens, the third longest-serving Justice in the history of the Supreme Court, writes about the five Chief Justices (Fred Vinson, Earl Warren, Warren E. Burger, William H. Rehnquist, and John Roberts) that he worked for or with throughout his long career, beginning as a law clerk under Chief Justice Vinson and eventually serving as Associate Justice alongside Chief Justice Burger, Chief Justice Rehnquist, and Chief Justice Roberts.

BOOKS ABOUT JOHN MARSHALL (Longest-serving Chief Justice of the United States and arguably the most important judge in American history) •John Marshall: The Chief Justice Who Saved the Nation by Harlow Giles Unger (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Without Precedent: Chief Justice John Marshall and His Times by Joel Richard Paul (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •John Marshall: The Man Who Made the Supreme Court by Richard Brookhiser (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO)

I also strongly recommend checking out James F. Simon's books about the Supreme Court and the Presidency, which focus on the impact that the Court and the Chief Justices at the time had on specific Presidential Administrations. These are all written by James F. Simon: •Eisenhower vs. Warren: The Battle for Civil Rights and Liberties (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •Lincoln and Chief Justice Taney: Slavery, Secession, and the President's War Powers (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •What Kind of Nation: Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, and the Epic Struggle to Create a United States (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) •FDR and Chief Justice Hughes: The President, the Supreme Court, and the Epic Battle Over the New Deal (BOOK | KINDLE)

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[yr-obedt-cicero]

Hi! What Lafayette biography would you recommend?

I've only skimmed through these, but they seem to be some of the best;

Lafayette In America by Louis Gottschalk.

Lafayette in America in 1824 and 1825 by Auguste Levasseur.

Adopted Son by David Clarybtends tends to be more of a narrative novel than a biography and I haven't gone through to fact check it but many others recommend it.

Also Lafayette by Harlow Giles Unger, and the Memoirs of General Lafayette.