Elizabeth P. Archibald

A historian and professor, Elizabeth Archibald had the fabulous idea of combing over antique texts for useful advice for living, bringing these valuable solutions to our contemporary attention today. Inside, you'll discover health tips, cautions on social etiquette, cooking tricks, childrearing suggestions, pointers for ridding oneself of pests and more.

I don't frequently laugh aloud while reading, but this book had me chuckling in the break room at work. While, regrettably, most of these suggestions' purported efficacy may not have withstood the test of time, they are absolutely priceless as a fascinating (and amusing) window into the past and what folks hundreds of years ago were most concerned with. Broken down into one snippet of advice per page, it's perfect for short or infrequent bursts of reading opportunity. My 6th grader also read and enjoyed.… (mehr)