Burton Egbert Stevenson (1872–1962)

This was published in 1901. It details Braddock's blunders in the opening years of the French and Indian war, but that story is wrapped up in two other threads. One is the protagonist's agonizing and pining over the object of his affection. The other is the mythology of George Washington, who is practically beatified here. GW was in his early 20s at the time, but is venerated as though he were already president. There are some scholars who have criticized his actions leading up to this battle, but in this reading he could do no wrong. This short book illuminates more about how late nineteenth century writers idealized the past. Other than that, this is a poor waste of a read.… (mehr)

This book was originally published in 1905. I learned quite a bit from it-- I never knew so many people were needed to keep a railroad running and in good working condition over a hundred years ago. A section-hand was a guy, part of a group of them, (every 6-8 miles of track had a group of section hands with its own foreman), and their job was to maintain that section every day. Monitoring the track every day, replacing rails, ties or fishplates that the heavy rumbling trains would loosen or dislodge, maintaining the gravel bed beneath the track and the grounds around the track. It was very physically taxing too-- the strain of replacing ties and rails day after day for years would cause the men to develop a peculiar stoop.
I never realized how dangerous it was either, especially before the addition of air brakes to the trains. There were several tales of heroics with the men giving their lives for the safety of others. The author wrote the book based on his own experience working for the railroad before becoming a journalist and author.… (mehr)

As a book collector, an unexpected benefit of this book is its value as a topical bibliography for early printed books in English, from 1500-1800. Compare with The Bibliographer's Manual of English Literature, by Lowndes.

However, I believe the greatest value of this book is reserved for the devoted reader, who finds within its 2666 pages (not counting the 288 page index!) a sparkling tour through all that human life and thought has to offer. It is as complete a liberal education and a book of wisdom as one can hope to find between two book-covers.… (mehr)