a dabbler's journal » History Scrapbook

The Dream Machine by Mitchell Waldrop: a short review

joel — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 20:46:58 +0000

This is a terrific book. The writing is lucid, the research--though predominantly from secondary sources--is excellent. If you plan to read one book about the ARPA computing effort, this should be that book.

The Copper Mines of Lake Superior by T. A. Rickard: a review

joel — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:30:56 +0000

Rickard examined the mining practices of most of the major mines on the range, with the significant exceptions of the Calumet and Tamarack mines, where non-employee mining engineers were not welcome. For the mines he did examine, he highlighted what they did best, the roots of their technical preferences, and any glaring weaknesses he identified in their processes. He then did the same for the associated mills (including, interestingly, the C&H mill on Torch Lake). There's a wealth of technical detail, and enough economic detail that one could estimate the entire cost of production for many of the mines.

The Copper Empire, volume 1, by Mike Forgrave: a review

joel — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 01:00:27 +0000

Roughly fifty maps of towns and mining locations on the Keweenaw peninsula, with only a minimal amount of text. These are sort of idealized maps, actually, showing each town/mine's main features but not tied to specific dates. So (according to the author/mapmaker) some of the maps include structures which not only are no longer there but which never coexisted on the specific site. The result is that each map locates both current (2009) buildings and construction which was dismantled 70 years ago.

Michigan State Ferries, by Les Bagley: a review

joel — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 14:00:29 +0000

This is, I imagine, the sort of book Arcadia's business model intends: A well thought out picture book whose captions actually tell a coherent story. Nicely done.

Authority and Disorder in Tudor Times, 1485-1603 by Paul Thomas: a short review

joel — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:06:03 +0000

This reads for all the world like a well-polished set of class notes for a college course with the book's title. One would assume the course to be intended for sophomores or juniors.

History of the Express Business by Alexander Lovett Stimson: a short review

joel — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 10:56:47 +0000

I've seen this book described as "indispensable." It might well be that, but it's odd. There is, indeed, a history of the express companies in here, which covers the territory in great detail, including long lists of key players and word portraits of the communities served by the agencies. Stimson was amazingly well-connected, and interested in everything about the trade. The narrative is constantly interrupted, though, by not-very-relevant asides, and he's prone to offering political opinions. Stimson's also thoroughly convinced that the express agencies played a major role in the settlement of the American west--an opinion with some validity, to be sure, but not to the degree this author claims. The long lists he likes to compile often seem pointless. The author's also prone to word play, to a degree that's positively annoying. And the book ends with over a hundred pages of miscellaneous material.

Combination in the Mining Industry by Henry Raymond Mussey: a short review

joel — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:14:45 +0000

A great book, written as a Columbia doctoral dissertation. Mussey's contention is that market forces consistently forced prices down on Great Lakes iron ore over the course of the nineteenth century, which inevitably led to high capital outlays and in turn led to consolidation on the ranges and domination of the mining industry by the steelmakers. It logically ought, he argued, to lead to complete domination by a single firm, though he retreats from that conclusion.

“Father of Army Baseball”

joel — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 18:37:26 +0000

The 11/29/1940 Dallas Evening News (my thanks to GenealogyBank) tells me that R.H. Johnson's military career mostly occurred during WWI, as an enlisted man in Artillery, which was before his West Point stint. At the USMA he was quite active in sports, including baseball; he captained the basketball team. Johnson subsequently served for a few years as a ROTC instructor in the NYC area before resigning his commission to enter the banking business on Wall Street. In 1929 he founded R.H. Johnson & Company, and in 1947 began Franklin Investments.

Baseball in the Garden of Eden by John Thorn: a review

joel — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 10:27:17 +0000

This is a well-researched history of baseball's origins. Baseball wasn't really invented, of course, but Thorn makes a good case that certain individuals were very important to its development as an institution. This is, in one sense, obvious; what's perhaps less obvious is who some of those individuals actually were. This part of the book is well-done and, on the whole, convincing.

Asylum for the Insane by William Decker: a review

joel — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 09:54:05 +0000

All that said: Worth reading if you're interested in either the Kalamazoo asylum or the history of mental health treatment in America. There's lots of interesting material here, despite some issues in its presentation. I'm planning to read Decker's book about the Traverse City asylum, where he never worked; I expect to learn interesting things.