I just ordered a copy of America
the Ingenious by Kevin Baker,
an established novelist and historian, for a class which looks at American
inventors and their contributions, especially during the Industrial
Revolution. In this new work, Baker
profiles “76 World-Changing Inventions and the Visionaries Who Made Them
Happen.” He organizes these few page descriptions within categories like communicating,
apparel, or powering. There is even a section under building about inventing a
city (Chicago). Choosing not to follow a chronological format adds uniqueness
to Baker’s work as do many of the side bars and drawings which he includes. Throughout,
Baker notes numerous facts and statistics – total investment of capital needed
to build a railroad; cost of the original sewing machine in today’s dollars; number
of people worldwide who already have brain implants. This is very interesting, but
also disconcerting because at least in the pre-publication copy he does not
provide footnotes and sources. Students will find much to explore and to
verify. America the Ingenious investigates the very nature of America and
a lengthy review (“The Character of Our Country”) appeared recently in The Wall Street Journal. 
American
mythology is also delved into by To the Bright Edge of the World, a
historical fiction novel set in the Alaskan Territory during the winter of 1885. Eowyn Ivey (The Snow Child) has crafted an amazing adventure featuring Colonel
Allen Forrester of the U.S. Army who along with fellow officers faced
starvation and danger as they attempted to map the Wolverine River Valley. His
journal entries and letters to wife, Sophie, chronicle the many hardships. Pregnant and left behind in Vancouver, Sophie,
too, pushes boundaries – teaching herself photography and dealing with social
restrictions of the time.
If you enjoy historical fiction and
tales of survival, look for this book; Ivey’s To the Bright Edge of the World received
starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, Library Journal AND Publisher’s
Weekly.
