Alice Morse Earle has written several books on life in Colonial America. This is the first one of her books I've read, and I am eager to move on to another volume, perhaps Child Life in Colonial Days. Mrs. Earle's "Home Life" is a fascinating description of everyday life --- the chores, the tools, the dwelling places, the foods, the sights and sounds --- that Colonial Americans knew. Have you ever seen a strange tool or implement in a museum, an antique shop, or hanging on the wall at a country restaurant, and no one seems to know exactly what it is or what it was used for? Read this book: its many illustrations will more than likely include that mysterious object; and Mrs. Earle will describe clearly what it was and how it was used. This book should be in the library of every enthusiast of American antiques. Without a doubt, this book contains information found nowhere else in a book now in print. This is not a history of Colonial America --- although it contains many interesting tidbits about our country's earliest days. It is, however, an excellent description of everyday life in America, 1600 - 1800, with special emphasis on New England and Virginia. As such, this book would be useful not just to historians and antique collectors, but to writers, museum curators, and anyone who wants to understand Colonial America.

This hundred-year-old work retains its vitality and usefulness.
In her wonderfully readable narrative, Earle conveys life in the colonies with vividness missing from most conventional texts. Starting with basic shelter, which were sometimes actually caves in the earliest days, she goes on to describe in detail the critical element of food supply, with careful explanations of culinary practices and useful drawings to illustrate the often-obscure utensils. (This latter feature will fascinate antique buffs.) Also covered are the home production of textiles, the dress of the colonists, travel, religious and social practices, flower gardens, and other matters, providing modern readers an insight into everyday colonial life hard to find elsewhere.
Earle's work is a feast of enjoyable information for history readers, collectors, and anyone else who wants to know how the early settlers lived. (The "score" rating is an unfortunately ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)

this is a good introductory book for western civilization. if u r new to the field of western civilization, then read this book before any more advanced or complicated books...

I used Spielvogel's _Western Civilization: A Brief History_ when teaching a Humanities I course. _A Brief History_ is a shorter, paperback adaptation of Spielvogel's longer _Western Civilization_. Of the Western Civ texts I've used before (including the longer version of Spielvogel, I thought _A Brief History_ was the most successful. Spielvogel did a good job of choosing the most important historical events and cultural developments to include in his shorter version, at least those most likely to be included in a Western Civ course. Important information is clear both from subheadings and from the text itself, and short samples of primary texts that give students a taste of the past are included. Students also seemed to enjoy reading the _Brief History_ more other Western Civ texts I've taught. Women's history is well-represented. Only caveat: Because the text is a shorter version, not much of Asian, African, or Indian history is included.

The book "Guided with a Steady Hand" is recommended reading for those historians interested in the history of Mother Neff State Park, Texas. It provides input into the general role of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the "New Deal" era, but contains little relavent material for areas outside of Texas. This book makes for easy reading and is loaded with information about the Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept., and the daily life of one particular CCC camp. However, for those readers who have no interest in the history of state parks in Texas, this book is of little value.