Joshua Henry Bates, a young teacher of a country school, wonders if there will be more to his life. Yes, there are summers away from the farm, attending the University of Utah, dancing at Saltair, watching pictures shows, and eating ice cream on bone dry days. In his journal he questions his future. He finds a young woman to love, but she is an ever-mutating mystery. His job seems to be a dead-end. His parents need his help more all the time. Josh tries to change his life: cooling the relationship with his girlfriend, teaching in a new school, and registering for service in the American Expeditionary Forces. Still, Joshua is filled with self-doubt. Will Josh marry the girl? Will he find a dazzling life mission? Will he be victorious in war? Each chapter contains one to thirty primary sources from the life of this young man drafted as a doughboy in the Meuse-Argonne Campaign.
Praise for the book:
”If you have ever searched for your own history, or a way to bring
history to life, this book is a masterpiece.”
Kelly Milner Halls, author of Saving the Baghdad Zoo
I admit that family history, while important to me, has never been a top priority for me. This may have to do with having a mom, aunts, brothers, sisters, and grandparents who always did it so I didn't feel the need to do anything - the info was all there for me. However, since marrying my husband and finding that he knew nothing of his family history, I have started dabbling a bit into that topic. This book is an amazing help and I loved it, plus it was fun to learn the things Joan had uncovered and to follow along with Joshua as we uncovered his story. I found myself learning things I never knew could be resources and wondering how I preserve my own story for future generations. Plus, what could I learn about my family and my husband's family that might have been missed by others? And, of course, I found myself captured in Joshua's story, just like all the students that were first introduced to this book and the lessons in it.
This book was well put together and a lot of thought went into it. I found myself more engrossed in this book than I thought I would be and it made me want to learn more and do more to discover the past. Well done to the author, and thank you for sharing this with us. I highly recommend this book!
Joan Enders lives in Washington State with her
husband Jerry, and loves the Pacific Northwest! For 28 years she taught
literature and research skills in school libraries to middle and high school
students, and advocated for full-time school librarians in every school. She
was a recipient of the American Library Association's Frances Henne Award for
library leadership.
She loved her jobs, often to distraction. Once Joan stayed
so late at the school library that the custodians waxed the floors, unaware
that she was still upstairs. She crept out the least sticky exit. Joan now
teaches librarians on webinars. When not teaching she administers the local
Family History Center for FamilySearch International. She enjoys peeling back
the research onion for students and adults. That was the motivation for her
first book, which replicates her most popular inquiry lesson for U.S. History
students and teachers. Joan speaks in her community, for professional
organizations and at genealogy conferences.
Connect with the Author here:
To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comments!