Looking for some good history books.

[biggamefish]

Looking for a birthday gift. My father got into a book with stories of the Rogers Rangers and seem to really enjoy it. His birthday is coming up and I am looking for more books with interesting local history in them. Same kinda theme not necessarily history books more like an adventure book with good history. 

Thanks in advance.

[Robhuntandfish]

dunno if your into the sort of thing but - "Terror in the adirondacks" was an interesting read.  Serial killer in the dacks - true story .  Not really local but a good read is the auto bio on Ted Williams.  Also - books on the loomis gang - think it was called 9 mile swamp. 

Edited January 8, 2019 by Robhuntandfish

[The_Real_TCIII]

Crow Killer about the real Jeremiah Johnson is an awesome read

[The_Real_TCIII]

33 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

dunno if your into the sort of thing but - "Terror in the adirondacks" was an interesting read.  Serial killer in the dacks - true story .  Not really local but a good read is the auto bio on Ted Williams.  Also - books on the loomis gang - think it was called 9 mile swamp. 

Looks fascinating I wish it were on Kindle

[Robhuntandfish]

3 minutes ago, The_Real_TCIII said:

Looks fascinating I wish it were on Kindle

it kinda weirds you out when they talk about places you have been to and this guy was out loose in even though it was a long time ago.  

[The_Real_TCIII]

5 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

it kinda weirds you out when they talk about places you have been to and this guy was out loose in even though it was a long time ago.  

The Loomis Gang sounds amazing too but all the books are expensive paperbacks. I never heard of them. I love books about organized crime

[Robhuntandfish]

13 minutes ago, The_Real_TCIII said:

The Loomis Gang sounds amazing too but all the books are expensive paperbacks. I never heard of them. I love books about organized crime

yeah thats a pretty neat one too. I live and work right in the area they used to be as well.  Some of the family still lives in the area - but they are much calmer for sure - lol  One of them sells insurance . 

Edited January 8, 2019 by Robhuntandfish

[fasteddie]

1 hour ago, biggamefish said:

Looking for a birthday gift. My father got into a book with stories of the Rogers Rangers and seem to really enjoy it. His birthday is coming up and I am looking for more books with interesting local history in them. Same kinda theme not necessarily history books more like an adventure book with good history. 

Thanks in advance.

There was a movie made ages ago called "Rogers Rangers" with Spencer Tracey and Robert Young >great movie . I have watched it at least 4 times . I was always a fan of the Indian fighting in New York .

Check out ThriftBooks.com for used books 

[jmark]

I really enjoyed "Death on the Barrens" by George Grinnell.  It's a true account of a 1950's expedition into the Canadian arctic, and the tragic outcome.  

https://smile.amazon.com/Death-Barrens-Courage-Tragedy-Canadian/dp/B00BZYI3QS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1546987431&sr=8-1&keywords=death+in+the+barrens

Interestingly, another member of the same expedition later wrote a book to "rebut" Grinnell's account.  I can't find the link right now.  But the story and controversy surrounding this somewhat famous (infamous) trek into the northland is captivating.  

Just a thought.  I was a history major years ago, and love good, true, spellbinding historical works.  

 

[Dinsdale]

Not maybe local, but really hard to beat Stephen Amroses' easy writing style and meticulous research for history books. "Undaunted Courage" about Lewis and Clark dispels many common held myths about conditions crossing the US from wildlife to natives. Maybe one of my favorites; think I have read 20+ of his books.

At the turn of the 1900's believe it or not Eastern Canada(Labrador) was an unexplored vastness and a blank on the map. "Great Heart" by  James Davidson (lives in Hudson Valley, in Rhinebeck) tells story of a wanna be explorer and a tragic set of circumstances that befell him and his companions.

Another NY author Gay Salisbury (also Hudson Valley) penned "The Cruelest Miles" about the epidemic that caught world attention and became inspiration for Iditarod sled dog race. Current dogs and mushers can't hold a candle to the men who ran the original course to save lives in remote Alaska.

Nathaniel Philbrick writes with an interesting flair thats entertaining, Will Steger about his Arctic explorations for more first hand accounts of adventure in modern times and linking them to the past.

Just a couple ideas I have read and reread sometimes.

I happen to like history books that are heavily researched by the authors to give true to account versions and not white washed with a bias.

[Daveboone]

Northwest Passage by Kenneth Roberts is a historical novel on Rogers and the rangers...it is the basis of the movie by the same name, but covers a lot more ground. it is a great book. 

Wilderness War (I forget the author) is written of the indian wars fought in the American Revolution against the Iroquois,  covering the Sullivan campaigns. All local stuff, and a great read. It is history, not a novel but it reads like one. 

Drums along the Mohawk...the book of which the movie was base...Like Northwest Passage, it has been around quite a while, but I read it for the first time a year ago, and it read very quickly. Both books are exciting NY history. We forget just how much upstate NY was the frontier at one time. 

Someone else mentioned Crow Killer....I agree, it is a great book.