Apparently, I was very into history for this month’s book reviews and recommendations.  From reading about Alexander Hamilton as told through the viewpoint of his wife to the Armenian genocide to a fun book by a Wisconsin author, I really enjoyed reading each story this month.  I hope you find a book or two you might enjoy yourself!

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Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune

A biography of Huguette Clark, the youngest daughter of a wealthy copper American during the time of the Vanderbilts and Astors.  The book takes you from her father’s start in life and gaining all his wealth to Huguette becoming a recluse for decades with relatives and even “friends” never laying eyes on her.  The heiress had huge properties that were kept up despite her not living in them.  Huguette was extremely generous with not only the people she liked but their families as well.  Eventually, Huguette died at the age of 105 having spent the last 20 years living in a hospital.  With her death came many fights over her will and who was to inherit what.  A very interesting read about a fascinating woman.

The Sandcastle Girls

This book reads like an autobiography of the author telling her grandparents’ story of meeting in Syria and eventually marrying in America.  The grandfather is Armenian having survived the genocide while her grandmother is a privileged white American coming to Aleppo to provide aid. I thought the story and history gave great insight into a genocide the U.S. still doesn’t officially recognize to this day.  At times the story was a little slow moving, constantly flipping point of views, and there is a lot of information about the war as well as the narrator’s feelings about writing the book.

My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton

The story of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton (Alexander Hamilton’s wife) is detailed from her life as a teenager meeting the country’s founding fathers through dealing with the aftermath of her husband’s death.  Eliza’s world is filled with political and personal scandals (through no fault of her own) and the reader learns about her efforts to keep Alexander Hamilton’s legend alive.  I thought this book was great.  The information is based on historical fact though obviously her feelings and thoughts are made up as hardly any of her correspondences survived.  I tried reading the book Hamilton but I was too bored to get through it.  This book gave me the main parts of Hamiton’s biography through the eyes of his wife in a much more personalized version.

Sweet and Sour Pie: A Wisconsin Boyhood

If you are from Wisconsin this is a cute book to read. The author was born in Ohio but ended up moving to Manitowoc during his childhood.  All of his stories are short and quite enjoyable.  He explains one crazy Christmas, hunting with his dad, and his mom freaking out over a bat.  The life lessons he learns from his parents are woven throughout the short stories.  I especially love that Door County, Sheepshead, and Methodists are all mentioned in the book which I found very relatable.  If you are not from Wisconsin there is a glossary in the back to explain any terms you might not know.  This is an easy, quick read that will leave you smiling.

Need more good books to read?  Check out my August Book Reads post!