The January 28th issue of the most popular genealogy newsletter on the Internet, Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter gave a vigorous thumbs up to Jack Crowder’s collection of “did you know about” happenings from America’s War for Independence. The review, written by Bobbi King, is reprinted in its entirety here:
Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter, January 28, 2020
Book Review: Strange, Amazing, and Funny Events that Happened during the Revolutionary War
The following Book Reviews were written by Bobbi King :
Strange, Amazing, and Funny Events that Happened during the Revolutionary War
By Jack Darrell Crowder. Genealogical Publ. Co. 2019. 145 pages.
The First 24 Hours of the American Revolution. An Hour by Hour Account of the Battles of Lexington, Concord, and the British Retreat on Battle Road
By Jack Darrell Crowder. Genealogical Publ. Co. 2018. 129 pages.
“Jack Darrell Crowder taught school. And I’m guessing he taught history. And I’m guessing he jumpstarted a love of history for a lot of students who discovered a new excitement for history, because if he enriched his classes with such stories as he’s written into his books, then his teaching has left a personal legacy.
“These books are not written in standard textbook style. They’re narrative, short-story style. Full of anecdotes, some less than half a page long, some slightly more than a page, but most so short they’re quickly read and then on to the next one. It’s good reading, bedside reading, travel reading, as there is no thread to lose. You can pick it up, read a while about American history, and then put it down and get dinner started. The stories are human-based instead of the straight recitation of the facts; dates and places are just the circumstances surrounding the events that happened to real people. One story:
‘At the Battle of Red Bank on October 22, 1777 over 600 Americans repelled 900 Hessian troops who were trying to take Fort Mercer. During the battle Mrs. Whitall was in a room in her home inside the fort. She was on the second floor spinning on her wheel trying to pass time during the battle. A British cannon ball entered the attic just above her. The cannon ball rolled across the floor, down the stairs and landed at the foot of the stairs no more than ten feet from where she was sitting. She got up and took her spinning wheel to the basement and continued her spinning.’
Strange, Amazing, and Funny Events that Happened during the Revolutionary War, p. 52.
“There are drawings and maps to supplement the stories. The books are nicely formatted for easy reading. At the end of each story the author cites his source. There is a bibliography and index in the back of each book.
“These are interesting books to have, even for adults. I say, even for adults, as these books are ideal for a young person interested in reading about this particular time in a form that is far more interesting than the textbooks they have at school.
“I suspect this teacher thumbed through the textbooks the school administration assigned to his classes, and decided that he needed to rewrite history.
“But in a far more interesting way.”
Strange, Amazing, and Funny Events that Happened during the Revolutionary War and The First 24 Hours of the American Revolution – An Hour by Hour Account of the Battles of Lexington, Concord, and the British Retreat on Battle Road are both available from the publisher, Genealogical Publishing Company . . . .”
Strange, Amazing, and Funny Events that Happened during the Revolutionary War
By Jack Darrell Crowder. Genealogical Publ. Co. 2019. 145 pages.
The First 24 Hours of the American Revolution. An Hour by Hour Account of the Battles of Lexington, Concord, and the British Retreat on Battle Road
By Jack Darrell Crowder. Genealogical Publ. Co. 2018. 129 pages.
Also by Jack Crowder: Women Patriots in the American Revolution
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