A fascinating study of American life and an explanation of how American life is studied through the everyday details of ordinary living, colorfully depicting a world hundreds of years in the past.History is recorded in many ways. According to author James Deetz, the past can be seen most fully by studying the small things so often forgotten. Objects such as doorways, gravestones, musical instruments, and even shards of pottery fill in the cracks between large histo...

"Partakers of Plenty" by Jay Anderson is a comprehensive examination of Native American foodways and culinary traditions. Anderson delves into the diverse methods by which Indigenous peoples across North America cultivated, harvested, and prepared food throughout history. Drawing on archaeological evidence, historical records, and Indigenous knowledge, the book explores the significance of food in shaping culture, identity, and social organization. From the agricultural practices of the Th...

History is recorded in many ways. According to author James Deetz, the past can be seen most fully by studying the small things so often forgotten. In his completely revised and expanded edition of In Small Things Forgotten, Deetz has added new sections that more fully acknowledge the presence of women and African Americans in Colonial America. New interpretations of archaeological finds detail how minorities influenced and were affected by the development of the Anglo-American tr...

"One of the distinguished gardening books of our time," from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Omnivore's Dilemma ( USA Today).Chosen by the American Horticultural Society as one of the 75 greatest books ever written about gardeningAfter Michael Pollan bought an old Connecticut dairy farm, he planted a garden and attempted to follow Thoreau's example: do not impose your will upon the wilder...

A fascinating history of the daily lives of Americans in the first fifty years of the new republic, told often in their own words.The years between the patrician leadership of George Washington and the campaign that elected William Henry Harrison marked a period of startling changes in American life. However, most American were enmeshed in the myriad ordinary concerns of their lives, and although deeply affected by the great events of the time, their concern with th...

George Washington's Mount Vernon brings together--for the first time--the details of Washington's 45-year endeavor to build and perfect Mount Vernon. In doing so it introduces us to a Washington few of his contemporaries knew, and one little noticed by historians since. Here we meet the planter/patriot who also genuinely loved building, a man passionately human in his desire to impress on his physical surroundings the stamp of his character and personal beliefs. As chief architect...

A captivating exploration of the ever-evolving world of architecture and the untold stories buildings tell.When a building is finished being built, that isn’t the end of its story. More than any other human artifacts, buildings improve with time—if they’re allowed to. Buildings adapt by being constantly refined and reshaped by their occupants, and in that way, architects can become artists of time rather than simply artists of space.From the connected farmh...

This history of woodworking hand tools from the 17th to the 20th century is one of a very gradual evolution of tools through generations of craftsmen. As a result, the sources of changes in design are almost impossible to ascertain.Published sources, moreover, have been concerned primarily with the object shaped by the tool rather than the tool itself. The resulting scarcity of information is somewhat compensated for by collections in museums and restorations. In this paper, the au...

An impassioned and rigorous appeal for reconnection to the land and human feeling by one of America’s most heartfelt and humble writersWhen he accepted the invitation to deliver The Jefferson Lecture—our nation’s highest honor for distinguished intellectual achievement—Wendell Berry decided to take on the obligation of thinking again about the problems that have engaged him throughout his long career. He wanted a fresh start, not only in looking at the groundwork o...

There is no better way to see America than on foot. And there is no better way to appreciate what you are looking at than with a walking tour. This walking tour of Williamsburg, Virginia from walkthetown.com is ready to explore when you are. Each walking tour describes historical, architectural landmarks, cultural sites and ecclesiastic touchstones and provides step-by-step directions.

Robert Sullivan, the New York Times bestselling author of Rats and Cross Country, delivers a revolutionary reconsideration of Henry David Thoreau for modern readers of the seminal transcendentalist. Dispelling common notions of Thoreau as a lonely eccentric cloistered at Walden Pond, Sullivan (whom the New York Times Book Review calls "an urban Thoreau") paints a dynamic picture of Thoreau as the naturalist who founded our American ideal of "the Great Ou...

"This book accompanies the exhibition "Writing the Garden" organized in 2011 by the New York Society Library."