The Astronaut Wives Club: A True Story – Lily Koppel
I recently finished The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel. It’s an interesting look into the glamorous years of the American space program. The book opens with the wives of the Mercury program which first put Americans in space. It spans the 20 years of the space program and goes onto the Gemini and Apollo missions. Overall, I liked it but didn’t love it. I didn’t particularly care for the writing style. It’s written more like a novel than a biography.
Unwise Passions: A True Story of a Remarkable Woman and the First Great Scandal of Eighteenth-Century America – Alan Pell Crawford
Another recent read was Unwise Passions by Alan Pell Crawford. This book examines the first great scandal of the United States and actually involves relations of my family, the Randolphs of Virginia. The scandal in focus involved Nancy, her betrothed, Theodorick, and his older brother, Richard. I really enjoyed this biography, even if very little of the focus is on the actual scandal.
Inside the Tudor Court: Henry VIII and His Six Wives Through the Writings of the Spanish Ambassador Eustace Chapuys – Lauren Mackay
Another summer read was Inside the Tudor Court by Lauren Mackay. This particular work focuses on, you guessed it, Eustace Chapuys, Imperial ambassador to Henry VIII’s court. Tudor history lovers will be very familiar with Chapuys. The book is a great read for a new perspective on the familiar events of the tumultuous late 1520s to early 1540s.
The Muse of the Revolution: The Secret Pen of Mercy Otis Warren and the Founding of a Nation – Nancy Rubin Stuart
I also finished The Muse of the Revolution by Nancy Rubin Stuart. It is a biography of Mercy Otis Warren, the first female American playwright and inspiration to the Founding Fathers. Mercy maintained a prolific correspondence, so we have a fascinating insight into life of Revolutionary Americans not involved in the national government or military. Her satires of the British leadership expressed the thoughts and frustrations of many other Americans. A solid read for any lover of the American Revolution.
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