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A review by bronwynmb
Here Is Where: Discovering America's Great Forgotten History by Andrew Carroll
5.0
Won through Goodreads.
More like 4.5 stars, but I'll give it 5.
I really enjoyed this book. Carroll went around the U.S. traveling to places that were important to our history but have been forgotten and don't have markers. The book is broken down into sections based on what the event was; there is a section for medical history, technological history, graves/death history, preservation of history, and more. Some of these sections I enjoyed more than others. I didn't enjoy the medical section as much, but that is because I'm not very interested in it, not because it wasn't interesting. My favorite section was the historical preservation chapter where Carroll discusses the Dunlap broadsides, the Alamo, and more. The graves/death section was also very interesting, and had one of the saddest chapters in the book, in my opinion. (Also, the chapter on Philo Farnsworth was really interesting; I knew a little about him because of Warehouse 13, but that was it. It was great to learn more about him, and I really felt sorry for him overall.)
My only criticism of the book would be that the chapter headings don't always really reflect what the chapter is about. The place that the title is for may just be the jumping off point to discuss something else overall (e.g. The Leary Bookshop is just a way to talk about the Dunlap broadsides and the preservation of them, or lack thereof). This isn't necessarily a bad thing, all of the tangents Carroll goes on are fascinating, but I sometimes wished to know a bit more about the place that the chapter was supposed to be about. Another slight criticism would be that the quotes used at the beginning of each chapter didn't always make sense to me, but if I read them again it might become clear.
Overall, a very interesting book about things people should know more about. I would recommend this to everyone, especially those interested in American history or lesser known history.
More like 4.5 stars, but I'll give it 5.
I really enjoyed this book. Carroll went around the U.S. traveling to places that were important to our history but have been forgotten and don't have markers. The book is broken down into sections based on what the event was; there is a section for medical history, technological history, graves/death history, preservation of history, and more. Some of these sections I enjoyed more than others. I didn't enjoy the medical section as much, but that is because I'm not very interested in it, not because it wasn't interesting. My favorite section was the historical preservation chapter where Carroll discusses the Dunlap broadsides, the Alamo, and more. The graves/death section was also very interesting, and had one of the saddest chapters in the book, in my opinion. (Also, the chapter on Philo Farnsworth was really interesting; I knew a little about him because of Warehouse 13, but that was it. It was great to learn more about him, and I really felt sorry for him overall.)
My only criticism of the book would be that the chapter headings don't always really reflect what the chapter is about. The place that the title is for may just be the jumping off point to discuss something else overall (e.g. The Leary Bookshop is just a way to talk about the Dunlap broadsides and the preservation of them, or lack thereof). This isn't necessarily a bad thing, all of the tangents Carroll goes on are fascinating, but I sometimes wished to know a bit more about the place that the chapter was supposed to be about. Another slight criticism would be that the quotes used at the beginning of each chapter didn't always make sense to me, but if I read them again it might become clear.
Overall, a very interesting book about things people should know more about. I would recommend this to everyone, especially those interested in American history or lesser known history.