The Valley
A Hundred Years in the Life of a Family

Abraham Lincoln understood that life was short and rarely sweet at a visceral level, probably because of the early death of his mother and his sister. Later in his life he attempted to trace his family history and lost the thread at his parental grandfather; of his mother’s history he could trace no......more

If you're a hobbyist historian, you never know what topic will next attract your attention and lure you down the rabbit hole. In my case, as a 48 year old middle class female from the southwestern United States, it is the history of the British working class during the Industrial Revolution. So I st......more

The Valley got tremendous reviews in the press and has an average of 4.36 on Goodreads so I am obviously missing something. My short reaction to the book is 'ho hum'. It's certainly an interesting snippet of social history and there are some interesting and moving events described, but it's a bit li......more