Long overdue - currently reading 1776 by historian David McCullough.
Currently on p. 80, and as with all of McCullough's books, 1776 is engaging from the very beginning, as he seemlessly meshes the broad sweep of events with the little details of the time.
"New England men were also averse to washing their own clothes, considering that women's work. The British included women in their army - wives and other so-called camp followers, some of whom were prostitutes - who did the washing, but that was not the way with the New Englanders." (p. 31)
All too often we read of generals, and strategies, and great battles (and those are all here, of course), but what brings history alive are the stories of everyone involved. McCullough is a master at what has become known as "popular history" - which is really, after all, our history.
Paul Kimball
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