Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #71254 in Books
• Published on: 2004-12-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Customer Reviews

This Book Should Be In Classrooms
What a unique and interesting concept: take a diary of a 15 year old boy and write a virtual living history book around it! That takes quite a bit of writing talent, knowledge of the time period, and, for the detailed sketches, an artistic talent. And, thankfully for all of us, Mr. Sloane had it all, as he is the one with all of the above said talent to put such a piece together.
Interspersing the original 1805 writings of Noah Blake and Mr. Sloane's own "liberties" was a stroke of genius that brings to life the lives of early Americana - farming, milling, building, forging, as well as interaction of parent and child, friendships, and courtley love.
This is the sort of style that would get school-age kids, from the upper El through high school, interested in our historical past. What did the folks of 200 years ago do during rainy days? It's here. How about the affects on their lives do to seasonal changes? Yep, that info is here, as well.
Mr. Sloane has a passion for history and it shows in his writing and detailed sketches. He tends to bring up the minute details of daily life that is rarely - if ever - brought up in the "scholarly" history books that cost five times as much. Mr. Sloane's work is always interesting and never stodgy. I have numerous books by this author and have yet to be disappointed.
If you have any interest in American social history, then Diary of an Early American Boy (and all of Eric Sloane's books) come highly recommended.

Pioneer Life in the early United States
I had this book in an earlier edition (1970's?) and found it delightful. As a boy I pored over the text and line drawings to learn how farm life was 150 years hence (I grew up on a farm). The knowledge of the means of labor and variety of tools which were crafted and used has been with me since, and it is interesting to see some of those tools in antique stores and know exactly how they were used. It also has given me great insight into how my ancestors settled the regions were they made their homes, as my family history research progressed.

One of the best
Somehow the sum of the story, descriptions of tools and techniques, and simple drawings adds up to one of the most compelling, accessible, and effective depictions of life in 19th century America I've every read. I came across this wonderful book while doing research for my undergraduate thesis over thirty years ago, I used it very effectively to teach high school history, and just last year I had a great time reading it with my 11 year old son. In all those years I have never seen it fail to engage and energize the reader, often compelling them out of their seats to try one the contraptions for themselves (the ink recipe works well). How cool is that!