Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this highly readable, informative if specialized history, Larkin, historian at the re-created Colonial Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts, describes the social changes that accompanied the country's swift development in its first decades of independence. He cites statistical research and quotes contemporary observers from abroad on various aspects of day-to-day significance: the gradual disappearance of the self-contained family farm and village artisan, for example, as textile plants, shoe factories and other enterprises took ``control of materials and product out of the hands of the craftsmen and put them into those of merchant capitalists.'' Larkin also discusses the drop in family size as land became scarcer and settlement moved westward, as well as the steady improvement in housing and available goods brought by the railroads. Readers are reminded of the lack of refinement prevalent in those timesthe dirtiness of home, grounds and person, the crudity of food and dress, the commonplace of cold-climate Americans sharing beds with strangers in roadside inns. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A competent, straightforward, and often fascinating survey of the details and textures of American life during a period of momentous change. Working from primary documents and archeological research, often quoting directly from diaries and letters, Larkin, Chief Historian at Old Sturbridge Village, describes a world that changed from something quite alien to our sensibilities (""far closer to. . .villages of many third-world countries"") into a society we would immediately recognize as the precursor to our own. The material is divided into overlapping sections on demographics and work: the cycles of life, including marriage, birth, disease, and death; houses, furnishings, and the physical environment; behavior, including sexual custom, food, and clothing; music and dance; and patterns of social interaction, with a focus on the poles of church and tavern. Though most space is given to the vast majority of Americans whose livelihood came directly from farming (almost 90% in 1800), Larkin is conscientious about presenting the full range of society, from the wealthiest New Yorkers and Bostonians to those with the meanest existence--slaves of the plantation South and the landless, urban poor. More a guide than an interpreter, Larkin, through the steady accretion of detail and the comments of well-chosen contemporary voices, succeeds in building a remarkable and tangible portrait of an era. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
