The days are long and warm, the perfect time to lounge outside with a good book. That's why there are so many Summer Reading Lists out there. From The New York Times to NPR, everyone has thoughts about what you should be reading. Here in Stafford, though, we decided to turn to our neighbors for recommendations.
In the second installment of our Summer Reading Recommendation series, we are turning to another fixture of the Stafford community for suggestions: The Stafford Historical Society.
If you have ever popped into the Stafford Historical Society to poke around or ask a question, there is a good chance you met Becky Kraussmann. The Vice President of the Stafford Historical Society and a member of the Stafford Historic Advisory Commission, Becky has been in town for 35 years and is a font of historical information. Kraussmann was the right person to turn to because she says, "I am a voracious reader, and I have many favorites and recommendations." As you might imagine, she loves books about history. In fact, she couldn't even narrow down her recommendations to just one.
Let's start with a historical fiction suggestion that might help you cool down during the dog days of summer. "The Frozen River" by Ariel Lawhon.
"This is historical fiction and it is based on the life and diary of Martha Ballard who was a midwife in Maine in the late 18th century," says Kraussmann. "I had read 'A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812' by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, which is non-fiction, and I was fascinated by Martha Ballard's profession in a time when women had so little choice and power."
Book Description:
Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the close-knit community. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town’s most respected gentlemen—one of whom has now been found dead in the ice. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own.
Over the course of one winter, as the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha doggedly pursues the truth. Her diary soon lands at the center of the scandal, implicating those she loves, and compelling Martha to decide where her own loyalties lie.
If you're not into fiction, Kraussman has another suggestion for you: "The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World" by Steven Johnson.
Surely Kraussman has a long list of of books she would like to recommend, so why did this one make the list? She says it is, "hands down one of the most fascinating books I have ever read. It is the story of the 1854 cholera epidemic that hit part of London and Dr. Snow who figured out that there was something in the water of a specific neighborhood making people sick."
Book Description:
It's the summer of 1854, and London is just emerging as one of the first modern cities in the world. But lacking the infrastructure—garbage removal, clean water, sewers—necessary to support its rapidly expanding population, the city has become the perfect breeding ground for a terrifying disease no one knows how to cure. As the cholera outbreak takes hold, a physician and a local curate are spurred to action and ultimately solve the most pressing medical riddle of their time.
In a triumph of multidisciplinary thinking, Johnson illuminates the intertwined histories of the spread of disease, the rise of cities, and the nature of scientific inquiry, offering both a riveting history and a powerful explanation of how it has shaped the world we live in.
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