Handsome in appearance, simple in construction, and remarkably efficient, early American tools were true marvels of ingenuity. In the hands of skilled workers, they were used to create everything from simple shelters, wagons, and fences to intricately carved chairs, fireplace mantels, and door moldings.
In this richly illustrated book, author and master craftsman Alex Bealer tells the fascinating story of early American woodworking, enthusiastically describing and clearly depicting a wide array of devices from axes wielded by frontiersmen to clear the land and build log cabins, to...

This collection of enthralling personal narratives vivifies life during and just after the era of slavery in the United States. First published 25 years after the Civil War ended, the volume was the work of an educated African-American woman who became the voice of many former slaves. The interviews she recorded tell of cruel punishments, divided families, and debilitating labor, but they also include information about religious beliefs and practices, as well as the condition and progress of former slaves.

The wife of a minister in a small frontier town west of Boston, Mary Rowlandson was forced to leave her house in the late winter of 1676 after marauding Indians set the building on fire. "I had often before this said," she later wrote, "that if the Indians should come, I should chuse rather to be killed by them than taken alive but when it came to the tryal my mind changed; their glittering weapons so daunted my spirit, that I chose rather to go along . . . than to end my days."
Thus began Mary Rowlandson's account of her arduous journey as a servant to her captors, the Narragansett...

The most important and influential source of information about the Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony, this landmark accountwas written between 1630 and 1647. Itvividly documents the Pilgrims' adventures: their first stop in Holland, the harrowing transatlantic crossing aboard the Mayflower, the first harsh winter in the new colony, and the help fromfriendly Native Americans that saved their lives.
No one was better equipped to report on the affairs of the Plymouth community than William Bradford. Revered for his patience, wisdom, and courage, Bradford was elected to the office of...