Summary
This is a new kind of history-oriented U.S. travel guide, one that not only showcases premier destinations but also uses their histories to tell the story of early America.
It focuses on the period before the 1840s westward movement and features 300 of the nation's premier living history parks, historic sites and "museum plus" destinations. Included are World Heritage Sites, National Parks and Monuments, State and National Historic Sites, and a rich collection of privately operated Living History Museums.
What are your interests? People, culture, religion, colonial settlement, military events, village life, government, industry, fur trade, westward expansion? This book covers them all and categorizes them in chapters that reflect our nation's early heritage - America's Native Peoples, European Colonization, Religious and Secular Groups, Road to Independence, Our New Nation and Opening the West.
The variety showcased in this book is startling. Learn where to see the pueblos, earth dwellings and long houses of Native Peoples. Find out about full-scale replicas of the sailing ships that brought the first Europeans to the New World. Discover villages where Colonial America is being re-created so realistically that time seems to have stood still. Explore the melting pot of religious communities that helped to define American culture. And. of course, see restored or reconstructed forts, fur trading posts and industrial complexes such as iron furnaces, gunpowder manufacturers, textile mills. This is history at its most enjoyable!
In addition to details about the top historic destinations, this book offers 500 color photographs, helpful regional maps and a wealth of background information to make your reading enjoyable and your travels exciting. Whether you are an active vacationer, living history explorer or armchair traveler, you will find just what you want in this unique, information-packed book!
The cover is printed with UV-protected inks and laminated for added durability.
About the Author
Suzanne and Craig Sheumaker, the authors, have a passion for history that came not through reading but through traveling. In fact, it grew out of a cross-country vacation with two teenage children. "While our previous trips had focused on scenic spots and theme parks, this one skipped the theme parks and included historic farms, forts and villages," Suzanne notes. "Our intent was to have a different and fun family vacation. Little did we realize: it also was life-altering."
In recent years, the Sheumakers have traveled over 125,000 miles nationwide by car and motorhome, exploring America and visiting hundreds of attractions. "We are continually captivated by the wide range of interesting historic places," Craig says. "They bring us face-to-face with a past that is quite extraordinary." Using their career talents in writing, graphic design and photography, they decided to share their discoveries. This book is the result of that effort.
Reviews
Amador Ledger Dispatch newspaper/website
May 25, 2007
"Focus on Business" column by Marcia Oxford
http://www.ledger-dispatch.com/life/lifeview.asp?c=215205
RoadTripAmerica.com website
"America's Living History-The Early Years
by Megan Edwards
May 27, 2007
http://www.roadtripamerica.com/read/Americas-Living-History.htm
