Fans pick 100 books like The Ohio Frontier, Crucible of the Old Northwest, 1720-1830

By R. Douglas Hurt,

Here are 100 books that The Ohio Frontier, Crucible of the Old Northwest, 1720-1830 fans have personally recommended if you like The Ohio Frontier, Crucible of the Old Northwest, 1720-1830. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Dunmore's New World: The Extraordinary Life of a Royal Governor in Revolutionary America

Lori Benton Author Of Many Sparrows

From my list on Dunmore’s War (1774 Ohio frontier).

Why am I passionate about this?

Lori Benton is an award-winning, multi-published author of historical novels set during the 18th century North America. Her literary passion is bringing little known historical events to life through the eyes of those who lived it, particularly those set along the Appalachian frontier, where European and Native American cultural and world views collided. Virginia Governor Lord Dunmore’s campaign against the Shawnee nation on the eve of the Revolutionary war, culminating in the Battle of Point Pleasant, is a fascinating, complex, and poignant example of the armies and individuals that planned, fought, and resisted the campaign.

Lori's book list on Dunmore’s War (1774 Ohio frontier)

Lori Benton Why did Lori love this book?

With a broader focus than the 1774 campaign into the Ohio Valley known as Dunmore’s War, James David’s book gave me a vivid picture of the late colonial North American and British landscape in which Dunmore lived and moved and had his being. An engaging read as well as an indispensable resource for a historical fiction writer.

By James Corbett David,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dunmore's New World as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dunmore's New World tells the stranger-than-fiction story of Lord Dunmore, the last royal governor of Virginia, whose long-neglected life boasts a measure of scandal and intrigue rare in the annals of the colonial world. Dunmore not only issued the first formal proclamation of emancipation in American history; he also undertook an unauthorized Indian war in the Ohio Valley, now known as Dunmore's War, that was instrumental in opening the Kentucky country to white settlement. In this entertaining biography, James Corbett David brings together a rich cast of characters as he follows Dunmore on his perilous path through the Atlantic world…


Book cover of A Country Between: The Upper Ohio Valley and Its Peoples, 1724-1774

Lori Benton Author Of Many Sparrows

From my list on Dunmore’s War (1774 Ohio frontier).

Why am I passionate about this?

Lori Benton is an award-winning, multi-published author of historical novels set during the 18th century North America. Her literary passion is bringing little known historical events to life through the eyes of those who lived it, particularly those set along the Appalachian frontier, where European and Native American cultural and world views collided. Virginia Governor Lord Dunmore’s campaign against the Shawnee nation on the eve of the Revolutionary war, culminating in the Battle of Point Pleasant, is a fascinating, complex, and poignant example of the armies and individuals that planned, fought, and resisted the campaign.

Lori's book list on Dunmore’s War (1774 Ohio frontier)

Lori Benton Why did Lori love this book?

A comprehensive examination of the Ohio Valley native nations during the decades leading up to Dunmore’s War. Though the covering of the actual campaign makes up a small portion of this book, any researcher desiring a balanced view of the conflict for land in the Ohio couldn’t ask for a better resource than A Country Between.

By Michael N. McConnell,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Country Between as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Ohio Country in the eighteenth century was a zone of international strife, and the Delawares, Shawnees, Iroquois, and other natives who had taken refuge there were caught between the territorial ambitions of the French and British. A Country Between is unique in assuming the perspective of the Indians who struggled to maintain their autonomy in a geographical tinderbox.


Book cover of Point Pleasant 1774: Prelude to the American Revolution

Lori Benton Author Of Many Sparrows

From my list on Dunmore’s War (1774 Ohio frontier).

Why am I passionate about this?

Lori Benton is an award-winning, multi-published author of historical novels set during the 18th century North America. Her literary passion is bringing little known historical events to life through the eyes of those who lived it, particularly those set along the Appalachian frontier, where European and Native American cultural and world views collided. Virginia Governor Lord Dunmore’s campaign against the Shawnee nation on the eve of the Revolutionary war, culminating in the Battle of Point Pleasant, is a fascinating, complex, and poignant example of the armies and individuals that planned, fought, and resisted the campaign.

Lori's book list on Dunmore’s War (1774 Ohio frontier)

Lori Benton Why did Lori love this book?

Osprey books are often the best place to start when researching a new historical topic. While writing my novel, Many Sparrows, I relied on this slender volume more than any other. Richly illustrated, packed with maps, vivid without getting bogged down in detail… if you want to begin delving into the topic of Dunmore’s War (Point Pleasant being its single notable battle), this is the book for you.

By John F. Winkler, Peter Dennis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Point Pleasant 1774 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The only major conflict of Lord Dunmore's War, the battle of Point Pleasant was fought between Virginian militia and American Indians from the Shawnee and Mingo tribes. Following increased tensions and a series of incidents between the American settlers and the natives, Dunmore, the last colonial governor of Virginia, and Colonel Andrew Lewis led two armies against the tribes. On October 10, 1774 Lewis and his men resisted a fierce attack, led by Shawnee chief Keigh-tugh-qua, or Cornstalk, at Point Pleasant, near the mouth of the Kanawha river. Despite significant losses on both sides, Lewis succeeded in forcing the Shawnee…


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Book cover of Secret St. Augustine: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure

Secret St. Augustine By Elizabeth Randall, William Randall,

Tourists and local residents of St. Augustine will enjoy reading about the secret wonders of their ancient city that are right under their noses. Of course, that includes a few stray corpses and ghosts!

Book cover of The Border Wars of the Upper Ohio Valley

Lori Benton Author Of Many Sparrows

From my list on Dunmore’s War (1774 Ohio frontier).

Why am I passionate about this?

Lori Benton is an award-winning, multi-published author of historical novels set during the 18th century North America. Her literary passion is bringing little known historical events to life through the eyes of those who lived it, particularly those set along the Appalachian frontier, where European and Native American cultural and world views collided. Virginia Governor Lord Dunmore’s campaign against the Shawnee nation on the eve of the Revolutionary war, culminating in the Battle of Point Pleasant, is a fascinating, complex, and poignant example of the armies and individuals that planned, fought, and resisted the campaign.

Lori's book list on Dunmore’s War (1774 Ohio frontier)

Lori Benton Why did Lori love this book?

Yet another book about the Ohio frontier broader in scope than Dunmore’s War, but a chapter in this book is devoted to it. What sets this book apart is its focus on individual men and women who struggled to survive (and in some instances shaped) the constant wars on the Ohio frontier during the period: Daniel Boone; Chief Logan; the Zane family; Simon Kenton; Lewis Wetzel; the Girty brothers; George Rogers Clark, and more. The examination of their lives and the events they witnessed, lived through, and helped shape, lends a fuller picture of life during this turbulent era.

By William Hintzen,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Border Wars of the Upper Ohio Valley as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Conflict between the settlers and the Indians in the Pittsburg PA, Wheeling WV. area 1769-1794. Wetzel, Boone, Zane, Kenton, Girty.


Book cover of Sula

Lori Latrice Martin Author Of White Sports/Black Sports: Racial Disparities in Athletic Programs

From my list on tensions in the African American experience.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was born and raised in Nyack, New York, and all of my degrees are from colleges and universities in New York. I have always been interested in race relations in America and understanding their causes and consequences. Hope and despair are two themes that run through the experiences of people of African ancestry in America. The books I selected include fiction and nonfiction works that highlight promises made and promises unfulfilled.

Lori's book list on tensions in the African American experience

Lori Latrice Martin Why did Lori love this book?

I love Toni Morrison's works and consider her one of my favorite authors. I would argue, as others have, that Morrison is one of the greatest American writers ever. I appreciate that the characters in all of her books, including this one, are always dynamic. I also appreciate how Morrison shares the main characters' traumas, tragedies, and triumphs.

By Toni Morrison,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Sula as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Extravagantly beautiful... Enormously, achingly alive... A howl of love and rage, playful and funny as well as hard and bitter' New York Times

As young girls, Nel and Sula shared each other's secrets and dreams in the poor black mid-West of their childhood. Then Sula ran away to live her dreams and Nel got married.

Ten years later Sula returns and no one, least of all Nel, trusts her. Sula is a story of fear - the fear that traps us, justifying itself through perpetual myth and legend. Cast as a witch by the people who resent her strength, Sula…


Book cover of Autumn of the Black Snake: George Washington, Mad Anthony Wayne, and the Invasion That Opened the West

Peter Cozzens Author Of Tecumseh and the Prophet: The Shawnee Brothers Who Defied a Nation

From my list on the American Indian Wars.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a retired Foreign Service Officer with the U. S. Department of State and, more to the point for the purpose of the topic at hand, the author or editor of eighteen books on the Indian Wars and the Civil War. Among them is the bestselling, multiple award-winning The Earth is Weeping: The Indian Wars for the American West.

Peter's book list on the American Indian Wars

Peter Cozzens Why did Peter love this book?

The bloodiest and most decisive Indian wars occurred not in the American West but in the Ohio Valley shortly after the United States gained its independence. The little known struggles with the formidable tribes of the Midwest opened the way for westward expansion. Autumn of the Black Snake is a scrupulously balanced account of what is sometimes called President George Washington’s Indian War, enhanced with an intriguing recounting of the often dirty policies behind the creation of the United States Army. Author William Hogeland also offers engaging portraits of towering but largely forgotten Indian leaders such as Little Turtle and Blue Jacket and their peoples. Read this book before turning to the Indian Wars in the West.

By William Hogeland,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Autumn of the Black Snake as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

William Hogeland's Autumn of the Black Snake presents forgotten story of how the U.S. Army was created to fight a crucial Indian war.

When the Revolutionary War ended in 1783, the newly independent United States savored its victory and hoped for a great future. And yet the republic soon found itself losing an escalating military conflict on its borderlands. In 1791, years of skirmishes, raids, and quagmire climaxed in the grisly defeat of American militiamen by a brilliantly organized confederation of Shawnee, Miami, and Delaware Indians. With nearly one thousand U.S. casualties, this was the worst defeat the nation would…


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Book cover of We Had Fun and Nobody Died: Adventures of a Milwaukee Music Promoter

We Had Fun and Nobody Died By Amy T. Waldman, Peter Jest,

This irreverent biography provides a rare window into the music industry from a promoter’s perspective. From a young age, Peter Jest was determined to make a career in live music, and despite naysayers and obstacles, he did just that, bringing national acts to his college campus atUW-Milwaukee, booking thousands of…

Book cover of Chairing the Academic Department: Leadership Among Peers

Mark William Roche Author Of Realizing the Distinctive University: Vision and Values, Strategy and Culture

From my list on faculty who find themselves in administration.

Why am I passionate about this?

The year after I got tenure, I became a chairperson, overseeing more than twenty faculty members in my department at Ohio State University. I continued in administration for the next seventeen years, serving as a dean at Notre Dame for more then a decade. I am convinced that the best books on higher education interweave ideas, anecdotes, and data. I pursued that genre here, engaging the questions, what makes a university distinctive and how can one best flourish as an administrator.

Mark's book list on faculty who find themselves in administration

Mark William Roche Why did Mark love this book?

When I became a chairperson at Ohio State the year after I received tenure, I found this book on my desk, a gift from the provost, presumably sent to all new chairpersons.

The book had a good bit of practical advice on a wide range of subjects, and I have held on to my copy, even though I have long since moved on to other positions. The chapter on “Faculty Evaluation” was particularly helpful to me when for the first time I had to evaluate colleagues and recommend salary adjustments.

By Allan Tucker,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Chairing the Academic Department as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Third edition of a handbook for the academic administrator promoted from the faculty ranks with little administrative skill or know-how. Provides an depth examination of the typical duties and responsibilities of a department chair that covers an awful lot of ground: from curriculum management to co


Book cover of The Wicked Pavilion

Scott Brooks Author Of And There We Were and Here We Are

From my list on if you love old black-and-white movies.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm a New Yorker with a background in the performing arts. Though a lifelong reader and bookstore loiterer, my early writing career was focused on the stage as well as the pursuit of a career in screenwriting. This led to many years writing and producing theatre as well as working in film and TV both as a writer and in production. The books I've chosen, I feel influenced the American language in the last century, an influence reflected in the tone of the novels and films from that period described by scholars as “Between the Wars.” It's a period that fascinates me for it exists now only in books and movies and is therein preserved.

Scott's book list on if you love old black-and-white movies

Scott Brooks Why did Scott love this book?

Dawn Powell is one of the most overlooked literary figures in America from this time. Her acid wit (and gender) immediately begs comparison to Dorothy Parker. A New Yorker transplanted from Ohio, she wrote many plays and novels from the 30s to the 60s. Wicked Pavilion was published in 1954 and is a delicious satire of a group of artists who frequent a small bistro near Washington Square Park – hard-drinking writers, poets, and painters. It features a hilarious subplot of a painter who stages his own death so the value of his paintings will increase. The antidote to Henry James, Dawn Powell writes like Edith Wharton on laughing gas.

By Dawn Powell,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Wicked Pavilion as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The “Wicked Pavilion” of the title is the Café Julien, where everybody who is anybody goes to recover from failed love affairs and to pursue new ones, to cadge money, to hatch plots, and to puncture one another’s reputation. Dennis Orphen, the writer from Dawn Powell’s Turn, Magic Wheel, makes an appearance here, as does Andy Callingham, Powell’s thinly disguised Ernest Hemingway. The climax of this mercilessly funny novel comes with a party which, remarked Gore Vidal, “resembles Proust’s last roundup,” and where one of the partygoers observes, “There are some people here who have been dead twenty years.”

"For…


Book cover of Another Hill and Sometimes a Mountain

Marlayna Glynn Author Of Overlay

From my list on surviving traumatic childhoods.

Why am I passionate about this?

My first memoir, Overlay, has been called “the very best teenage suicide prevention tool ever created” for which I am eternally grateful. I've been told that it's a miracle I survived my childhood at all, but I don't take credit or satisfaction in that statement. Instead, I've aspired to understand what it is that gives some of us the grit that allows us to power through the unfathomable. Voraciously reading similar stories from my fellow authors continues to inform me that we all have the power to push through the pain of a disadvantaged childhood. Whether it's an inner light, luck, fate, a higher power or some combination of some or all of the above, I don't know. I do know that the children like me who grew up to tell their story with the hope of helping others deserve a read. And sometimes, a good cry.

Marlayna's book list on surviving traumatic childhoods

Marlayna Glynn Why did Marlayna love this book?

You think you had a tough childhood? Meet Tim Green. Born blue into an uneducated, poor, and incestuous family in 1950s Ohio, it's a wonder this child lived at all. However, grit and forces of luck arrived to meet Tim when he needed help. Luck involved the right policemen, care workers, social workers, and foster parents. Grit involved the resolve of Tim himself.

Like Frank McCourt, Tim Green learned early to look on the bright side of life. You'll read the most shocking things you can imagine in this book that will leave you shaking your head at the things people will do. But Tim maintained the idea that not only was he worth something, but so was everyone around him. He learned how to forgive, and that was his rocky path to the fabulous life he lives today. This book is LGBTQ positive.

By Tim Green, Marlayna Glynn (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Another Hill and Sometimes a Mountain as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"This is a book that should be read while alone, to your friends, to a congregation of survivors of abuse – in other words, it should be read by everyone. Sensitive and honest, gain a new perspective on being alive by infusing Tim’s words into your mind. Highly recommended." Hall of Fame Top 50 Reviewer, Grady Harp

ANOTHER HILL AND SOMETIMES A MOUNTAIN is the powerful testimony of Tim Green's determination to rise above his beginnings ... despite the sting of abandonment and the dark secrets surrounding his birth family. In his painful yet at times wry memoir, Green recounts…


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Book cover of Who Is a Worthy Mother?: An Intimate History of Adoption

Who Is a Worthy Mother? By Rebecca Wellington,

I grew up thinking that being adopted didn’t matter. I was wrong. This book is my journey uncovering the significance and true history of adoption practices in America. Now, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, the renewed debate over women’s reproductive rights places…

Book cover of The Passing Playbook

M.E. Corey Author Of Out of Blue Comes Green

From my list on coming-of-age self-deprecating narrators.

Why am I passionate about this?

Coming-of-age stories fascinate me because they are all so different. While we each experience many of the same events, each person’s story is unique. I like to read about how they first understood love or how they met their best friend. I like to try on their life for a bit, walk around in their shoes, and then return to my reality with the person I’ve worked so hard to become. The more I read other people’s stories of growing up, the more I feel we all harbor the same worries about ourselves and our future. We all struggle with similar problems while becoming who we’re meant to be.

M.E.'s book list on coming-of-age self-deprecating narrators

M.E. Corey Why did M.E. love this book?

SPOILER: the best part of this book is the resolution.

I wasn’t sure how Spencer’s team would respond when they discovered he was trans, but the acceptance he experiences is what I wish for all trans kids. I want to believe that Spencer’s acceptance is how society will respond in the (near) future to all trans people. No one will have a problem with you, but if anyone does, we’re all behind you.

In addition, I liked that Fitzsimons included Justice’s family’s views since they are the reality for far too many people. But like so many families, Justice’s family will need to accept people who are different if they don’t want to lose him.

By Isaac Fitzsimons,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Passing Playbook as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Love, Simon meets Bend It Like Beckham in this feel-good contemporary romance about a trans athlete who must decide between fighting for his right to play and staying stealth.

“A sharply observant and vividly drawn debut. I loved every minute I spent in this story, and I’ve never rooted harder for a jock in my life.” – New York Times bestselling author Becky Albertalli

Fifteen-year-old Spencer Harris is a proud nerd, an awesome big brother, and a David Beckham in training. He's also transgender. After transitioning at his old school leads to a year of isolation and bullying, Spencer gets…


Book cover of Dunmore's New World: The Extraordinary Life of a Royal Governor in Revolutionary America
Book cover of A Country Between: The Upper Ohio Valley and Its Peoples, 1724-1774
Book cover of Point Pleasant 1774: Prelude to the American Revolution

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