A Non-Fiction Book Worthy of Note: Scott MacDonald’s LEGACY, An Ancestral Journey Through American History

 

This is an accounting of the author’s family history but it also tells of the Scots and others who came to America when the country was new. Some came as indentured servants, some as pilgrims looking for freedom of worship, and others came seeking fame or fortune. The book documents the ancestry of more than fifty families and four native tribes. It is a treasure trove of information and stories of those whose lives made America what it was in the early days.

 

The story unfolds in short vignettes. While there is little accounting for romance, the self-sacrificing nature of the marriages that were formed along the way are inspiring.

 

The writing is clear and succinct and reflects deep research. There are many original sources quoted…letters, articles and other writings of our forefathers. The endnotes have a list of references worthy of note. The author has a family legacy that is broad and rich. Thus, you will learn much about the people who came to America in the 17^th and 18^th and 19^th centuries.

 

The book is divided into 69 chapters and covers the years from the Pilgrims to the Civil War. I highly recommend it.

 

Judith E. French’s FIREHAWK’S BRIDE – Fascinating Love Story from the Early American Frontier!

He was only 7 years old in 1600 when John Fire Hawk, grandson of the great Powhattan, was deemed the Chosen One by his Cherokee medicine man on Assateague Island. Twenty years later, in England, having become an indentured servant to an Englishman, he saves Katherine Miles, a squire’s daughter, from a pack of ravenous dogs. And in some mysterious way he knows she will one day be his wife.

Forced into a betrothal she doesn’t want with Robert, the man to whom Hawk is bound, Kate flees the wedding. But the betrothal stands and she accompanies her sister Alice to the new world where both Robert and Hawk now live. As the Indians plot war against the settlers, Hawk determines to save the woman he loves.

Great storytelling with well-drawn characters and rich historical detail provide a worthy tale of life in early Virginia and the Cherokee’s view of the beautiful wilderness. It’s a story of two cultures clashing, and it’s an unusual love story between a noble Indian prince who would defy his people to have the white woman he wanted. I loved John Fire Hawk and his stalwart love for Kate.

Judith French can always be counted upon for a wonderful, well-told story, and this one does not disappoint.

Aleen Malcolm’s THE DAUGHTERS OF CAMERON – A Splendid Finish in the Highlands for a Great Trilogy… A Keeper!

You’ll have to buy is used but it’s worth it. This is a brilliant finish to the Cameron trilogy of stories set in the Highlands and the wilderness of America… all highly recommended. This one features the two daughters of Cameron, a feisty lass whose daughters are much like her.

It begins in 1782 in the Great Lakes region of the American wilderness after the war. Golden-haired Kestrel and her sister, the raven-haired Rue have experienced hardship and the brutality of evil men. Thus, they have walled off their hearts and trust no one.

Dr. Nick Mackay, fresh from the battlefield, promises Cameron he will wed Kestrel and care for her. Very soon, he realizes what Cameron must have seen—that he loves the wild girl. Meanwhile, the pirate Hawk captures the ship the two sisters are sailing on to Scotland and decides to make Rue his wife.

I love Aleen Malcolm’s writing. She is historically detailed; her stories reflect much research and they are emotionally moving. I can forgive her the frequent head-hopping as she jumps from one character’s mind to another because her characters are so well developed, so endearing. Simply wonderful.

Malcolm holds back nothing as she reveals the savagery young women faced on the frontier but she brings into the sisters’ lives wonderful men to love and care for them and tame their wild spirits. They can be read as stand alones but get the trilogy. You will love it.

The Cameron trilogy:

The Taming (Sir Alex Sinclair and Cameron, set in the Highlands)

Ride Out the Storm (Alex and Cameron in the New World)

The Daughters of Cameron (Rue Sinclair and Torquin MacKay and Kestral Sinclair and Alex MacKay