Book reviews from FarolB

The New Purchase Or, Seven and A Half Years In the Far West

by Robert Carlton

Dr. Woodburn's edition of THE NEW PURCHASE, OR SEVEN AND A HALF YEARS IN THE FAR WEST,produced by Princeton in honor of Indiana's l9l6 centennial year...TNP was written by Baynard Rush Hall, Indiana University's founding professor; it is a memoir and reminiscence of his time in Indiana--people, places, events of the pioneer period of Owen & Monroe counties. It is humorous, full of primary historical material, and a valuable edition to anyone's library if history is your interest. Hall was the orphaned charge of Dr. Benjamin Rush, Founding Father. Hall died in Brooklyn NY in l963. I am his one and only biographer - my book is BAYNARD RUSH HALL: HIS STORY, (2009) Dixie Kline Richardson, Indianapolis, Indiana

Cleopatra a Life

by Stacy Schiff

Much has been written about Cleopatra, and probably we're all stuck with that image of Elizabeth Taylor in the role. But Schiff has written a biography that shows the cunning, the intelligence, and the place in history of a woman who's never been so thorougly revealed. An in-depth exploration of a personality ahead of her time, and a document that will please readers who love a story rich in authentic detail.