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[CCBC-Net] Childhood books/ What books changed your life?
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From: SIwanter at aol.com <SIwanter>
Date: Wed, 24 May 2006 12:41:48 EDT
This is truly a fascinating conversation.
My lifelong love of anything historical evolved from playing in trash many decades ago. I grew up in Madison, Wisconsin during the 50's and lived in the old Greenbush area which at that time was better known for its saloons than for its schools. I must have been about eight years old when I discovered behind one of those taverns a neatly displayed cache of books. I figured they must be free because they were atop a pile of rubbish. These books smelled of beer and whiskey so I hide them in our garage because my parents never understood my interest in someone else's garbage.
I read them on the way to school and on weekends when I could bicycle into the Arboretum. These books opened up whole new worlds for me. To this day I remember the titles: JOHNNY TREMAIN, WATERLESS MOUNTAIN, THE MATCHLOCK GUN, AMOS FORTUNE, FREE MAN, and THE DARK FRIGATE. I had trouble with a lot of the words and I was overwhelmed with the content much of the time, but I read them over and over again until the books fell apart.
While I've moved away from reading historical fiction to reading about the real thing, I'll never forget those first novels which began me on my history journey.
Sidney Iwanter
Received on Wed 24 May 2006 11:41:48 AM CDT
Date: Wed, 24 May 2006 12:41:48 EDT
This is truly a fascinating conversation.
My lifelong love of anything historical evolved from playing in trash many decades ago. I grew up in Madison, Wisconsin during the 50's and lived in the old Greenbush area which at that time was better known for its saloons than for its schools. I must have been about eight years old when I discovered behind one of those taverns a neatly displayed cache of books. I figured they must be free because they were atop a pile of rubbish. These books smelled of beer and whiskey so I hide them in our garage because my parents never understood my interest in someone else's garbage.
I read them on the way to school and on weekends when I could bicycle into the Arboretum. These books opened up whole new worlds for me. To this day I remember the titles: JOHNNY TREMAIN, WATERLESS MOUNTAIN, THE MATCHLOCK GUN, AMOS FORTUNE, FREE MAN, and THE DARK FRIGATE. I had trouble with a lot of the words and I was overwhelmed with the content much of the time, but I read them over and over again until the books fell apart.
While I've moved away from reading historical fiction to reading about the real thing, I'll never forget those first novels which began me on my history journey.
Sidney Iwanter
Received on Wed 24 May 2006 11:41:48 AM CDT
