READING BOOKS ABOUT EARLY AMERICA AND ALL OF AMERICAN HISTORY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MOVE AHEAD---ON THE ROAD IN CINCINNATI AND WHEELING, ILLINOIS

I was on the road for much of July. 

I spent 10 nights in Cincinnati and 7 nights in the Chicago suburb of Wheeling, Illinois.  

I saw family & friends in July. 

I also read two books and much of a third title this past month. 

The books I read were 1. The Puritan Dilemma--The Story of John Winthrop by Edmund Morgan.2. America As Seen By Its First Explorers--The Eyes of Discovery by John Bakeless. & 3. The Populist Persuasion--An American History by Michael Kazin.  

Above you see a picture of the books I read. 

Here is a link to a recording of the Talking Heads song The Book I Read from 1977.

Two of the above titles---The Puritan Dilemma & the Explorers title--concern themselves with North America in the years after Columbus and the years of Colonial America. 

I often have the unobtainable thought of visiting early America and sitting with friends in a colonial  tavern on a moonlit night. 

I read books for what I can learn from them, and also for how they help me escape from the pressures of daily life.

Here is what I learned or had reinforced from the books I read while in Ohio and Illinois this past July--

The Puritan Dilemma---The central question for many--and for myself--is the tension between inclusion and separation regarding everyday society.

You want to be part of things, while at the same time realizing there has got to be something better. 

First Explorers---Wherever it is you are, somebody was there before you arrived & somebody will be there after you are gone.  

Populist Persuasion---The voice of the people is useful to an extent, but you must stay your own course.

After a month of travels and reading, I'd simply say you have to keep on moving, learning and thinking. 

And as always---Every day has great value and it is up to each of us--without forgetting the place of circumstance in life---to do the work needed to realize the value of each day.

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