Friday Finds: Nov. 14

I post my entire list of weekly discoveries on Sundays, but I like to pick out a couple of books to highlight for this meme. To see what others found this week, click here.

Both books for this week were found on J. Kaye's Book Blog! It is simply coincidence that the two books I picked from my list happened to be mentioned or reviewed there. Thanks J. Kaye!

The first one is Crossing the Continent 1527-1540 by Robert Goodwin. This is the true story of Estaban Dorantes, an African American slave who traveled across the American south with three Spanish captains. They face much hardship along the way, and the Europeans eventually owe their lives to Dorantes. Sounds like a must-read to me.


The second one is To Catch the Lightning by Alan Cheuse. This is a novel based on the life of photographer Edward Curtis, who became famous for his photographs of Native Americans. Curtis was determined to record the disappearing cultures of the American Indians, and apparently this passion became all-consuming. I am familiar with Curtis's work and have studied anthropology, so this is another book that is going on my must-read list.

For a synopsis of the first book and a review of the second, visit J. Kaye's blog here.