Briar Patch Books

Category: History

  • Who did whatever it was?

    Paul O’Connor’s latest reading venture involved an actual book rather than the screen of his iPhone, and he moved from 19th century fiction to a real-life 20th century mystery. By Paul T. O’Connor DEATH OF A PINEHURST PRINCESS: The 1935 Elva Statler Davidson Mystery.  By Steve Bouser. The History Press. 206 pages. $19.99, trade paperback.…

  • The Sounds of Battle at Sea

    When I drive alone, I like to listen to audio books.  I listen almost exclusively to fiction, just as almost everything I read is fiction. It’s not that I dislike nonfiction; it’s more that try as I might, I find it hard to make myself read nonfiction. I blame this failing on my long years…

  • Praise for a History of Christianity

    Stephen Wishnevsky of Winston-Salem weighs in on a weighty book. He hasn’t quite finished the book – it’s long – but his review is worthwhile nonetheless. By Stephen Wishnevsky CHRISTIANITY: THE FIRST THREE THOUSAND YEARS. By Diarmaid MacCulloch. Viking Press.  2010. 1016 pages. $45. As much as I hate to review a book that I…

  • Wicked River

    Here’s our debut review by Paul O’Connor, a veteran news reporter, editorial writer and journalism professor who lives in Raleigh. Paul has traveled the country extensively in recent years, crossing the Mississippi many times. He’s also quite the Mark Twain buff. By Paul T. O’Connor WICKED RIVER: THE MISSISSIPPI WHEN IT LAST RAN WILD. By…