The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Colonial America, 1607-1783 [Paperback]

Dale Taylor (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1582971773 | ISBN-13: 978-1582971773 | Publication Date: January 1, 2002

Readers will understand all the events- from the seemingly inconsequential to the major- that framed Colonial American life. Includes sections on family life, fashion, earning a living, what colonists ate, climate, goegraphy, trade, and much more.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Museum curator and historical interpreter Taylor here introduces many aspects of life in Colonial America, outlining the history and government of the Chesapeake Bay area, New England, the Middle Colonies, and the Deep South in regional overviews. Chapters cover everyday life, government and war, and society and conclude with a selected, partially annotated bibliography. Terms and colloquial usages are identified in the text, but there is no comprehensive glossary or index. Though the shortage of anecdotes that would bring the Colonists to life is a drawback, writers new to this subject should still gain a good understanding of the basic elements of Colonial life and even pick up interesting tidbits, e.g., the ubiquitous beer and cider was watered down and barely alcoholic. A useful resource; recommended for public and academic libraries.?Beth Clewis Crim, Prince William P.L., Va.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 308 pages
• Publisher: F&W Publications (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582971773
• ISBN-13: 978-1582971773
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #991,374 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good basic volume, December 31, 2002

By 

Chrijeff (Scranton, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Everyday Life in Colonial America (Writer's Guides to Everyday Life) (Hardcover)

The Writer's Guide series is intended to "syntheize the many facts available into concepts that help you understand the period without excessive study," to quote the author's introduction, and in that this volume of it succeeds well. Of course, in a book of this size, such a large number of subjects can only be covered in a fairly superficial manner, but the extensive bibliographies do help by providing pointers to other useful works. And since social histories always tend to be thinner on the ground than mainstream ones (battles and kings and Parliaments), any comprehensive book on the subject is welcome.

The book starts out with a general timeline, then offers a regional overview of the major developments and occurrences in each of four major regions, and goes on to touch on everyday life (food and drink, architecture, clothing and accessories, marriage and family), government and war (including "money, economy, trade, travel, and navigation"), and Colonial society (arts and sciences, trades, professions, religion). Period terms and unusual colloquialisms are emphasized by a special typeface. Though the illustrations are relatively few, they are clear and well-chosen, and there are several sidebars showing such things as weights and measures and the sequences of commands used in artillery and in matchlock-rifle companies. It may simply be because I don't often have occasion to look into social histories of this era (my period is more likely to be 1840-90), but I found that this one provided me with quite a lot of useful information. Writers and casual students alike should be able to say the same.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too small a book for so vast a subject, November 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Everyday Life in Colonial America (Writer's Guides to Everyday Life) (Hardcover)

It's a handy book to begin research on the 13 American colonies that became the U.S.A. It breaks down colonial life by activity and there are what looks like nice sized bibliographies. But this book is too small to cover such a vast area and time period.

Life in the Northern New England region was different than life in the South. Life in the coastal areas was different than life in Pennsylvania or Georgia. Colonial life in the 1600's was different from that in the late 1700's because in the 1600's European settlement (English/French anyway) was just beginning while in 1770's the colonies were self sufficient enough to successfully rebel against England and spread westward. There are ethnic differences. French settlements were not constructed like English Settlements and English were not like Spanish. (and those are only the 3 big European colonizers of North America).

2)"Colonial America" should include the colonies that did not become the United States as well as those that did. Many of Louisiana's founding families were those expelled from Acadia/New France by the British conquest of Quebec and Nova Scotia. So, Nouvelle France and Acadian colonies should be discussed and although I understand a book about American colonies written by an American would espouse the Republican side of the American Revolution, the views of those who in Canada are called the Loyalists should be mentioned, since they were as much members of your communities as those who were Patriots.

Of course all this would make a huge book and not cover everything it promises to in its title. Writer's Digest should've made many smaller books in their Everyday Life series to cover the subject better - but it's something.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A well researched overview of life in the early colonies., June 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Everyday Life in Colonial America (Writer's Guides to Everyday Life) (Hardcover)

This book is a well researched and organized overview of life in the early American colonies. Taylor goes to great pains to supply insights into government and family matters of, and the trades and professions of 17th and 18th century settlers. Intended as a sourcebook for writers, it is also a must for the history student who wishes to better understand American colonists.