family history

Arrowood

By Laura McHugh
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Hilary S.
Aug 7, 2016

Laura McHugh's second novel does not disappoint. Set in Keokuk, Iowa, this novel tells the story of Arden Arrowood, who has inherited her family's stately old home, where she hasn't set foot since she was a child. Arden's grandparents have owned the house and held it in a trust for years, keeping it maintained and intact. Now that her father has passed away, the house is Arden's. Her mother doesn't think it's a good idea to move back, but Arden can't resist. She's stuck, and she has no way to move forward without starting at Arrowood - the house her sisters disappeared from so many years ago

The Lake House

By Kate Morton

Rated by Library Staff (not verified)
Apr 20, 2016

Family secrets are kept well-hidden until a modern day detective uncovers clues to solve a 70 year-old mystery of a little boy’s disappearance. Alice Edevane is an introspective, long-time crime writer who crafts perfect stories for her readers. However, Alice cannot reveal the secrets she’s kept surrounding the disappearance of her youngest brother Theo at a Midsummer’s Eve party at the Loeanneth Estate in 1933. Sadie Sparrow is a Detective Constable with London’s Metropolitan Police who is embroiled in a scandal after leaking information to the press about the Met’s mishandling of a missing

Hitler's Children (DVD)

By Hitler's Children (DVD)
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by Diane H.
Oct 19, 2013

What would you do if you found out that your father, grandfather, or great-uncle was responsible for the murder and torture of thousands of men, women, and children? Would you change your name? Live in isolation? Deny what your family members had done? This dilemma has been faced by the descendants and relatives of Hitler’s top officials.

In Hitler’s Children, Hermann Goring's and Heinrich Himmler's great-nieces, Hans Frank's son, Rudolf Hoess’ grandson, and others discuss how their lives have been impacted by having such infamous relatives.

This powerful documentary faces head-on the guilt

Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls


Rated by Library Staff (not verified)
Apr 7, 2010

half-broke-horses.jpg

Wow--this was a kick!  My favorite area of the country--Southwest--combined with horses, intestinal fortitude, common sense and family history--it doesn't get much better than this.  Jeannette Walls fleshes out the story of her grandmother, a resourceful  and self-reliant individual who at the age of fifteen traveled alone 500 miles on her pony to teach in a one-room school house on the frontier.  She ranched with her husband Jim, drove cars, flew planes, and raised two children through the Depression, droughts, and floods, imbueing them with her own forthright and singular outlook on life. 

Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls


Rated by Library Staff (not verified)
Mar 31, 2010

half-broke-horses.GIFIn her latest book Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel, Jeannette Walls introduces her maternal grandmother Lily Casey Smith, an intelligent, resourceful and hardworking woman. The book is written in the first person and is based on Lily’s remarkable story as Walls learnt it from her mother and other family members.

Lily’s life is a chronicle of an indomitable woman on America's western frontier. Lily broke and raced horses, ran ranches, taught school, flew airplanes, played poker, raised two children, and sold moonshine during Prohibition. Admirably, Lily had a passion for learning and