Georgia Scenes by Augustus Longstreet Book Review

This book is a collection of stories & tales from ~1780 to ~1830 on the Georgia Frontier. I picked it up from the library after spotting it in Georgia State Park gift shop (also available on Amazon). I’m super curious about the era when Georgia was first settled by European migrants, and I thought it would be an interesting primary source.

But…wow, what a weird book. I didn’t exactly read it through. I read about 30 pages and then started skimming.

I can’t say that I liked it at all. However, if you are interested in how people lived and acted a long time ago – this is the book to pick up.

Takeaways

First of all, humans are so weird and complex. That’s true now, but also true for people hundreds of years ago. People are generally the same – they want food, a home, peace, status, and relationships, but the culture surrounding all that changes radically.

Second, the humor especially changes sooo much. This book is a collection of the best comedy of the era…and I did not get any of it. It’s all straight-up strange. It makes sense. I’ll watch SNL from the ’90s and think that it’s mildly humorous at best, but mostly stale and out of place. But to go back to the 1830s – I do not get that at all.

Third, to all the historians & writers (Bill Bryson!) who read old, primary sources and create new, interesting work – Thank You! Old primary sources are great and all, but they are not fun to read.