In my hectic pre-holiday-travel mental state, I was at a loss to come up with a theme for today’s “This Week in History” posting. Let’s just call this week’s theme “Classical Music of the Revolutionary War as Performed by Ty Cobb in His Turn as the Finnish Scrouge in A Christmas Carol in Scandinavia, Co-starring Branch Rickey in Space.” Sound good? Great! Now, let’s see what happened…

This Week in History

December 16, 1770: Composer Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany.
If you’re nuts for this Ninth Symphony composer, you’ll want to snag copies of The Critical Reception of Beethoven’s Compositions by His German Contemporaries, Volume 1 and Volume 2.

December 17, 1777: America’s independence is recognized by France.
To read a stirring account of major battles in America’s fight for independence as well as countless other major U.S. battles from Revolutionary War times to the outbreak of World War II, check out J.F.C. Fuller’s Decisive Battles of the U.S.A., 1776-1918. 

December 18, 1886: Ty Cobb, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, was born in Narrows, Georgia.
Pick up a copy of My Life in Baseball: The True Record, Ty Cobb’s autobiography in a Bison Books edition from the University of Nebraska Press. The Los Angeles Daily News called it “one of the most remarkable sports books ever written."

December 19, 1843: Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol was first published in England.
Everyone has an idea of how Christmas has been celebrated in England from Charles Dickens’ magnificent descriptions in A Christmas Carol, but what about their neighbors to the Northeast, the Scandinavians? You can learn all about Scandinavian Christmas festivities and traditions in the pages of Christmas in Scandinavia, edited by Sven H. Rossel and Bo Elbrond-Bek, translated by David W. Colbert. This magical collection of stories includes writers from Denmark, the Faroese Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, and boasts masterpieces such as Hans Christian Andersen’s "The Fir Tree" and stories by Nobel laureates Selma Lagerlöf and Johannes V. Jensen.

December 20, 1881: Famed American baseball executive Branch Rickey was born.
For the definitive account of Branch Rickey’s life and legacy, read Lee Lowenfish’s Branch Rickey: Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman. David L. Ulin at the Los Angeles Times Book Review wrote of the biography, “Lowenfish’s take is detailed and nuanced, balancing the issue of integration with the economic and competitive imperatives of running a professional baseball team.”

December 21, 1968: Apollo 8 was launched on a moon orbiting mission.
Calling all space history buffs! If you haven’t checked out the offerings of the University of Nebraska Press’ Outward Odyssey: A People’s History of Spaceflight Series, you’re missing out! You can find a listing of books in the series here.

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Readers, please note that there will not be a “This Week in History” posting next Friday due to the holiday closure of the University of Nebraska Press. But there will be regular review postings, so keep visiting and stay tuned for another installment of “TWIH” the following Friday, January 4th.

Happy holidays to all of our readers and best wishes for a most joyous 2008!  See you in the New Year!