In the First Person "provides in-depth indexing of more than 2,500 collections of oral history in English from around the world. With future releases, the index will broaden to identify other first-person content, including letters, diaries, memoirs, and autobiographies, and other personal narratives... It allows for keyword searching of more than 260,000 pages of full-text by more than 9,000 individuals from all walks of life." You could start with the
places or
Historical Events listings, or just pick a keyword and dive in. (The post title is from the
first interview in the collection, from July 1930, with He Dog, who was born in the same year as Crazy Horse: "We grew up together in the same band, played
together, courted the girls together and fought together.") Via
wood s lot.
posted by languagehat
on Aug 27, 2005 -
6 comments
Travels in America. Another amazing resource from the Library of Congress, this contains "253 published narratives by Americans and foreign visitors recounting their travels in the colonies and the United States and their observations and opinions about American peoples, places, and society from about 1750 to 1920... The narratives in American Notes range from the unjustly neglected to the justly famous, and from classics of the genre to undiscovered gems." Go to "Search by keyword," put the name of a city into "Search Full Text," and enjoy. (The quote in the post title is about Santa Barbara, from
First impressions in America by John Ayscough [pronounced "ascue"].) Via MeFi's own
plep.
posted by languagehat
on Oct 14, 2003 -
5 comments
