The goal of the book is to allow the reader to look back into our past, whether it was two or six generations ago, and reflect upon the attitudes, beliefs, and values held by our forefathers on a variety of subjects. The letters will act as time machines, taking us into the past to better understand the issues of the era and hopefully give us a better perspective in dealing with the issues of the future. Letters that evoke an emotional response when you read them. Letters that offer intellectual insight on topics of the day. Letters that make you laugh, cry, or offer a unique perspective on the subject matter.
Nothing is taboo in terms of content.
Subject matter can include but is not limited to politics, religion, sex, eyewitness accounts, military, science, death, westward expansion, slavery, exploration, economics, social culture, rescues, voyages, travel, etc. A cowboy's sexual encounter on a Montana night train with a mysterious woman is related in a 1900 letter. The pleadings of a dying woman to the father of her illegitimate child to recognize the infant as his own flesh and blood are penned in an 1812 letter. A Mormon pioneer warns another in an 1888 letter of nightly raids by U.S. Marshals in Utah Territory in search of polygamists. The book will contain the full transcripts of some 100 to 150 letters that give many historical vignettes on the life and times of our forefathers.