On Hallowed Ground by Robert Poole

When I finished Fifty Shades of Grey this past Monday, it was Memorial Day. I was on a mini-vacation and when we got in the car to drive home I needed something to read and I wanted it to be something a little "deep" since I just finished the trashiest book ever. I flipped on my nook and immediately saw On Hallowed Ground,which I downloaded on a whim from the library a couple of weeks ago. Since it just happened to be Memorial Day, I took this as a sign that I was meant to read this book. (Many times I will download things from the library and never get around to reading them before the are automatically returned).

On Hallowed Ground is an oral history of Arlington National Cemetery. This is a topic that is dear to my heart for many reasons but something I knew absolutely nothing about. The history of Arlington starts all the way from the beginning of the United States and this book takes on it's entire history, all the way until present day.

This book was extremely interesting and well written. For whatever reason, I'm never super interested in any non-fiction covering the revolutionary or civil wars, so the beginning sections dragged for a little. I'm sure this was just a personal preference thing because I very much enjoyed reading the present day sections.

This history of Arlington National Cemetery is very complex and On Hallowed Ground did a great job explaining everything. This was a good book, although it did not crack my top 10 non-fiction. It was  the perfect read for me on Memorial Day. Like many non-fiction, I wouldn't recommend this if you aren't already interested in the topic but if you are at all, I would tell you to pick it up around this Fourth of July or next Memorial Day!