Books
David P. Bridges is the author of four books and has one on the way. Each is an example of the literary historical genre he teaches at Woodmont Writers Enclave.
Eden’s Clan — Coming Soon!
The Thomases, a large and prosperous pioneering and agrarian clan, settled in Southwest, Virginia in 1761. Two generations after settlement the family patriarch, John Lafayette Thomas, and his family migrated from Smyth County, Virginia, to Burke's Garden, a garden of "Eden" located in adjacent Tazewell County. A deeply faithful man, John and his wife, Elizabeth, raised their eight children with a God-fearing Lutheran faith. However, this was no assurance that life itself would treat the clan well.
The seven sons were raised to be hunters, farmers and protectors of the clan in a harmonious community of neighbors who were friendly and always available to lend a hand in this utopian world. They all found romance and adventure in their remote mountainous homeland and, occasionally, encounters with death that they had not bargained for.
The Broken Circle
Against the backdrop of the Civil War, Dr./Major James Breathed chooses the Cause of the Confederacy over medicine. But will that decision cost him the love of his life? James is swept away into a tragic American war created by divisions between the northern states and the southern states. He was born in Virginia but now living in the border state of Maryland, and he is forced to choose sides in the war.
The novel tragically sets up the paradoxical inner conflict of his relating to saving life as a doctor versus destroying life as a soldier. He re-channels his genius from medical to master warrior of death and destruction. The novel is explosively full of historically accurate battle scenes and all the characters are real historical people. Mollie Macgill, his female equivalent, utilizes her espionage talents as the two fall in love throughout the course of the war. She struggles to maintain her way of life and preserve her family, as the war tears her emotionally apart, she despairs and becomes disheartened.
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Fighting With JEB Stuart: Major James Breathed and the Confederate Horse Artillery
James Breathed was a Maryland physician who signed up for the Confederate Army at age 22. He fought under J.E.B. Stuart in the Horse Artillery in 15 battles.
Scrupulously researched, including diaries, paintings, documents and first-hand accounts elevates this biography to the first rank.
The Bridges of Washington County: Spanning Work and Nature
Robert Bridges, a second generation Scottish immigrant to western Maryland, made a fortune mining silica glass sand. His son, Henry Bridges, continued in the family business but his real love was the wild turkey. The Woodmont Rod and Gun Club was host to six American presidents, Babe Ruth, and Amos & Andy.
Since it was founded in 1870 Woodmont Club has entertained and provided a top hunting and fishing experience for all the dignitaries, Congressmen, and industrialists in America who have visited the friendly confines which Henry Bridges built and maintained.
The Best Coal Company In All Chicago, And How It Got That Way
Here is history from the bottom up.
Jacob Best emigrated from Prussia in 1869 to settle in Chicago. He carved out a life for himself and his family as a saloonkeeper in the Lake View neighborhood. By 1887 he had a well-established business, only to die and leave his four children destitute, thanks to a conniving stepmother. His two youngest children — a son, the second Jacob in this story, and a daughter — were even sent to an orphanage.
Though he had little formal education, Jacob in 1909 founded what would become one of the largest wholesale/retail coal businesses in the United States. Along the way, he established himself as a civic leader and philanthropist; Jacob also found true love that began with a chance encounter one day at Marshall Field & Company. This rags-to-riches story is must reading for anyone interested in some fascinating Chicago history.
The Woodmont Story
Here is a story of the founding of the finest hunting and fishing club in the country. The Woodmont Story is a complete history of the Woodmont Rod and Gun Club of Hancock, Maryland, written by Henry P. Bridges.
Henry P. Bridges was active in the operation of the club from 1908 through 1957. Bridges tells of the celebrities who visited the club, including six presidents of the United States and others high in Washington life. He also tells anecdotes connected with many of the long-time members of the club which are entertaining and reveal much about the club's origin and history. Woodmont has made a specialty of breeding wild turkeys, and Bridges tells much about how turkeys were bred and hunted, for he raised 60,000 wild turkeys during his life. This book will be of interest to the many conservationist of wild game, and they will get to know the patriarch of the man who brought the wild turkey back from extinction in North America. Woodmont is a shining example of the good times that a hunting and fishing club can bring to its members, their families, and their friends.
