Q:

Can I make a derivative work from a book that was written 150 years ago

I read an article that says that copyrights last life of author plus 70 years. 
Can I make a derivative work from a book that was written 150 years ago without making a copyright infringement?

A:

I assume you are talking about United States federal copyright law.
You can freely use any:

material published before 1923
material published between 1923 and 1963 for which the copyright was not renewed
material explicitly placed in the public domain
material not copyrightable (such as any US government publication)
material whose copyright has been abandoned (for example the author died with no heir)

