Book Description
George Washington's World
The period measured by the life of George Washington—1732 to 1799 —was one of revolution and change in many parts of the world as Enlightenment thinking took hold in the minds of men. When George was a young man, Benjamin Franklin was the most well-known American, Louis XV was on the throne of France, and George II was king of England. Father Junipero Serra had just arrived in Mexico to work with the Panes Indians. Mozart and Bach were writing their immortal music and Voltaire warred with his pen against Ignorance, Injustice and Superstition. The young nobleman Lafayette watched the feisty American colonies with fascinated interest as they stood up to Mother England when she sought to tax them unfairly. James Cook was sent by the Royal Society of London to Tahiti where their team of astronomers might observe a total eclipse of the sun and thereby accurately measure the distance between the earth and the sun. These are just a few of the wonderful narratives explored by Foster in her Newbery Honor Book of 1940. Prolifically illustrated with intriguing line drawings and detailed timelines, Foster's telling of the life story of George Washington does justice to the man it celebrates. 355pg
Customer Reviews:
The World of Columus and Sons vs. George Washington's World.......2005-11-28
The World Of Columbus and Sons was the first Foster book I've read. I really thought it interesting. George Washington's World is a much better book than The World Of Columus and Sons. Why? I can't explain. I'm not so intersted in Columbus as I am with Washington. Now, this book is really helping me (George Washington's World) since I'm in a middle of doing a research report on Martha Washington, George Washington's wife. George Washington's World talks quite a bit about Martha Washington so that really helps me.
Learn to love history!.......1998-11-30
I must admit, when I was growing up, I hated American history above all else. In comparison with British history or world history, it seemed so boring...all facts and no fun. Well, this book will make you enjoy eating your cultural veggies. First of all, the authors took the trouble to include the trivial details about the "players" that make them human and interesting. Also, because of Ms. Foster's unique panoramic approach to history, you are better able to understand the environment that made our heroes and villians what they became. Although this book is considered a children's book, I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone over the age of 10 or so. The text will certainly not bore you, I promise!
Customer Reviews:
Two Stars is Kind.......2007-09-24
This just isn't sufficiently accurate nor well-written given its hype and other ratings here. One example is at page 13, where Flexner describes young Washington's trip to a French fort at the confluence of French Creek with the Monongahela ("now Franklin, Pennsylvania"). The problem is that French Creek flows into the Allegheny, not the Monongahela.
Another problem occurs when he describes (p. 24) how Washington accompanied General Braddock at the disastrous defeat at Turtle Creek in July 1755. Of course, Washington was 23 in July 1755, having been born in February 22 (Feb 11 by the old calendar), 1732. In the next chapter, he describes how after Braddock's defeat the British Army left Virginia defenseless, so the Virginia Assembly created its own army, and Washington "now twenty-two" was elected colonel (page 28).
In an early battle of the Revolutionary War he describes how Washington held a strong position at White Plains, NY, but was outflanked and decided to move to higher hills near New Castle. Although New Castle, NY and North Castle, NY are close geographically, the hills in question are in North Castle.
The book is also written in an annoying manner, using words (not quoted) like "unwisdom" and "plaguey." The writing seems at the level of a sophomore term paper. There have to be better one-volume biographies.
An excellent overview............2007-08-28
George Washington is known, of course, as the "father of our country"; that's not completely true, but what is true is that without Washington we might still be flying the Union Jack; he was "The Indespensable Man". He was a reticent, self-controlled, man who never let others get too close; this makes a biographer's task difficult, but it hasn't kept a LOT of people from trying. Washington may well have more published biographies than any man who ever lived; thus, we look hard at each new one, as if daring the author to justify his choice of subject. The volume here is James Thomas Flexner's abridgment of his own multi-volume work, and a wonderful offering it is.
Part of the problem in a study of Washington is the immense wealth of available material; Washington was famous from his mid teens on, building a great military reputation at an age when Jefferson was still in school, and Patrick Henry was tending bar. The great Douglas Southall Freeman who wrote the definitive multi-volume biographies of both Washington and Lee commented on the differing problems; Washington was famous early; Robert E. Lee didn't "hit the big time" till he was 55, so a biographer has to hunt for the early material [again, this hasn't stopped a lot of folks from trying].
Flexner has chosen to focus on the centrality of George Washington to the process of our becoming a nation...Washington was viewed as superior by his own contemporaries; their deference to him was as natural as breathing. Adams and Jefferson were better educated, many were better writers or public speakers [yes, yes, I know; Jefferson was a real thorn in his side...but that was later, and he still showed respect]. BUT, Washington had the limitless strength of character, the absolute refusal to quit no matter how bad things got [in 1776, they were pretty bad], without which we could not have won our freedom. It remained for Jefferson to think up, and write down, the ideas that make us work, but first, the battles had to be won......
There are lies told about Washington, some important, some not...he never chopped down a cherry tree...he did not have wooden teeth [he had around nine sets over the years, mostly ivory, or animal teeth, spring hinged, set in a lead base...I've seen one set...hideous]...he was not without passion, he just controlled it well. Washington was not without faults; he was over ambitious, but always for the public good...he married Martha for her money...he was a lousy son to his Mother, but then Mary was a lousy mother, a real "Mommie Deaerst"; still, George got his strength of character, and his horse riding ability, from her. The only real public blot I can find comes from the Presidential years....his lack of faith in Edmund Randolph.
George Washington is tough for us to get a good handle on; alas, that was true for his contemporaries, too. The reasons that he is difficult to "figure out" are very different than those that Jefferson is, but still real. Everybody needs to read one good bio of Washington; this is a pretty good choice, easily readable, and readily available. Other good choices are Joseph Ellis' "His Excellency", Willard Sterne Randall, and Richard Harwell's one volume abridgment of Freeman's magnum opus [the full seven volumes are impossible to find at a decent price]. There are one volume versons of sets by Washington Irving and John Marshall, the latter abridgment done by Marshall himself. These are pretty much for people like me, and are only available thru specialized venues like Mount Vernon, or The John Marshall House. [both authors met Washington, though Irving was only seven; neither mentions Sally Fairfax...] If you want to read them all, go for it; if you only want one, try this.....
Terribly disappointing.......2007-05-09
This book is not worth your time. After reading the reviews by other users I expected to put away all other interpretations of Washington in favor of this title. However, after 50 pages of reading I simply could go no further. Having read several other Washington biographies, I was appalled by Flexner's elementary treatment of such an important individual. Events are dumbed down, simplified, or passed over entirely, completely leaving out the anecdotal flavor afforded by other titles. Really a perfunctory effort.
Another reviewer really said it best, comparing Flexner's book to a high school or college term paper. Flexner's work reminds me of several I have written; all begun the night before the due date and handed in with an ashamed look on my face.
Don't be deceived by the high ratings given this book. Pass this over and pick up another title. Try Ellis's short treatment or D.S. Freeman's one-volume distillation of his seven-volume work.
Uplifting.......2007-04-01
I felt I owed a great debt to Washington when reading this book.
Flexner explains the struggles, incredible mistakes and growth of Washington especially while in command.
This volume is a good companion to 1776 and Adams. All written by authors not ashamed to be both patriotic and show the human condition of American founding fathers.
The Indisensable Biography.......2007-03-30
This book is a must read for anyone who wants to know more about the father of our great nation.
Average customer rating:
- History makes genetics more interesting.
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Was George Washington Really the Father of Our Country?: A Clinical Geneticist Looks at World History
Robert Marion
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Customer Reviews:
History makes genetics more interesting........2000-10-11
As a genetics student, I found it incredibly interesting to look at historical figures and figure out why or why not they may have had a particular genetic disease. I think this book would be interesting for anyone who may want to learn more about genetic diseases because it makes it much more interesting knowing who these people are that the diseases may relate to. Robert Marion ties together historical, genetic, and social perspectives. He brings up speculative points such as how the person and the world might have been different if the historical figure had not had the disease, how the disease made them become that historical figure. It's a book that keeps you hooked like a mystery novel and is not too technical for anyone to read.
Book Description
"This is the story that I tell my grandchildren at Christmas. I hope that this book will bring the tradition of sharing history to families all across America."
-- Lynne Cheney
Christmas night, 1776, was a troubled time for our young country. In the six months since the Declaration of Independence had been signed, General George Washington and his troops had suffered defeat after defeat at the hands of the British. It looked as though our struggle for independence might be doomed, when Washington made a bold decision. He would lead the main body of his army across the Delaware River and launch a surprise attack on enemy forces.
Washington and his men were going against the odds. It seemed impossible that the ragtag Americans could succeed against the mightiest power in the world. But the men who started across the icy Delaware loved their country and their leader. Under his command they would turn the tide of battle and change the course of history.
Best-selling author Lynne Cheney tells the dramatic story of the military campaign that began on Christmas night in 1776. When Washington Crossed the Delaware will teach the young about the heroism, persistence, and patriotism of those who came before them.
Customer Reviews:
WHEN WASHINGTON CROSSED THE DELAWARE: A WINTERTIME STORY FOR YOUNG PATRIOTS.......2007-06-02
THIS BOOK IS A TRUE TREASURE OF GREAT HISTORY . AN EXCELLENT STORY TO READ FOR HISTORY PURPOSES ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON IN 1776 AND TO READ ON A COLD WINTER NIGHT. A STORY FOR ALL CHILDREN AND FAMILIES TO ENJOY DURING THE CHRISTMAS SEASON AND THROUGH THE YEAR... FOR ANY YOUNG PATRIOTS AND FAMILIES THAT LIVE WHERE GEORGE WASHINGTON'S HISTORY TOOK PLACE YOU WILL JUST LOVE THIS STORY..........AN EXCELLENT CHRISTMAS GIFT............
Great story from our beginnings........2007-05-08
A great story told! A very inspiring book for young ones, even older young ones and adults!!!
Fabulous book .......2007-05-04
about George Washington! Would be great for a Revolutionary War unit study. My children and I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
Great book for your little patriots.......2006-08-10
Nicely written teachig our children about their heritage and how they can influence their country positively. After they read this book, they will be a proud American.
History at its finest!.......2005-09-14
A contemporary retelling of one of the greatest military victories in our nation's history. My favorite part is when Washington tells his assembled troups, "Yea, verily, I wouldst not want thine smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud over Trenton," setting a precedent for military action that has rightly endured for centuries.
Book Description
G.W. Plunkitt, the millionaire ward boss of New York's 15th district, gave this series of talks on the secrets of political success as practiced by him and fellow Tammany Hall titans.
Download Description
EVERYBODY is talkin' these days about Tammany men growin' rich on graft, but nobody thinks of drawin' the distinction between honest graft and dishonest graft. There's all the difference in the world between the two. Yes, many of our men have grown rich in politics. I have myself.
Customer Reviews:
Good Book, Bad Edition........2007-02-23
I read this for my Political Parties Class. I found the book very interesting, however there were more typos in this book, than in any book I have ever read. I would buy a different edition of this book. This is a reprint from a company that only does reprints of rare books. Find another one to go with, you have to decipher this one. For example, some "I" are replaced with "!", and so on. Very annoying.
great, quick delivery.......2007-02-08
delivery was fast and very efficient. i would buy from this seller again. thanks!!
An Entertaining Ride through A Bygone Era in Politics.......2005-02-23
This hundred-year-old book is not a traditional non-fiction book. It is actually a series of elocutions on the politics of the day as practiced by a big city "machine," Tammany Hall. This was in the time when parties had direct control over who was allowed to run for office and how spoils would be distributed. This system has been dead in America for nearly fifty years, or at least since national reforms were carried out tin the early 1970s that devolved power down and created lots of mini-campaign, instead of one campaign that was directed from the party.
Plunkitt gives a frank description of what he sees as Tammany's benefits to society and how undoing this situation would be disastrous. To Plunkitt, Tammany is more akin to a social organization than what people today think of political parties. Plunkitt helps out when his constituents are in trouble, go to jail, have money problems or problems at work. He also uses the spoils system of awarding political allies by handing out plum job assignments. His sometimes odd rants against civil service reform, designed to break the back of political machines and the spoils systems, sometimes verge on the comical.
This is a short, entertaining look at how politics was conducted a hundred years ago. It was a joy to read.
I saw my opportunities and I took them........2004-12-21
Well, at least you can say that George Washington Plunkitt was a 'honest' politician (not a liar). He didn't mince words and tell the voters what they wanted to hear, and then didn't deliver. He delivered a service that the voters of his district could count on. He provided them with a sense of security which the politicians of this day don't provide. In a difficult and ever changing world, I am not sure more voters would cherish the ideal of what the machine can give them.
Plunkitt rips the civil service ideal in much of this book, while extolling the fruits of rewarded service. He takes a slash at the education system by constantly making the comparison between book learning and common sense. As some of the previous reviewers have already stated-his arguments on honest and dishonest graft are almost unbelievable. The reader will find themselves chuckling at some of his arguments. This is what machine politicians believed in during their time.
This is an OK book. Ultimately, Plunkitts ideas are out of time, and a more fair system is now in place.
What you need is votes..........2004-10-24
Anyone who thinks politics are boring should read this book and know they don't have to be. Tammany Hall Politician George Washington Plunkitt describes what he does in less than a hundred pages, with short essays by William L. Riordan. Plunkitt describes the difference between an "honest" and "dishonest" graft, argues that New York City should be its own state (an argument still considered today), rages about how civil service makes people unpatriotic, and how to be successful in politics - you don't need a plan, you need VOTES.
Plunkitt engaged in unfair (although not illegal) practices, but this book is nevertheless fascinating if one wants to know why. It's a great look into the political machines of the past, as well as a great explanation of why they worked for so long and how.
Customer Reviews:
Great!.......2007-04-01
This is a wonderful for way for your child to get a quick review of several people. It's divided into several short stories. My girls beg to read it everyday.
Book Description
The sinking of the Dorchester in the icy waters off Greenland shortly after midnight on February 3, 1942, was one of the worst sea disasters of World War II. It was also the occasion of an astounding feat of heroism—and faith.
As water gushed through a hole made by a German torpedo, four chaplains—members of different faiths but linked by bonds of friendship and devotion—moved quietly among the men onboard. Preaching bravery, the chaplains distributed life jackets, including their own. In the end, these four men went down with the ship, their arms linked in spiritual solidarity, their voices raised in prayer. In this spellbinding narrative, award-winning author and journalist Dan Kurzman tells the story of these heroes and the faith—in God and in country—that they shared.
They were about as different as four American clergymen could be. George Lansing Fox (Methodist), wounded and decorated in World War I, loved his family and his Vermont congregation—yet he re-enlisted as soon as he heard about Pearl Harbor. Rabbi Alex Goode was an athlete, an intellectual, and an adoring new father—yet he too knew, the day Pearl Harbor was bombed, that he would serve. Clark Poling (Dutch Reformed), the son a famous radio evangelist, left for war begging his father to pray that he would never be a coward. Father John Washington (Catholic), a scrappy Irish street fighter, had dedicated himself to the church after a childhood brush with death. Chance brought the chaplains together at a Massachusetts training camp, but each was convinced that God had a reason for placing them together aboard the Dorchester.
Drawing on extensive interviews with the chaplains’ families and the crews of both the Dorchester and the German submarine that fired the fatal torpedo, Kurzman re-creates the intimate circumstances and great historic events that culminated in that terrible night. The final hours unfold with the electrifying clarity of nightmare—the chaplains taking charge of the dwindling supply of life jackets, the panic of the crew, the overcrowded lifeboats, the prayers that ring out over the chaos, and the tight circle that the four chaplains form as the inevitable draws near.
In
No Greater Glory, Dan Kurzman tells how four extraordinary men left their mark on a single night of war—and forever changed the lives of those they saved. Riveting and inspiring, this is a true story of heroism, of goodness in the face of disaster, and of faith that transfigures even the horror of war.
Customer Reviews:
PROVIDES GREAT INFORMATION.......2007-05-29
I ordered this book for my father, whose brother died in WW11. The family was given almost no information at the time, but by piecing together details, my mother determined that he was almost certainly on a particular boat when it was sunk by the enemy. That fact was confirmed by this book, and it offered a lot of information that is offered only sketchily in other areas. We appreciate the author and the information he was able to provide families, as well as the story of the wonderful chaplains.
Interfaith in action.......2006-09-22
Everyone who's already reviewed this book has said so much about it that it's hard to find anything more to say about how well it's written, what a great gripping true story it is, and the amazing heroism of the four chaplains. This book is so well-written and has such a compelling and involving story that I read it in like two days, and wished there had been even more. Additionally, this heroic tale from WWII has special meaning to many of the people in my area (New York State's Capital District) because Rev. Clark Poling's church was in nearby Schenectady, providing a local connection.
The book itself follows a somewhat nonlinear format, going back and forth between the pre-war lives of the four chaplains and their lives during the war, particularly after they boarded the Dorchester and arrived in Greenland for a very brief stay before going back on the ill-fated ship. After this point, the narrative switches entirely to a linear format, discussing the ship's final night before being torpedoed by a German U-boat and the chaos, heroism, and tragedy that ensued. Not many people could honestly say that they would give up their lifejackets if their ship went down in freezing waters in the middle of the night (Rabbi Alex Goode even gave up his gloves) or remain calm in the midst of such frantic circumstances and such a life-and-death situation. Many people back then also weren't so forward-thinking about interfaith relations, with a Reform rabbi, a Catholic priest, and two reverends from different Protestant denominations being such close friends and reaching out equally to everyone on the ship, largely being nonsectarian apart from when they did things like conduct services. This was still an era in which many Protestants and Catholics didn't associate with one another, to say nothing of the rampant institutionalised prejudice against Jews, and, in a number of areas, against Catholics as well. They set a moving and heroic example for all time, not just in the area of interfaith relations, but also in the area of selfless sacrifice. It was interesting to read in the Afterword about some of the people who have since been awarded the Immortal Chaplains Prize for Humanity Award, such as the Japanese Righteous Gentile Chiune Sugihara, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Omri Abdel-Halim al-Jadah, a Palestinian Muslim who died while saving a young Israeli Jewish boy from drowning. The Afterword also provided information on what happened to the survivors of the Dorchester sinking and the near and dear ones of the chaplains.
As we find out all throughout the book, this tragedy could have been prevented (it was kind of like a smaller-scale Titanic) if only the Dorchester had been inspected more closely or refurbished, or if there had been enough lifejackets and safety instructions provided, and even after disaster struck, the casualties could have been reduced if the nearby American ships had begun searching for survivors and bringing them onto their ships right away instead of thinking nothing serious had happened or going after the attacking U-boat first, but even in the midst of such bungling and such a chaotic disaster, the amazing heroism of the chaplains shone through as well as it would have in calmer circumstances.
A remarkable true story.......2006-09-12
With a sickening thump, an explosion wracked the troop transport S.S. Dorchester - a German torpedo had found its mark. It was shortly after midnight, February 3, 1942, and the ship was about to sink into the deadly cold waters off of Greenland. As men panicked and struggled to find a way to save their own lives, four men walked amongst them spreading calm and encouragement. Helping everyone they could find, even giving away their own precious lifejackets, the four chaplains - Rev. George Lansing Fox (Methodist), Rabbi Alex Goode, Rev. Clark Poling (Dutch Reformed) and Fr. John Washington (Catholic) - sought to serve their God and the fellow men. And when the end came, survivors saw the four chaplains, locked arm in arm, praying on the upside-down hull of the ship, just before it dove beneath the waves.
This book tells the remarkable true story of four men who joined the American military as chaplains, their experiences at their Massachusetts training camp, and their final tragic mission. It is a story that is bound to bring a tear to your eye, but it is also a great story of faith and truly living the life of godly sacrifice. Overall, I think that this is a great book, on that I highly recommend to everyone.
What A Great Read!!.......2006-09-07
If you ever feel that your fellow man has no regard for you, pick up this book and don't put it down untill you have finished it. What an inspiring story of four 'Men of God' and their dedication to that God, each other, and all those fortunate enough to have crossed their paths. You will be stunned by the character of each of these great men.
Great on So Many Levels.......2005-09-27
I became intrigued by this story when I was no moare than 10. I was a stamp collector and came into the possession of the stam honoring the four. In those very pre-internet days and in a very small town with few resources I was only able to learn a small amount of the story. Since then there were pieces here and there but it was not until this book that the whole story was made available to me.
I was almost uable to put this book down once I started. It's well written. It's abook that you can read for factual historical content or faith and inspiration. The story of the four chaplains is one of the many little known inspiring and interestng stories of World War Two. Don't pass this book over thinking it is just another relilgous book. It is much more.
In this day and age when we hand out superlatives like they were penny candy, the story of the Chaplains and the sinking of the Dorchester is an almost must read not just for people of faith, but all people.
Book Description
This is the first book that offers a you-are-there look at the American Revolution through the eyes of the enlisted men. Through searing portraits of individual soldiers, Bruce Chadwick, author of George Washington's War, brings alive what it was like to serve then in the American army.
With interlocking stories of ordinary Americans, he evokes what it meant to face brutal winters, starvation, terrible homesickness and to go into battle against the much-vaunted British regulars and their deadly Hessian mercenaries.
The reader lives through the experiences of those terrible and heroic times when a fifteen-year-old fifer survived the Battle of Bunker Hill, when Private Josiah Atkins escaped unscathed from the bloody battles in New York and when a doctor and a minister shared the misery of the wounded and dying. These intertwining stories are drawn from their letters and never-before-quoted journals found in the libraries belonging to the camps where Washington quartered his troops during those desperate years.
Customer Reviews:
Oversweeping Generalizations.......2006-12-29
Those who are educated on the soldiers in the American Revolution will be offended by the oversweeping generalizations in this book. Chadwich uses only the journals of soldiers within the war. Roughly 150 journals were used in making his observations, when nearly 200,000 plus served. He should of spent more time at the National Archives going through the pension records of each soldier. Most soldiers came from the lower spectrum of the social economic ladder, not the professions Chadwick states. In addition, most soldiers could neither read or write, leaving them no opportunity to write a journal or track their journey through the Revolution. Only by having someone else fill out their pension applcation years later have we learned much more about the common soldier in the Revolution. I do not reccomend this book. I think Caroline Cox's "A Proper Sense of Honor and Courage" is much better.
A 1776 follow-up.......2006-10-24
If you loved the book "1776" you will love this book. It is written much the same way. The author mixes first hand accounts with explanations of events and strategic implications. He also focuses on things most authors forget. This book is an excellent way to tell the story of the American Revolution.
The author tells the story of George Washington's Army through the eyes of those who fought it. He does intermingle some background history to help the reader better understand what the soldier writes about. Where as his history isn't comprehensive it is enriching. He does talk about certain campaigns of the American Army like our attempt to capture Canada which most people forget about. Through the eyes of the soldiers you get a true idea of the kinds of sacrifices the first soldiers endured to bring about our freedom. The descriptions are good in the soldiers writings makes you personnally feel these sacrifices. The writing makes the issues facing the Army like disease outbreaks like small pox, walking around in snow without shoes, hunger and other things come alive almost like you are experiencing it. You will understand the Revolution better than anything else by reading this book.
I highly recommend this book for any history lover no matter what your level of history knowledge is.
Good Despite Some Oddly Jarring Inaccuracies.......2006-08-15
I found this book both informative and in many ways refreshing. There are too many narrative accounts that tend to slide past what it meant to be a member of the Continental Army on a day-to-day basis--and what fighting the war meant to the individual soldiers who did it.
On the other hand, there were more than a few oddly jarring notes in a work which purports to break new ground. Early on, Chadwick exclaims that "Hundreds of residents of Charlestown [Mass]...raced out into nearby streets and meadows to watch the fighting...." Maybe so, but since the town was being burned down to the ground, more likely they were fleeing for their lives.
A few pages later, in describing the battle on Breed's (misnamed Bunker's) Hill, Chadwick declares that "...throaty cheers from the Americans despite cannonballs exploding around them." Well, eighteenth century cannonballs did not explode. Common shells did, but field guns fired solid shot and canister which did not include explosive properties.
There are not very many of these sloppy errors, fortunately, but the fact that some are present suggests a certain carelessness with detail. In a book that hopes to open a new and somewhat revisionist approach to studying the war, this can be a problem.
Ordinary people make history, too.......2006-07-15
I really enjoyed this book. It brought to life in vivid detail the deprivations and tribulations faced by the ordinary soldier in the Revolutionary Army. There have been so many books written about the leaders of the Revolution (some good, some pretty boring), but so few volumes about the ordinary men who made up the colonial troops. These people were the foundation of the new country and they deserve to be documented. The author chooses to give us their stories in an interesting way and paints word pictures that let the reader see exactly what conditions were like for the common soldiers. I was fascinated and could hardly put the book down. If all history was presented in this easy to understand and interesting way, more students would love it as much as I do.
Enjoyable to read, but not really much new information..........2006-04-22
This is a generally well-written and enjoyable to read book, but it doesn't quit live up to its sub-title: The Untold Story of George Washington and the Men Behind America's First Fight for Freedom. The book is foremost a retelling of the Battles of the Revolution. It does present viewpoints from the soldiers and others who fought, but I didn't really find a great deal that hasn't been written before, although the portion devoted to Blacks in the Revolution was interesting. Interesting also is how many soldiers died from poor conditions and disease. But I didn't come away feeling that I really got to know the "Men Behind America's First Fight for Freedom." As I said before, the book is mainly a retelling of the story of the battles of the War and secondly, a telling of the battles from the perspective of the common soldier.
For those who haven't read a great deal on the Revolutionary War, this would be a good book to start with. It is enjoyable, easy to read, presents an overview of the history of the War, and gives a perspective on the War from both the commanders and the common soldier. However, if the reader is one who has read a great deal on the Revolutionary War, there isn't really a great deal that is new here. It is a good book, but not one I would put on my top-ten list of Revolutionary War books.
The one thing I found irritating about the book is that several times it left some loose ends dangling. For example, one point in the book tells of George Washington's sometimes leniency toward those who were being disciplined. The author goes on to tell of a group of men sentenced to death for desertion and re-enlisting in order to collect another sign-on bonus. Washington, however decides the punishment is too harsh and so asks "...their officers if there was some mitigating circumstance that he could use...to spare them." Then the author states that Washington pardons them all. Okay, but what did the officers present to Washington to enable him to pardon them? I don't know and apparently neither did the author because we are never told in the book. This same lack of relevant information appears several times in the book.
If it were me and I really wanted to look at the war from a soldiers viewpoint, I would read a book such as "Private Yankee Doodle" by J.P. Martin. Martin's story has been described as "One of the best first-hand accounts of war as seen by a private soldier ever written." In my opinion, the Martin book is much better at describing the life of the soldier in the Revolutionary War. "The First American Army" does, in fact, use the Martin book as source of information.
All in all, "The First American Army" is an enjoyable to read book that presents a decent view of the War from the viewpoint or the soldier. It isn't a great book however. And it doesn't present a great deal of new information. This book would probably be more enjoyed by those with only a general knowledge of the War, not by those who already have read a great deal on the subject. To sum up, this is a good, enjoyable to read book that gives an overview of the battles of the Revolution while at the same time giving us some insight into the lives of the common soldier.
Average customer rating:
- Absolutely original
- Great book!
- New Orleans Jazz....
- New Orleans Jazz....
- Is this book about Degas or Norbert Rillieux ?
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Degas in New Orleans: Encounters in the Creole World of Kate Chopin and George Washington Cable
Christopher Benfey
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Similar Items:
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Degas and New Orleans: A French Impressionist in America
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The Grandissimes: A Story of Creole Life (Penguin Classics)
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The Creoles of Louisiana
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Old Creole Days: A Story of Creole Life (Pelican Pouch Series)
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Our People and Our History: Fifty Creole Portraits
ASIN: 0520218183 |
Book Description
Edgar Degas traveled from Paris to New Orleans during the fall of 1872 to visit the American branch of his mother's family, the Mussons. This war-torn, diverse, and conflicted city elicited from Degas some of his finest paintings. He arrived at a key moment in the cultural history of this most exotic of American cities, still recovering from the agony of the Civil War. This decisive period of Reconstruction, in which his American relatives were importantly involved, was also the time when the American writers Kate Chopin and George Washington Cable were beginning to mine the resources of New Orleans culture and history.
Customer Reviews:
Absolutely original.......2007-01-03
Benfey's study is an elegant, exciting study with many facets. He truly evokes a vanished world. An interdisciplinary study which does not meander or bore. Highly recommended.
Great book!.......2006-07-26
This is one of the best books I have read. It's so fascinating, easy to read, and just interesting in general. I highly recommend it.
New Orleans Jazz...........2003-06-14
Maybe the most important thing for you to know about this book is that it isn't just, or even mostly, about Edgar Degas. If you're in the market solely for an art book about Degas, you may not like this book. What this book is really about is 19th century New Orleans. Degas' 1872-1873 trip is the main theme which the author has used as his framework. Mr. Benfey "improvises" on this theme and goes off in interesting directions. He talks about what made New Orleans unique- the early Creole settlers vs. the "Americans" that arrived after the Louisiana Purchase; the free black population (pre-Civil War) vs. the slaves who became free because of the war; the rupture caused by the war- as New Orleans was occupied by Federal forces through almost all of the conflict. (Many of the local women proved to be fairly feisty in showing their contempt for the Yankees. One woman in the French Quarter supposedly downloaded the contents of a chamber pot onto Admiral Farragut's head. On another occasion, the soldier in charge of keeping order, General Benjamin "Beast" Butler, was riding by some women and they all turned their backs to him. Butler remarked, "those women evidently know which end of them looks best.") After the Civil War the economy, based almost solely on King Cotton, took a beating in the Depression of the 1870's. Yankee "carpetbaggers" were despised. Liberals who wanted integration of the races did battle, sometimes literally, with reactionary forces who yearned for a return to the days of slavery. Mr. Benfey works in some analysis of the writers Kate Chopin and George Washington Cable, who were interested in some of the above themes. The author does devote a fairly good portion of the book to discussing Degas' "Louisiana Connection," (his mother was born in New Orleans; he had relatives who were involved in the cotton trade; and his younger brother, Rene, left France to try to make his fortune in New Orleans). If you enjoy Degas' art, you will find Mr. Benfey's musings on the portraits and "genre scenes" that Degas did during this period to be interesting and informative. For example, from a purely painterly standpoint, Degas enjoyed the juxtaposition of black and white skin, as well as the white of cotton against the black suits and hats commonly worn by businessmen of the time. Mr. Benfey also, convincingly, shows that Degas' started to use, in these paintings, certain compositional effects- such as slanted floors, the arrangement of figures in interior spaces, and certain hand and head movements- that would shortly reappear in the more famous "ballet paintings." We also see Degas in transition from his early "realistic" phase to a looser, more "Impressionistic" style of painting. I also found it interesting that Degas was fascinated by many things he saw while walking around New Orleans, but he was limited mostly to painting interior scenes because the light of New Orleans was bothering his eyes. (He started to have problems with his vision while serving in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. By the time of his death in 1917 he was nearly blind.) There was enough about Degas and his family and art in this book to satisfy me, plus I enjoyed Mr. Benfey's "improvisations." If, in addition to being a Degas fan, you have any interest in the antebellum and post-Civil War worlds of New Orleans, I think you will get a lot of enjoyment and intellectual stimulation from this book.
New Orleans Jazz...........2003-06-14
Maybe the most important thing for you to know about this book is that it isn't just, or even mostly, about Edgar Degas. If you're in the market solely for an art book about Degas, you may not like this book. What this book is really about is 19th century New Orleans. Degas' 1872-1873 trip is the main theme which the author has used as his framework. Mr. Benfey "improvises" on this theme and goes off in interesting directions. He talks about what made New Orleans unique- the early Creole settlers vs. the "Americans" that arrived after the Louisiana Purchase; the free black population (pre-Civil War) vs. the slaves who became free because of the war; the rupture caused by the war- as New Orleans was occupied by Federal forces through almost all of the conflict. (Many of the local women proved to be fairly feisty in showing their contempt for the Yankees. One woman in the French Quarter supposedly downloaded the contents of a chamber pot onto Admiral Farragut's head. On another occasion, the soldier in charge of keeping order, General Benjamin "Beast" Butler, was riding by some women and they all turned their backs to him. Butler remarked, "those women evidently know which end of them looks best.") After the Civil War the economy, based almost solely on King Cotton, took a beating in the Depression of the 1870's. Yankee "carpetbaggers" were despised. Liberals who wanted integration of the races did battle, sometimes literally, with reactionary forces who yearned for a return to the days of slavery. Mr. Benfey works in some analysis of the writers Kate Chopin and George Washington Cable, who were interested in some of the above themes. The author does devote a fairly good portion of the book to discussing Degas' "Louisiana Connection," (his mother was born in New Orleans; he had relatives who were involved in the cotton trade; and his younger brother, Rene, left France to try to make his fortune in New Orleans). If you enjoy Degas' art, you will find Mr. Benfey's musings on the portraits and "genre scenes" that Degas did during this period to be interesting and informative. For example, from a purely painterly standpoint, Degas enjoyed the juxtaposition of black and white skin, as well as the white of cotton against the black suits and hats commonly worn by businessmen of the time. Mr. Benfey also, convincingly, shows that Degas' started to use, in these paintings, certain compositional effects- such as slanted floors, the arrangement of figures in interior spaces, and certain hand and head movements- that would shortly reappear in the more famous "ballet paintings." We also see Degas in transition from his early "realistic" phase to a looser, more "Impressionistic" style of painting. I also found it interesting that Degas was fascinated by many things he saw while walking around New Orleans, but he was limited mostly to painting interior scenes because the light of New Orleans was bothering his eyes. (He started to have problems with his vision while serving in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. By the time of his death in 1917 he was nearly blind.) There was enough about Degas and his family and art in this book to satisfy me, plus I enjoyed Mr. Benfey's "improvisations." If, in addition to being a Degas fan, you have any interest in the antebellum and post-Civil War worlds of New Orleans, I think you will get a lot of enjoyment and intellectual stimulation from this book.
Is this book about Degas or Norbert Rillieux ?.......2003-05-03
Benfey spends less time on the famous French painter Edgar Degas and the alleged influence that New Orleans and his Creole relatives had on his work than he does in relating the story of one of Degas' relatives: a brilliant "quadroon" engineer named Norbert Rillieux who invented an efficient steam-driven apparatus for refining sugar.
When you ignore Benfey's racist use of the term "black" to describe people who are far from it, you find important information about the privileges and oppressions experienced by mixed-race Creoles in 19th century New Orleans. Rillieux (who is often falsely listed as a "black" inventor) was a highly respected professional whose predominate white ancestry allowed him to utilize his talents in a way that would not have been possible if he had been black.
One of Rillieux's close friends and major supporter in Louisiana sugar circles was Judah P. Benjamin, the Jewish Confederate luminary who later served as Jefferson Davis's Secretary of State. In a nice touch of irony, Benfey compares the image of the "mulatto" in American literature with than of the "Jew" in European literature:
"Almost white, almost free, `oriental,' and effeminate, at once wealthy and a social pariah, the free man of color in his literary depictions occupies much the same place as the Jew in literary Europe. (The first article of the eighteenth-century `Code Noir,' or Black Code demanded the expulsion of the Jews from New Orleans.) Jews and free men of color were difficult to detect; they often LOOKED like white citizens, and passed for such. It was against the radical `otherness' of Jews and free people of color that the proper Englishmen and proper Louisiana Creoles respectively sought to define their own uneasy identity."
Book Description
A master historian's excavations into the past unearth a world that is unexpected and compelling.
George Washington was inaugurated as president in 1789 with one tooth in his mouth, a lower left bicuspid. The Father of His Country had sets of false teeth that were made of everything but wood, from elephant ivory and walrus tusk to the teeth of a fellow human. With characteristic learning and bracing insight, Robert Darnton shows us that the Enlightenment had false teeth also—that it was not the Father of Our Modern World, responsible for all its advances and transgressions. In restoring the Enlightenment to human scale, Darnton locates its real aims, ambitions, and significance. So too with the French Revolution, another icon of the eighteenth century, approached here through the gossip, songs, and broadsides that formed the political nervous system of Paris in the Old Regime. Figures we think we know—Voltaire, Jefferson, Rousseau, Condorcet, even historians themselves—emerge afresh in Darnton's hands, their vitality, if not their teeth, intact. 17 b/w illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
Enjoyable.......2006-01-09
The unconventional in the subtitle "An Unconventional Guide to the Eighteenth Century" is a little deceiving. This reader expected to find curiosities large and small, such as Mr. Washington's false teeth in an exegesis to show how different that century was from the ones we grew up in.
The unconventianility is really Mr. Darnton's insinuation of himself into the text with many allusions from the 18th century to ours. It's ok - it's a historian's sin he cheerily admits up front. So Paris's informal political communication networks of gossip, handbills, songs, subversive literature, et al. focuses on ... well ... the King's sex life. There's more to it than that, of course, but still, in all a lot like the internet and a certain recent president.
The last chapter, "The Skeletons in the Closet: How Historians Play God" is worth the price of admission.
Whatever.......2004-04-23
Anyone who teaches at Princeton shouldn't be allowed to publish a book with the words "false teeth" on the cover!
Kind of Bland.......2003-05-18
Robert Darnton's latest book consists of a series of assorted essays. Most are from the nineties, though one is from the eighties and one is a reworking of a chapter of his doctoral dissertation in the sixties. Darnton starts with a defense of the Enlightenmnet, then goes on to discuss information networks in ancien regime France ("the eighteenth century Internet.") He then goes on to discuss cosmpolitanism in 18th century Europe, Voltaire and Jefferson's differing ideas of happiness, Rousseau as an anthropologist, the debate in pre-1789 France over the nature of the United States, the Girondin leader Brissot and stock market speculation in the 1780s, and finally an autobiographical essay on his work in the archives and his research on Brissot.
The result is a work that is less successful and less interesting that Darnton's two previous collection of essays "The Great Cat Massacre" and "The Kiss of Lamourette." Only the essays on the Parisian Internet and the quarrel between Condorcet and Brissot on America show new scholarly research. We see some of Darnton's old themes: the communication of ideas, the quasi-pornographic Enlightenment Undergound, but little that is new. The essay on Rousseau is an intelligent, not unsympathetic discussion of his career which looks like it could be a good article for Harpers' (and where in fact it was published in the eighties). The discussion of cosmpolitanism seems superficially interesting: in the 18th century publishers spewed out French books from London to Amsterdam to Dresden. During the Seven Years War Laurence Sterne travelled around France without any concern that the French might object to his presence, while Voltaire personally congratulated Frederick the Great for his victories over Voltaire's king. But these facts tell us little that would not be already known to students of the eighteenth century. The same lack of insight hurts his essay on happiness.
The title essay in defence of the Enlightenment is definitely the most lively. Darnton criticizes those who accuse it of such sins as imperialism, Orientalism, Nihilism, Positivism, and Totalitarianism. He makes some good points but the result is not fully convincing. For a start, he is not fair to the criticism of Adorno and the Frankfurt School. They saw themselves not as the enemies of the Enlightenment but as critics, as its loyal opposition. Adorno himself several times stated that the only cure for the damage caused to the world by reason is more reason. So while it is true that in our day and age there are no alternative moral criteria than those set up in the Enlightenment, it is also, in Adorno's case, somewhat beside the point.
Another problem with the essay is a certain tendentiousness. It is all very well to point out Diderot's cosmopolitianism, Voltaire's campaigns against judicial murder and Abbe Raynal's defense of the Indians. It is vitally important to remember that the Counter-Enlightenment contributed far more to the evils of slavery, misogyny and anti-Semitism. But the failure of the Democratic Party to treat their fellow Americans of African descent with basic decency cannot be blamed on the heavy weight of the Habsburgs or the Holy Office of the Inquisition. Likewise, even if one is sympathetic to the Jacobins, one cannot disassociate the Enlightenment from Terror, as Darnton does, simply because Robespierre preferred Rousseau to the Encyclopediasts. And there is the other side of the Enlightenment. There is Hume's support of slavery and Kant's indulgence of racism. Helvetius can be horribly crass nor can Adam Smith be entirely exculpated from those who used "The Wealth of Nations" as an excuse to let people starve in famines. And where is Bentham? Bentham's crass philistinism, his plans for perfect prisons and his having his butler executed for stealing some silverware make him the perfect villian of "Discipline and Punish." He cannot be so easily ignored.
The best essay in the final one as Darnton recounts how as an archival student he learned by accident that Brissot may have been a spy for the French police while Marat had not been guilty of theft and imprisoned in the 1770s. At times it is amusing: when he visited Orleans, the chief archivist, a man named Le Maire, offered to give him a tour of the city. Darnton's French was so bad then he thought the mayor of Orleans was personally welcoming him. But as it goes on it is a touching story of how Darnton found out incriminating facts about someone he had once admired and found that he was guilty of crude huckstering and self-deceit. These days it is easy for people to join the winning side and claim that they were just facing the hard truths. Darnton's essay shows the real ambiguities such self-righteous bluster hides.
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- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
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- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
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- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
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