Book Description
Everybody knows the legend of Captain Kidd, Americas most ruthless buccanneer. Few people realize that the facts of his life make for a much better tale. Kidd was actually a tough New York sea captain hired to chase pirates, a married war hero whose secret mission took a spectacularly bad turn.This harrowing tale traces Kidds voyages in the 1690s from his home near Wall Street to Whitehall Palace in London, from the ports of the Caribbean to a secret pirate paradise off Madagascar. Author Richard Zacks, during his research, also unearthed the story of a long forgotten rogue named Robert Culliford, who dogged Kidd and led Kidds crew to mutiny not once but twice. The lives of Kidd and Culliford play out like an unscripted duel: one man would hang in the harbor, the other would walk away with the treasure. Filled with superb writing and impeccable research, The Pirate Hunter is both a masterpiece of historical detective work and a ripping good yarn, and it delivers something rare: an authentic pirate story for grown-ups.
Download Description
Three hundred years after his adventures at sea, Captain Kidd is still the best known pirate in the English-speaking world. But what historians, novelists and the general public do not know is that Kidd was not a cardboard-cutout villain, a Blackbeard with firecrackers in his hair. In fact, he wasn't even a pirate. He was a successful NY sea-captain hired by the Lords of London to chase pirates, and the man he wanted to capture more than any other was a long-forgotten rogue by the name of Robert Culliford, who dogged Kidd throughout his career, and who was, in many ways responsible for Captain Kidd's reputation as a rogue, as a pirate. Zacks takes readers from an execution by hanging in London to the home of William Kidd, master mariner, at 56 Wall Street in Manhattan, and then to the high seas with Captain Kidd, on a covert mission to go after the bounty of five pirate ships, a mission cooked up and later disavowed by England's King William. Zacks brings to life the real story of Captain Kidd, a man who met a tragic end for crimes he did not commit, and who led another life on land, with a beautiful, wealthy wife and daughter in New York. Set in England, Madagascar, the Caribbean and many other exotic locations including the quite uncivilized Wall Street of 300 years ago, this is a tale of adventure, betrayal and courage, a book that will stand both as biography as well as with such classic tales of adventure as IN THE HEART OF THE SEA. The writing is quite extraordinary - you are with these men on their adventures. The reason for this is that Zacks followed Kidd's trail around the world, from libraries in England to remote villages in Madagascar, and the result is a tale that is more fantastic than fiction.
Customer Reviews:
Best of ye Best Pirate Book.......2007-08-05
I was unable to put it down. You will love this "Pirate Book". A word of warning, when you begin reading make sure you don't have anything planned for a while because it is VERY hard to stop once you start!
17th century world portrayed vividly........2007-07-23
The true story of Captain Kidd is first of all a totally believeable work of nonfiction. The historical era of life at sea and the blurred and flawed objectives between the East India Trading Company, the Royal Navy and the privateer at sea as well as life within the pirate world is amazing. Equally amazing is the world of the legal system in the English colonies in America and back in London. The power politics alone is worth the price of admission.
In this case fact is much stranger and makes a far more harrowing story than fiction.
A Page Turner.......2007-05-13
Very readable right from the start. Historically enlightening and brilliantly researched- a very strong insight into the blurred boundaries of privateering V piracy....Kidd becomes flesh and bone with a strong beating heart - all due to a narrative which is highly personal. It's not often with historical works that one can feel right There not only in the Place but in the Mind. Through great story telling but also through Kidd's own words from historical documents one truely gets a sense of what drove Kidd and his actions.
Captain Kidd Comes Alive in this Portrait of Pirate History.......2007-03-19
"The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd" by Richard Zachs is an incredible work of nonfiction. He truly makes history come alive in this detailed account of Captain William Kidd's ill-fated scheme to capture pirates in the waters off of Africa, India, and the Middle East to make (illegal) money for his rich English backers, including the King of England himself.
Here is a pirate story that blows away all sorts of pirate myth and cliché. The major argument made is that Captain Kidd was no pirate himself, though he died a pirate's death and lives in history as one of the most notorious pirates ever. Poor Kidd was the victim of mutiny by real pirates, double-handed dealings, hurt pride, vicious gossip, and his own tragic mistakes. You can't help but feel sorry for the man as he drunkenly awaits his legendary fate with the gallows.
Zachs uses all sorts of historical documents, including Kidd's own writings, to retrace Kidd's incredible 3-year voyage, imprisonment, trial, and death. Along the way, we learn in vivid detail about life in colonial America and Britain, life at sea, and the many different cultures and customs the sailors (or pirates) encounter in different parts of the world, from Africa to Indonesia and back. It is almost exhausting in its detail, but it makes for a good story that you can practically see, hear, and smell.
The most fascinating aspect for me were the sections regarding Kidd's trial and the ridiculousness of the British court system. Even more fascinating was the crowd's take on public executions. I couldn't stop giggling at the horrible thought of people throwing dead cats and dogs, covered in feces, into the crowd for the fun of it. Truth, it turns out in this story, is stranger than fiction.
Anyhow, I recommend this book for anyone interested in pirates or for those of us who just want to read a good story from our past. It is history as it should be read - informative, intriguing, and fun.
Excellent!.......2007-03-11
This book is an excellent read. I couldn't put it down. Captain Kidd and the other characters in the book come alive in this book. You feel the emotions of the characters. Unlike many books telling real history, Mr. Zacks doesn't get the reader bogged down in rote facts, but rather engages with action and suspense. The reader comes away with a sense of what it was like to live in Captain Kidd's time, and the forces shaping the history around him.
Highly recommended.
Average customer rating:
- Poetry at its best
- An amazing read
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On Desert Trails With Everett Ruess
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ASIN: 0879058250 |
Book Description
9X12 In, 96 Pp, 45 Black & White Illustrations We Are Proud To Introduce This Handsome Commemorative Edition of On Desert Trails With Everett Ruess (First Introduced In Our 60, 000 Copy A Vagabond For Beauty), Which Was Originally Published In 1940 and Has Since Become A Collector's Item. The Poetry, Letters, and Artwork Contained In This Book Reveal The Adventurous Young Artist Who Loved The Arid Wilderness and Disappeared Into The Desert of Southern Utah. To The Original Book We Have Added Many Photographs of Ruess On The Trail, Along With Others Taken By Ruess of The Land That So Inspired Him. A Special Appenidx Tells The Salt Lake Tribune's Account of Its 1935 Expedition To Southern Utah In Search of Everett Ruess.
Customer Reviews:
Poetry at its best.......2005-02-03
Everett Ruess is a marvelously gifted poet. He writes in elegant lines teeming with passionate imagery. "Wilderness Song" is the most incredible piece and describes nature at its fullest. Any poet can write beautiful lines, but Ruess writes with soul, the soul of an aficianado of the wilderness.
An amazing read.......2004-06-23
A chilling voice out of the past from one who loved wilderness so much he vanished without a trace in it. I am hard pressed to come up with a book or person who was able to articulate the beauty around him more than Everett Ruess. In a tragic twist this lover of the purity nature gave and continues to give a painter's perspective in words to the American west despite the mysterious circumstances surrounding his disappearance. He left behind not only the beautiful writings of a master (and at such a young age) but also a mysterious tale of intrigue that leaves people guessing to this very day. Was he a victim of murder or did his love for wilderness drive him into the vast unknown to live out his days in the peaceful tranquility only nature can provide? Buy the book and formulate your own opinions. I highly recommend it.
Book Description
The maritime history of the Knights Templar following the Church’s attempt to expunge them in southern France
• Shows that the pirates of legend originated with the Knights Templar’s secret navy
• Reveals the Templars’ secret objective to establish a new universal order based on spirituality, wisdom, and individualism--the New Jerusalem
• Examines the secret history of the Templars’ influence in international politics
When the Vatican condemned the Order of the Temple in 1312, many of those who escaped took to the sea. Their immediate objective was to take revenge on the Church. Recent discoveries confirm that ships of the Templar fleet that went missing at La Rochelle later reappeared--first in the Mediterranean and later in the Atlantic and Caribbean--to menace the Church’s maritime commerce. These Templar vessels often flew the famed Jolly Roger, which took its name from King Roger II of Sicily, a famed Templar who, during a public spat with the Pope in 1127, was the first to fly this flag.
Opportunistic buccaneers were quick to see that vast wealth could be gained in pursuing the Templars’ harassment of the Pope’s interests on the high seas, and they spread a reign of terror across the shipping lanes of the New World. Some unaffiliated pirates, in admiration of the Templar egalitarian ideals, even formed their own secret societies, and together with the Templars were part of the ferment that gave rise to independence movements in France and the New World and contributed to the growth of Freemasonry.
The Templar Pirates is the story of the birth and actual conduct of piracy on the seas of the New World and of the influence the Templars had on their constituents, and, by their wealth, on the governments of nations old and new.
Customer Reviews:
Absorbing and unusual .......2007-05-10
When the Vatican condemned the Order of the Temple in 1312, many who escaped took to sea intent on revenge on the Church. The missing Templar fleet later reappeared in the Mediterranean and later the Caribbean and posed a threat to the Church's maritime commerce. THE TEMPLAR PIRATES tells the story of the birth and conduct of piracy on the New World seas, providing an important link between Templar history and Church interactions and piracy as a whole. Any collection strong in Templar or Catholic history will find this absorbing and unusual - and many a general interest library will find it interesting for its insights on early pirates, as well.
Book Description
The Oatman Massacre is among the most famous and dramatic captivity stories in the history of the Southwest. In this riveting account, Brian McGinty explores the background, development, and aftermath of the tragedy, in which all but three members of a Mormon family were murdered by southwestern Indians. The attackers took thirteen-year-old Olive and eight-year-old Mary Ann captive and left their wounded fourteen-year-old brother Lorenzo for dead. After about a year, Olive and Mary Ann were traded to a Mohave Indian community, but only Olive lived to be rescued and reunited with her brother at Fort Yuma five years later.
Using diaries, letters, and other firsthand accounts, as well as recent studies of nineteenth-century southwestern Indian peoples, McGinty dispels myths and corrects omissions in earlier sensationalized versions of the story.
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating.......2007-03-21
I love books that review actual accounts of the people that were there. This book does a good job of that. It's only weakness is that the author goes a little too in depth into trivial things. The story line was great.
Good factual book.......2006-10-20
While this book was very factually accurate in its description of the events which shaped Olive Oatman's life forever, at times it was a very slow read. Don't get me wrong, it was very well written and researched but it just didn't have that kind of gripping energy that keeps you up late reading. It is an excellent account and definitely worth the read though so please don't let me discourage you from reading it, I just felt that it at times, dwelled too much on the factual correctness of Royal Strattons original account of the incidents and not enough on being the kind of compelling read that keeps you coming back for more. But hey, that's just me...
A BOOK TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT.......2006-10-12
For those of us who read on the history of the west, this book has long been waited for. Before this study the most accepted history of that event was one published in the late 1800s which omitted much, and made up as much, with much bias against Indians in general. This book page by page, passage by passage, should now become the standard text of our times.
The author allows the book to progress as if it were an investigation into all things historical and cultural that focus on that event of 1851. One of the more revealing aspects of the book is his focus on the fervor of the religous climate of the day, especially the turmoil of the Mormons seeking a person to replace Joseph Smith. Many things become clear as to why the Oatman family from Vermont, Pennsylvania, and Illinois, ended up alone on the Gila River the day the Indians struck. That Olive and Lorenzo did not perish with the other members of the family is a small miracle.
As usual the University of Oklahoma has issued a valuable addition to our western history in general and one family in specific.
Well done.
Semper Fi.
The historical study of the killing and capturing of the Oatman family at the hands of Native Americans.......2006-05-07
The Oatman Massacre: A Tale Of Desert Captivity And Survival by Brian McGinty is the historical study of the killing and capturing of the Oatman family at the hands of Native Americans. Motivated by his religious beliefs as a dissident Mormon, Roys Oatman set off for Gila and Colorado rivers' intersection with his family of nine and followers seeking to settle in a fertile country he called the "Land of Bashan". The Oatman Massacre is the descriptive story of what came to be called the "Oatman Massacre" in the mid-nineteenth century when all members of that doomed family were killed except for eight-year-old Mary Ann and thirteen-year-old Olive Oatman, and their wounded fourteen-year-old brother Lorenzo Oatman. The young women's captivity amidst the Mohaves tribe, and the experiences of Olive throughout the eight years prior to her rescue is ably recounted. The Oatman Massacre is a remarkable account and a welcome contribution to understanding the Mohaves culture, Mormon history, and a particularly harrowing event on the American frontier.
Makes History Read Like a Novel.......2005-08-30
Mr. McGinty's book is a must read for anyone interested in American history and the complex relationship between whites and Native Americans in the 19th Century. The author has a talent for writing that makes for an easy read, and has obviously spent years researching the subject. I would also highly recommend this book to those who normally read fiction because Olive Oatman's life fits into the category of a life that is more fascinating than fiction.
Interesting information is provided about the Oatmans' trek west, the early Mormon church, and the Native Americans of the Southwest. The portions of the book dealing with Olive's life among the Indians and the speculation that she probably had children while among the Mohave Indians were particularly interesting. Equally remarkable is how Olive delt with her return to white society. The underlying issues of the clash between cultures, the role of women, religion, and popular culture prompt the reader to think critically about these issues.
Book Description
Reveals the existence of a Templar colony in the New World and how the explorer Verrazano, also a member of a secret society, attempted to reestablish contact with it
• Explores Columbus’s connection to Henry Sinclair’s maps of the New World
• Examines the secret alliance of Catholic Sulpicians and French Huguenots to preserve the Templar legacy
• Reveals the hidden knowledge preserved in the Templar baptisteries found throughout Europe and in Newport, Rhode Island
In 1524 the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazano was sent by the French king Francis I on an expedition ostensibly to find a shorter route to China. However, his true mission, Steven Sora suggests, was to contact a Templar colony that might have been established in Newport, Rhode Island, by Henry Sinclair at the end of the 14th century. In his expedition log Verrazano recorded that his only stay on this journey was at Newport Harbor, the site of a tower built to the exact measurements of a Templar baptistery, a sacred sanctuary representing baptism and eternal life.
This tower is a remnant of Sinclair’s voyage to America nearly a century before that of Columbus (who had access to Sinclair’s maps thanks to his wife, who was Sinclair’s great-granddaughter). While Verrazano’s mission succeeded in finding the tower, the colony itself eluded him. His backers then decided to resurrect the dream of Acadia--a place where they could aspire to higher knowledge without fear of Church or state--by creating a new Secret Society that included Huguenots and Catholic Sulpicians. This Company of the Holy Sacrament would lay the foundations for Montreal in an attempt to realize the ambitions of Sinclair and his Templar companions, as well as to stave off efforts by the Jesuits to transform Quebec into a fiefdom of the orthodox Church. Quebec’s motto, “Je me souviens†(I remember), is a reference to this secret history.
Customer Reviews:
Lost Colony of the Templars is a great find.......2007-01-01
The lost Colony of the Templars uses a wealth of historical evidence to support its controversial theories regarding the Newport Tower and other evidence of the Knights Templar in North America, and I highly recommend it. Also highly recommended are two other fine Grail books, one non-fiction and the other fiction, and both are by Michael Bradley, a renowned Grail expert who served as a researcher for the Da Vinci Code movie. Bradley's Swords at Sunset is a non-fiction work that also contends the Knights Templar spirited the Grail to North America, primarly Niagara Ontario and Vermont state; while his fictional novel, The Magdalene Mandala is a wonderfully written thriller with a twisting plot that moves at break-neck speed. It also has well drawn characters and in the view of many is superior to the Da Vince Code. For anyone like me with a growing interest in the Grail, do yourself a favour and check out Lost Colony; Swords at Sunset and The Magdalene Mandala, which sent my heart pounding. These are three very good books and they're all highly recommended.
Newport Tower excavation proves this book wrong.......2006-12-12
In November, 2006, archaeologists hired by Chronognostics completed still another excavation of the Newport Tower. They came to the same conclusion as the excavation in 1951 by William Godfrey; i.e. it was built in 1650-1670, probably by Benedict Arnold's grandfather who owned it and claimed it in his will. So much of the book focuses on this that it is suspect in my mind. Additionally, the factual evidence on Sinclair having been in Rhode Island is meager, indeed. Dr. Diane Holloway
Secret Knowledge Revealed!.......2005-04-10
This fascinating work reveals the fact that Templar baptisteries started with the discovery of Jerusalem's secrets. They spread to Ireland, Portugal, Scotland and France and finally to America. Before Columbus. This book proves that the so-called Viking Tower could not have been built by anyone but an initiate who understood the advanced astronomy known to the Templar knights. This is groundbreaking and will forever change the debate over the Tower's origins.
Customer Reviews:
A fascinating journey.......2007-08-31
This is a marvelous book about one of the least-known of the great explorers.
As Corey Sandler says, very little is known about Henry Hudson except for the period included within the five years of his four voyages. And much of what is on the record is based on the testimony of the mutineers who were out to save their own necks.
Instead, what the author has done is write a fascinating biography of the PLACES Hudson explored: Svalbard near the north pole, Novaya Zemlya above Russia, the Hudson River, and northern Canada including Hudson Strait, Hudson Bay, and James Bay.
He uses the logs and journals of Hudson and some of his crew to put things in context, and then tells us the stories of some of the most amazing places on the planet.
This is a most unusual book, a great read. And it delivers exactly what it promises: "The Tragic Legacy of the New World's Least Understood Explorer." Every page brought a new perspective on history for me. I highly recommend this book.
Know what you're in for.......2007-08-29
If you're considering buying this book you should know what you're in for. If you're expecting a biography of Henry Hudson you'll be disappointed. There is very little on Hudson in this book. What you get is a high-level overview of what Hudson is thought to have done and a whole lot of ramble on Corey Sandler's experiences visiting the places Hudson visited.
There's not a whole lot that's known about Hudson. What there is comes from a few brief surviving documents. You get the text from those documents word-for-word with little if any interpretation from the author. That's the real disappointment of this book. If I wanted to read the text of the original documents I'd look them up myself online. What I wanted was expert interpretation and the telling of the story that these documents seem to describe.
Sandler writes from Nantucket, an island he shares with the great historian Nathaniel Philbrick. But where Philbrick excels at taking scant information and turning it into a fascinating story, Sandler dumps the source information on the page and then rambles on about his own experiences in visiting the same places 400 years later. Unfortunately, it's just not very interesting. Thought you'd learn about Hudson's trip up the river that bears his name? You're going to get a little of that and then a whole lot of information on General Electric, PCBs, the environmental movement, and Pete Seeger.
An earlier reviewer characterized this book as being 1/3 history. I'd put it more at 1/10th. By the end of the book you'll know little about Hudson, but all about Sandler's political views, summer camp experiences, family, feelings, travel preferences, and a whole lot of other personal detail. If that's what you're looking to read about, you'll love it. But if you read the title and thought you were instead going to read a biography of Henry Hudson, you'll be disappointed.
Great book!.......2007-08-01
I am going to give this 5 stars. I'll list why in a second just let me tell you a few of my issues. First Sandler doesn't seem to interview that many people concerning the Clearwater Sloop, the Hudson River Keeper or the many, many other environmental organizations dedicated to keep the Hudson clean. He also brushes over the Storm King case. Sandler does not mention the Indian Point nuclear power plant.
Ok now that's out of the way let me explain a bit why this book is excellent.
First of all its one-third history, one-third travelogue and one-third PSA for keeping all the places Henry Hudson visited clean. The history part is fairly typical in that we don't know much about Hudson; he may have been a bad captain nothing that new or exciting. But overall it's still interesting and a good introduction for those unfamiliar with Hudson.
Then comes the travelogue sections. These are really interesting mostly because of all the unique people the author met on his travels. In reading the book the former director of Clearwater, Andy Mele, comes off as a pretty genuine guy. He's not a crazy tree hugging hippe but just a regular guy that wants to do some good. Most of the environmentalist people come off this way. Some people may not like this but honestly try spending a night near the Hudson...smell that? Yeah, that's the river. I did enjoy Sandle's search for Hudson's monuments and as he mentions in the introduction the most obvious ones are the Hudson River and New York City.
The best parts are the sections that are basically the PSAs about environmentalism. There are numerous digs at GE for dumping PCBs and our society in general. Having lived for four years about 100 yards from the Hudson I must say it's easily one of the greatest sights in the world. But its also one of the biggest dumps too. I think it's terrible that the river is so polluted that you can't go for a swim or eat a fish from there. I had a picnic with my girlfriend one day in Hyde Park right on the river and it was pretty easy to spot all the trash washed up on the shore. Ok enough gushing as Sandler does a much better job explaining this then I do.
In conclusion just read the book. It's excellent.
Customer Reviews:
A fun book for a sailor.......2005-04-10
A lot of great adventurers came back to write a book--Marco Polo, Julius Caeser, William Bligh, Neil Armstrong (well, with the help of Life Magazine). People seem to be the same throughout history. They'll go off on a great adventure, come home, and write a book about it. While Columbus' book (his log) as well as his body, evidently, are currently lost, this book sure seems realistic. It was a lot of fun trying to duplicate his voyage with modern charts to see if I could figure out his first landfall and any sailor will have fun doing the same since Columbus discovered the sailing routes still used.
I thought Columbus portrayed himself as an adventurer out for the discovery of gold and working for the king and queen who hired him, but what's so surprising about that? He was trying to substantiate the worth of his first trip and to convince Ferdinand and Isabella to send him again wasn't he?
indispensable for the student of the voyage...........2002-04-11
....and very easy to read. The English translation is very clear and put together from sources other than Las Casas, whose facts weren't always straight. For some reason the paragraphs are all center-justified and taper out oddly. Various theories about Columbus's landfall are discussed.
The one flaw is the introductory pieces that whitewash the man himself. Made out to be a bold, great hero, he was in actuality a gold-obsessed sailor, a poor mariner, a perpetual whiner whose crew could barely stand him, an intolerant European who assumed every land he touched belong to his King back in Spain, and of course the initiator of the slavery system in Espanola. His men built the first fortress in the so-called New World, and they brought several Native captives back to Spain. Fortunately, some of these events are mentioned in the Log itself.
Columbus Log.......2000-08-09
Fuson translated (and reconstructed where necessary) the logs of Columbus. Loaded with pictures, maps and explanatory comments this work gives us a look at the famous explorer in his own words. I'd guess this is the best and closest one could get to a primary source for Columbus's journals. This would be a great resource for teachers and students who cover the Discovery. Too bad it's out of print
Product Description
Uppity Women of the New World presents more than 200 New World pioneers and adventurers. Spanning the early 1500's to the mid-1800's, Leon follows the women who braved new worlds. Documenting not only the women who journeyed to distant lands but the indigenous women who met them there, she gives us the inside scoop on these brave and daring dames.
Customer Reviews:
informative, yet light.......2006-12-14
The light, at times silly, style of this book belies the fact that a lot of research has gone into finding these women and reporting on their lives. I found its somewhat cavalier tone a little annoying and shallow, though. I wanted a lot more information on most of the women. I think this book is probably aimed at a younger audience and I'm sure it succeeds at that. Young women and girls need to be aware of the past accomplishments women have made. You will not find these stories in a standard history text the likes of which leaves everybody wondering just who were the people who came before us. It is a book like this one that will give you an inkling of life before the 19th amendment. Most of the stories are inspiring. Some are heartbreaking. The collection serves to state the potential and energy women have if only given half a chance. In some cases cited, the women were given no chance and still did amazing things. If nothing else the book serves as fodder for those who argue that women's achievements generally go unremarked upon and forgotten, no matter how astonishing they are. It is time to celebrate such acheivements and I'm glad Ms. Leon has put this book together. It's a good starting point for others to do serious research. And I can't wait for the movie on La Hueca, the "Peruvian Mountie" that "could throw a mean left hook."
Brava.
Sue Lange
author, Tritcheon Hash
Women still Uppity across the Atlantic.......2003-11-04
Another fun collection of short biographies of interesting women, again some I had already heard of , and lots I hand't. I enjoyed reading all these stories, though occasionaly had heretical thoughts. For instance, when she writes about Lucinda Foote being turned down for admission to yale, and going on to be a wife and mother with ten children 'what a waste to the world', i found myself harboring the daring notion that maybe lucinda Foote liked being a wife and mother, perhaps she even found raising ten children as intellectualy demanding as she would have found being a yale scholar. Possible? Also I simply could not cope with her announcement that Pocahontas's rescue of John Smith was just some boring old adoption ceremony, I flatly refuse to believe that, and I don't care what any old anthropologist says. In 1624, John Smith wrote "she hazarded the beating out of her own braines to save mine" and that's good enough for me. Ms. leon seems to be like one of those writers Will Cuppy mentions in the chapter on jhon Smith in 'Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody'. He says "This story has been denied by several writers who weren't there. They refuse to believe it because nothing of the sort ever happened to them."
A wonderful quick read.......2002-12-28
If you like short stories about inspirational women of the past, this book is for you. This book highlights the lives of many women of the past in short stories of their lives. I should have realized that many women of the past have had extraordinary lives. This book is perfect to read along when you only have a short amount of time to read as the passages are only a couple of pages per women. Very inspirational.
UPPITITY WOMEN OF THE NEW WORLD.......2002-02-03
Great book to have on your bedside table to pick up and read one or several short chapters at a time. It also makes a great gift. I keep ordering more copies as I remember other woman who have birthdays coming! It's not only informative, but also entertaining and inspiring to learn what women were able to accomplish in the past...gives one a nudge to perhaps dare to be different today!
Hilarious and Informative.......2001-09-22
Ms. Leon once again gives us an irreverent look at our ancestresses, this time in the New World, the Americas and Australia. The book is a series of very short stories about women who made a difference or were different in their time. I enjoyed all of the stories, but there were some standouts; the young girls who were successful at the ride Paul Revere became famous for, th.e Widow Cliquot and her champagne, the Pitcairn Island women(2 stories)and so many others. I own every book in this series and recommend it highly
Amazon.com
On April 9, 1682, Robert Cavalier, Sieur de la Salle, paddled into the Gulf of Mexico. He and a small band of men in three canoes had become the first to navigate the entire length of the Mississippi River--"the object of his day-dreams, the destined avenue of his ambition and his hopes." He claimed the river and its enormous watershed for France and named it after King Louis XIV. Five years later, while searching for an overland route to the Mississippi, La Salle was killed by mutinous members of his party. La Salle had spent nearly half of his 42 years in North America, enjoying some triumphs and enduring many hardships.
Francis Parkman, one of America's greatest historians, tells the story of La Salle, his rivals, and the struggle over North America in La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West. Parkman was an adventurer himself (he recounts his own five-month trek through the American wilderness in The Oregon Trail), and his experiences on the (admittedly different) frontier lent him a certain authority. He wrote with a fluid, 19th-century grace--"All day there was feasting without respite, after the merciless practice of Indian hospitality"--though some readers may find his prose too florid. First published as part of his epic seven-volume study, France and England in North America, La Salle has been inexplicably out of print for decades. Jon Krakauer (Into Thin Air) rescued this classic for reissue in the Modern Library's Exploration series. With an introduction by Rick Bass, La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West is a welcome addition to the early history of North America. --Sunny Delaney
Download Description
René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle (1643-1687), one of the most legendary explorers of the New World, is best known for claiming the entire Louisiana Territory for France in 1682. Two years later, he was given the order to colonize and govern the great expanse of territory between Lake Michigan and the Gulf of Mexico. He set out from France with four ships but never reached his destination. Landing somewhere in East Texas, he and his men were ravaged by disease, weakened by hard labor, even gored by buffalo as they tried to locate the mouth of the Mississippi River, which was obscured by the sandy sameness of the Gulf coastline. In 1687, on a third attempt to locate the river by an overland route, La Salle was murdered by his own men in the desolate country between the Trinity and Brazos rivers. His body was never found.
First published in 1869, La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West is the vivid, richly detailed story of that final grim expedition, told by America's foremost historian.
"Parkman was... perhaps the first great historian the United States produced, certainly still one of [the] most notable. The vividness of his narrative breathes the excitement he felt... in penetrating the Great American Wilderness."
JOHN KEEGAN
Customer Reviews:
America's Tacitus.......2004-10-28
Parkman is that unusual combination of great scholar and wonderful writer. His books depicting the history of French exploration of North America and the conflict between the French and the British for control of North America remain the basic narratives of these events. Parkman's writing, combining narrative, psychological insight into major historical actors, and use of rhetoric that seamlessly reflects his narrative, is often superb. This particular book is almost entirely devoted to the career of the Sieur De La Salle, the French explorer obsessed with establishing French control over the Mississippi valley. Parkman provides vivid portraits of the almost incredible hardships of travel in North America, the character of politics in the French colonies, and an insightful treatment of La Salle and his associates. Parkman's powerful but restrained language often recalls the style of Tacitus.
Living History.......2002-02-09
Frances Parkman was a man who lived and breathed his history. He not only researched his subjects thoroughly, but seems to have crawled inside their heads as well.
Parkman's gift for bringing people alive is nowhere more evident than in this complex story of Robert Cavalier de la Salle's attempt to realize his dream of making France a leader in the new world. Parkman's skillful examination of the man behind the story lets the reader understand why LaSalle and his ideas were the cause of such controversy. At the same time, Parkman paints a vivid picture of the new world frontier as it existed in LaSalle's time. This is a book that can be savored on many levels: as an entertaining adventure story, a psychological thriller, and a historical reference.
Parkman's prose is rich and full of details you will need to understand the complexity of the charcters and the consciousness of the times. Therefore, you should be prepared to spend time working your way through this book. Whenever I tried to hurry through a section, I found that I missed something important that was needed later on. In other words, patience is needed, but well worth it. Parkman was a true lover of history and the people who shaped it and it shows.
Just a great story.......2000-11-30
I picked this up on a lark and found I couldn't put it down. A fascinating story, extremely well written and a pure pleasure to read. I travel extensively and found it amazing how many places I go to regularly have a direct link to La Salle. Couldn't recommend it more.
Breathing Life into History.......2000-01-24
While there is a new Introduction, this is the historic account of Robert LaSalle's exploration of the Louisiana territory in the 1680s. Parkman first published this treatise in 1869; it has since been reprinted numerous times. An excellent, thoroughly engrossing recounting of the exploration of the territory which LaSalle claimed for France in 1682, through which the reader not only learns of the daily travails of the little band of explorers, but also, the human frailties of the man, Robert Cavelier, known as LaSalle. This book gives life to a name from history, and exemplifies the methodical research done by Parkman in the days before telephones, faxes, and copiers. I was thoroughly impressed by the subject and the writer. Excellent; informative, totally enthralling reading-writers of today should take note! Kudos to the publishers (and Krakauer) for bringing this series (back) to life!
Fascinating History Expertly Told.......1999-12-20
For those who liked Ambrose's "Undaunted Courage" or Lansing's "Endurance", make room on your bookshelf for another favorite. Parkman tells the story of LaSalle's journeys in North America with a novelist's style and a historian's attention to detail.
Of particular interest were Parkman's references to things which exist "today" referring to his time, the mid to late 1800's. As such, the reader is treated to a double dose of history by viewing past events through the eyes of someone who wrote over 100 years ago. The book was an exciting and enjoyable read.
My only criticisms of the book were that the volume of the footnotes was somewhat distracting, and that a few key phrases were not translated from French. Otherwise, excellent.
Book Description
Completed in 1747, Mark Catesby's Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands was the first major illustrated publication on the flora and fauna of Britain's American colonies. Together with his Hortus Britanno-Americanus (1763), which detailed plant species that might be transplanted successfully to British soil, Catesby's Natural History exerted an important, though often overlooked, influence on the development of art, natural history, and scientific observation in the eighteenth century.
Inspired by a major traveling exhibition of Catesby's watercolor drawings from the Royal Library, Windsor Castle, this collection of interdisciplinary essays considers Catesby's endeavors as a naturalist-artist, scientific explorer, experimental horticulturist, ornamental gardener, and early environmental thinker in terms of the interests held by the various, overlapping communities in which he functioned—particularly as those interests related to the British colonial enterprise.
The contributors are David R. Brigham, Joyce E. Chaplin, Mark Laird, Amy R. W. Meyers, Therese O'Malley, and Margaret Beck Pritchard.
The contributors:
David R. Brigham (Worcester Art Museum)
Joyce E. Chaplin (Vanderbilt University)
Mark Laird (University of Toronto)
Amy R. W. Meyers (Huntington Library & Art Collections)
Therese O'Malley (National Gallery of Art)
Margaret Beck Pritchard (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)
Books:
- The Pursuit of Happyness
- The Rose That Grew From Concrete
- The Slave Community: Plantation Life in the Antebellum South
- Tonight On The Titanic (Magic Tree House 17, paper)
- Turbulent Years: The 60s (Our American Century)
- Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs: Official Companion Book to the Exhibition sponsored by National Geographic
- Under a Cruel Star: A Life in Prague 1941-1968
- Vicksburg: The Campaign That Opened the Mississippi (Civil War America)
- Washington, D.C. (Eyewitness Travel Guides)
- White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s
Books Index
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