From the bestselling author of Assassination Vacation and The Partly Cloudy Patriot; an insightful and unconventional account of George Washington’s trusted officer and friend; that swashbuckling teenage French aristocrat the Marquis de Lafayette. Chronicling General Lafayette’s years in Washington’s army; Vowell reflects on the ideals of the American Revolution versus the reality of the Revolutionary War. Riding shotgun with Lafayette; Vowell swerves from the high-minded debates of Independence Hall to the frozen wasteland of Valley Forge; from bloody battlefields to the Palace of Versailles; bumping into John Adams; Thomas Jefferson; Lord Cornwallis; Benjamin Franklin; Marie Antoinette and various kings; Quakers and redcoats along the way. Drawn to the patriots’ war out of a lust for glory; Enlightenment ideas and the traditional French hatred for the British; young Lafayette crossed the Atlantic expecting to join forces with an undivided people; encountering instead fault lines between the Continental Congress and the Continental Army; rebel and loyalist inhabitants; and a conspiracy to fire George Washington; the one man holding together the rickety; seemingly doomed patriot cause.While Vowell’s yarn is full of the bickering and infighting that marks the American past—and present—her telling of the Revolution is just as much a story of friendship: between Washington and Lafayette; between the Americans and their French allies and; most of all between Lafayette and the American people. Coinciding with one of the most contentious presidential elections in American history; Vowell lingers over the elderly Lafayette’s sentimental return tour of America in 1824; when three fourths of the population of New York City turned out to welcome him ashore. As a Frenchman and the last surviving general of the Continental Army; Lafayette belonged to neither North nor South; to no political party or faction. He was a walking; talking reminder of the sacrifices and bravery of the revolutionary generation and what the founders hoped this country could be. His return was not just a reunion with his beloved Americans it was a reunion for Americans with their own astonishing; singular past. Vowell’s narrative look at our somewhat united states is humorous; irreverent and wholly original.From the Hardcover edition.
#822080 in Books 2003-04-29Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.24 x 1.34 x 6.37l; 1.66 #File Name: 0395660734592 pages
Review
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful. Best for Romanov Russia and LaterBy clarinetsarethebestThis is a very interesting and (overall) well written textbook which I used in Russian history. It should be noted that the book is written by four separate individuals; each of whom has a very different writing style. The early chapters (from Riyurik to the beginning of Muscovy) can be difficult to understand (upon meeting their author; I understand completely); but the book hits its stride with "Part II" and the advent of Lindsey Hughes's much clearer writing. Stites and Evtuhov are also easy to understand; but Goldfrank requires a rereading (or two) before you realize what he's saying.6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Balanced history of RussiaBy Dmitry VostokovI was very interested in History when I was at school and used to read a lot about ancient Greece; Rome and Middle Ages. This was greatly accessible in USSR. A few years ago I started reading history books again and was looking for a general Russia history book. I bought this one and recently started reading a few months ago; reading 10-25 pages every week now. A bit dry sometimes but really good in explaining various forces and pressures; cultural aspects and with plenty of maps and pictures. You may wonder why I; a native Russian; read in English? The reason is that I write books in English myself and voracious reading in English helps me to attain native fluency in written English.Thanks;Dmitry VostokovFounder of Literate Scientist Blog2 of 6 people found the following review helpful. No pass on EvtuhovBy M. A. SeifterHaving read through Evtuhov; Goldfrank; Hughes and Stites' "A History of Russia"; and having used it for a Russian history survey course at my community college; I can not really recommend it for similar introductory-survey courses;or for any use by beginner audiences in general. The narrative throughout the text is both meticulous and leadenly verbose; treating the issues; trends; forces and dynamics of Russian history in great. wearying detail; thus destroying the interest in the subject by beginning students. The book is further weakened by being written by four authors; each of them sometimes taking time to treat the same material; and altering their spelling; and of course their interpretation; of the people and events of this quite complex historical narrative. Perhaps the book would be useful for more advanced readers; but again; few beyond the tyro level would need the methodical laying out of their argument which the four authors seem to feel themselves obligated to make. The book's chapters are also too long in general; an abiding sin for even survey History texts nowadays.Many problems in the text might have been resolved by compressing everything in Kievan Rus and Russian history proper prior to Peter I in a long first chapter. Though I find the details of Kievan Rus and the rise to prominence of the principlaity of Moscow to imperial strength fascinating; few non-specialists would likewise share my interest. More generally; the above-noted stylistic weaknesses might be addressed with better writing by the authors. I can never quite fathom why accomplished published scholarly authors find it so difficult to write well; to make their textbooks memorable.Mark SeifterLehigh Carbon Community College
