From his teens until his death; the maps George Washington drew and purchased were always central to his work. After his death; many of the most important maps he had acquired were bound into an atlas. The atlas remained in his family for almost a century before it was sold and eventually ended up at Yale University's Sterling Memorial Library.Inspired by these remarkable maps; historian Barnet Schecter has crafted a unique portrait of our first Founding Father; placing the reader at the scenes of his early career as a surveyor; his dramatic exploits in the French and Indian War (his altercation with the French is credited as the war's spark); his struggles throughout the American Revolution as he outmaneuvered the far more powerful British army; his diplomacy as president; and his shaping of the new republic. Beautifully illustrated in color; with twenty-four of the full atlas maps; dozens more detail views from those maps; and numerous additional maps (some drawn by Washington himself); portraits; and other images-and produced in an elegant large format-George Washington's America allows readers to visualize history through Washington's eyes; and sheds fresh light on the man and his times.
#803960 in Books Grove Press 2001-04-09Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 1.14 x 5.95l; 1.52 #File Name: 0802137946512 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A Fun; Informative HistoryBy James D.Barrow's Boys is a survey of British exploration efforts in the first half of the 19th century (focusing mostly on the many efforts to find the Northwest Passage through the Arctic); viewed from the perspective of the man who organized and dispatched all those expeditions. John Barrow had a seemingly minor position - second secretary to the admiralty of the Royal Navy. But he was a consummate bureaucrat and an expert politician; and as author Fergus Fleming shows us; he nearly always got his way.The book takes us through (often doomed) expeditions to Africa; the Arctic and even Antarctica. We meet such curious characters as George Lyon (something of a forerunner to Lawrence of Arabia; in his way); Richard Lander (who made it across a thousand miles of disease and war-ravaged African lands single-handedly; when the rest of his expedition died); the quarrelsome Ross family (Arctic heroes John and James); "the man who ate his boots"; John Franklin; and more.The book is written in a lively voice; liberally supported by excerpts from journals and letters written at the time. It's immensely entertaining; educational; and frankly mind-boggling to read of the unimaginable horrors that these explores faced and then volunteered to go back out and face again (the ones who survived; anyway).I'd absolutely recommend this book enthusiastically!1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Crazy untold period in historyBy PeterDunno; maybe a lot of people already knew about the British exploration to discover the Northwest Passage; but I never knew about it until I read this book. One incredible story of determination and lunacy after another... a must read for any arm-chair explorer. I have read a number of book by Fergus Fleming and always found his work enjoyable.19 of 20 people found the following review helpful. "A Stirring Story of Daring; Fortitude; and Outright Lunacy"By Susan R. MatthewsI bought this book to read about Barrow's role in John Franklin's career and several Arctic expeditions; but was pleasantly surprised to find information on aspects of Barrow's enthusiasm for exploration that I don't believe I'd ever really heard about before.The same (really remarkably influential) gentleman who sent the Royal Navy into the Arctic in search of the Northwest Passage also sponsored several expeditions into Africa to discover; among other things; the course of the Niger river.This book forms a very nice summary of the history of the Royal Navy's attempts to discover that all-important Northwest Passage; giving form and coherence to series of expeditions that otherwise rather boggle my brain. The most pleasant surprise for me; however; was reading about the African expeditions; new information for me; and engagingly presented as well.You will find it well written and striking a nice balance between presenting sufficient information to communicate the gravity of the issues faced by "Barrow's boys;" and overwhelming the casual reader with too much information.The history of the interactions between Barrow and those Rosses is particularly engaging; and tempts me to revisit M.J. Ross' very thorough joint biography of Captain John Ross and Sir James Clark Ross (Polar Pioneers : John Ross and James Clark Ross).An interesting book; beautifully written; and full of unexpected wry humor; light but not light-weight; I enthusiastically recommend this book to persons interested in British polar exploration; the Franklin expeditions; and the decades-long animosity between Barrow and Captain John Ross.
