Patriotic Fire
Andrew Jackson and Jean Laffite at the Battle of New Orleans
کتاب های مرتبط
- اطلاعات
- نقد و بررسی
- دیدگاه کاربران
نقد و بررسی
March 13, 2006
Groom is a novelist (Forrest Gump
) and popular historian, with a string of well-reviewed books on war (e.g., Shrouds of Glory
). A diligent researcher, he nevertheless has no pretensions as a scholar. His strength is a remarkable ability to recreate and revitalize events long considered familiar. He's best at structuring his narrative around personalities, and the Battle of New Orleans offers him a colorful cast. Andrew Jackson was a backwoods politician wearing the epaulettes of a general. Smuggler and buccaneer Jean Laffitte rejected a British bribe to become an American patriot. Around them coalesced a hard-bitten army. Five thousand regular soldiers and militiamen from Tennessee and Kentucky; free blacks and Creole aristocrats; displaced Acadians; gunboat sailors and pirates turned artillerymen—all confronted twice their number of British, most of them veterans of the Napoleonic Wars. At stake was New Orleans and the Mississippi River basin: the developing heartland of an expanding nation. Groom is defensibly hyperbolic in describing Jackson's unexpected victory as the wellspring of a pride and patriotism that endured into the 20th century. His vivid account of how that victory was won merits a place in both public and private collections. Photos, maps.
May 1, 2006
Groom, a novelist ("Forrest Gump" and historian ("1942: The Year That Tried Men -s Souls" has written a lively account of the last battle in the War of 1812, which actually took place in January 1815, a couple of weeks after the Treaty of Ghent had been signed but before news of the treaty had crossed the ocean. Although, as the title indicates, Groom focuses on the two protagonists on the American side, he does not neglect their British foes. In addition, plenty of details about early 19th-century life and vignettes from what was already America -s most distinct city add depth and flavor to Groom -s narrative. He does a good job of placing the battle and the war itself in the context of the Napoleonic Wars, and he does not neglect the consequences of this unexpected victory for the young republic and its newest hero. Clearly, the United States was now a force to be reckoned with. This is not revisionist history but a good retelling; Groom has added a bibliographic essay in which he discusses the characters involved, the major sources available on the battle, and the controversies among these sources. Recommended for public and undergraduate libraries." -Dan Forrest, Western Kentucky Univ. Libs., Bowling Green"
Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
April 1, 2006
The Battle of New Orleans is undoubtedly one of the most celebrated military engagements in U.S. history. The military significance was negligible, since the War of 1812 had formally concluded with a peace treaty signed in Belgium two weeks earlier. But the emotional impact for the young nation was immense; Americans took pride in the defeat of a great military power, and victory added to the already growing legend of Andrew Jackson. Groom is a celebrated novelist (" Forrest Gump, "1994) and historian (" 1942: The Year That Tried Men's Souls," 2005). He is also a descendant of Elijah Montgomery, who served in Jackson's army. He has written a stirring and often moving account of the battle and the events surrounding it, and his main focus is on the roles and personalities of Jackson and the enigmatic pirate turned patriot, Laffite. Jackson is seen as a larger-than-life figure, at times appearing almost heroic, but not someone to turn one's back to. This is a beautifully written and exciting work of popular history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)
دیدگاه کاربران