So why did Henry Wadsworth Longfellow make a national hero out of Paul Revere, when Revere was only one of the many riders sent our by Dr. Warren on that fatefull night? This in a poem written many years later just before the civil war.And why was the biggest naval disaster to befall the American cause before Pearl Harbor, an obscure struggle unremebered in most history books?
And what were the British up to building a fort in the far north of Massachusetts at Majabogwadice (now Castine, Maine)?
Why was Paul Revere court martialed on charges of ineptitude, & dereliction of duty bordering on treason?
Should Massachusetts have demanded and ultimately recieved payment by the federal government for a $300 million dollars(in todays money) disaster solely of its own making?
What role did young Lt. Moore later play in driving Napoleon from Spain?
And on and on with many surprising twists and turns in a factually based historical novel, The Fort by Bernard Cornwell. After reading Cornwell previous gem, Agincourt some month ago, I praised his writing as some of the best of modern historical fiction. He lives up to that standard again in The Fort. If military history is your thing, I would highly recommend this book without any reservation.
7 comments:
Sounds like an excellent read. I'm going to get this book as a gift for my husband. He loves historical non-fiction and it will surely be better than the last book I gave him, Bill O'Reilly's "The Killing of Patton" (although he enjoyed it). It's hard for me to buy him books because he is always suspect of "an Agenda" (paranoid right-winger that he is). I bought him Meacham's "The Pursuit of Power" aout Jefferson and Hillenbrand's "Unbroken" but he never opened either book. He's listening to an audio book that his daughter gave him, Benn Steil's "The Battle of Bretton Woods" - about Britain's John Maynard Keynes and America's Harry Dexter White role in creating a new world order during the 40's. I love your book reviews.
Wow, sounds like he bursts a bunch of myths. You have stirred my interest.
Indeed, Ark Patti. Foundational myths can serve to establish a national identity and a sense of nationhood, but considering some of the uses to which ours have been put, like justifying Manifest Destiny, knocking off another one can't hurt, I think. Many Americans never bought into them anyway, African Americans and Natives for example, and increasingly we're becoming a nation of people who already have their own.
I think we can come up with something better that can serve what useful purposes they've served. Something entered around the truth. We could be a people who unflinchingly face down the past, perhaps.
Might have to read this with my husband, especially as we're from Massachusetts and Revere is revered here ;)
This sounds like a very interesting read. I like historical fiction.
Fascinating! Maybe the poet liked the rhythm of his name?
Seems like an interesting read indeed, and historical writings are always fun to read no doubt. Nice of you to share. Greetings!
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