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A review by melissa_who_reads
Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell
4.0
A fun read, with her trademark weaving of history and contemporary life. I am not a "military history" kind of person, but I did enjoy her discussions of the battles and of this military figure that the US owed so much to at it's founding. And I enjoyed her inclusion of the Quaker critique of that history. I had known relatively little of Lafayette prior to reading this, and indulged in looking him and his wife up on Wikipedia to gain a broad sense of their lives -- but her vision of him as a gung-ho teenager looking for glory is very persuasive.
I found myself reading portions out loud to whomever I was with - not the worst thing while sitting bored in an ER waiting to be called in. Liked the drawings of various figures included in the book: was surprised that the artist only got a "thank you very much" in the acknowledgements, and not his own mention in the front. And I really wanted there to be chapters. The book pretty much flowed from one topic to another, with small breaks -- but there is something about chapters to give you a sense of moving forward.
I recommended it: it serves as a reminder of what the French meant to the US in the Revolutionary War (and what the Americans meant to the French). And bonus - a reminder that some place names were named after real people (for instance, Vergennes, Vermont -- named after the foreign minister of France under Louis XVI -- a lovely little town I have driven through many times). And all the places named after Lafayette himself ... and a discussion of all the protests that happen in Lafayette Park, near the White House, under the statue of Lafayette himself. I particularly enjoyed the description of the suffragette addressing Lafayette's statue in 1918, since she got as much response from him as she did from President Wilson or the Congress about the Susan B. Anthony amendment ... Lots of gems of historical information in this book. It is about context, isn't it?
I found myself reading portions out loud to whomever I was with - not the worst thing while sitting bored in an ER waiting to be called in. Liked the drawings of various figures included in the book: was surprised that the artist only got a "thank you very much" in the acknowledgements, and not his own mention in the front. And I really wanted there to be chapters. The book pretty much flowed from one topic to another, with small breaks -- but there is something about chapters to give you a sense of moving forward.
I recommended it: it serves as a reminder of what the French meant to the US in the Revolutionary War (and what the Americans meant to the French). And bonus - a reminder that some place names were named after real people (for instance, Vergennes, Vermont -- named after the foreign minister of France under Louis XVI -- a lovely little town I have driven through many times). And all the places named after Lafayette himself ... and a discussion of all the protests that happen in Lafayette Park, near the White House, under the statue of Lafayette himself. I particularly enjoyed the description of the suffragette addressing Lafayette's statue in 1918, since she got as much response from him as she did from President Wilson or the Congress about the Susan B. Anthony amendment ... Lots of gems of historical information in this book. It is about context, isn't it?