Alan Taylor Livres

Exploring the writing of early American history, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alan Taylor examines how historical narratives are constructed. Through a collection of essays from The New Republic, he delves into the complexities of interpreting the past, shedding light on the methodologies and perspectives that shape our understanding of American history. Taylor's insights challenge conventional narratives and invite readers to reconsider the stories that define the nation's heritage.

From a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, a fresh, authoritative history that recasts thinking about America's founding period. číst celé

The book explores the pivotal role of enslaved individuals during the War of 1812, particularly around Chesapeake Bay, where they sought refuge aboard British warships. Viewing these ships as symbols of freedom, hundreds of slaves risked their lives to escape and ultimately influenced the conflict by assisting the British as guides and sailors. Their actions not only intensified the fears of slaveholders but also shifted loyalties among Virginians, who began to align more closely with southern interests due to the perceived neglect by the national government.

From a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, the powerful story of a precarious United States as it expands across a contested continent

The narrative explores the complex relationship between William Cooper and his son, James Fenimore Cooper, highlighting how they personified the conflicting values and tensions of early American society. Through their lives and interactions, the book delves into themes of identity, legacy, and the shaping of a nation, providing a nuanced portrait of both individuals against the backdrop of a formative period in American history.

In this book, the author, a Pulitzer Prize winning historian tells the story of a war that redefined North America. During the early nineteenth century, Britons and Americans renewed their struggle over the legacy of the American Revolution. Soldiers, immigrants, settlers, and Indians fought in a northern borderland to determine the fate of a continent. Would revolutionary republicanism sweep the British from Canada? Or would the British empire contain, divide, and ruin the shaky American republic? In a world of double identities, slippery allegiances, and porous boundaries, the leaders of the republic and of the empire struggled to control their own diverse peoples. The border divided Americans, former Loyalists and Patriots, who fought on both sides in the new war, as did native peoples defending their homelands. Serving in both armies, Irish immigrants battled one another, reaping charges of rebellion and treason. And dissident Americans flirted with secession while aiding the British as smugglers and spies. During the war, both sides struggled to sustain armies in a northern land of immense forests, vast lakes, and stark seasonal swings in the weather. In that environment, many soldiers panicked as they fought their own vivid imaginations, which cast Indians as bloodthirsty savages. After fighting each other to a standstill, the Americans and the British concluded that they could safely share the continent along a border that favored the United States at the expense of Canadians and Indians. Both sides then celebrated victory by forgetting their losses and by betraying the native peoples. This narrative of an often brutal and sometimes comic war reveals much about the tangled origins of the United States and Canada

Describes the earliest years of human colonization of the American continent and environs with the Siberian migrations across the Bering Strait. This book conveys the story of competing interests - Spanish, French, English, Native, Russian - that over the centuries shaped both the continent and its 'suburbs' in the Caribbean and the Pacific. schovat popis

The book offers a dramatic exploration of the complex relationships between white settlers and Native Americans following the American Revolution. Through a detailed narrative, it sheds light on the cultural, social, and political dynamics that shaped these interactions, providing a nuanced understanding of the historical context and its impact on both communities. The author's Pulitzer Prize-winning background enhances the depth and insight of this illuminating portrait.

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, a brilliant, absorbing study of Jefferson and his campaign to save Virginia through education. číst celé

ALAN RICKMAN was a world-class actor, as well as a tireless political activist, an avid traveller and a devoted confidant and friend - and now, through his never-before-seen diaries, Rickman invites readers backstage and into his life