Patrick Ogle
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The Puritan Dilemma -The Story of John Winthrop by Edmund S. Morgan

2/20/2023

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The truth is this isnt a read but a re-read. The first time I read it was over 30 years ago so it counts as new. It is sort of a must-read short book on the Puritans, specifically John Winthrop.

Its treatment of the Puritans is far more even-handed than you will find in most histories. It also places them firmly IN their time, in context, which is important not only when it comes to understanding Puritanism but how it affected America.

With its focus on Winthrop it only brushes upon such notables as John Cotton, Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson (among others) but that is what is great about it, it introduces you to figures you want to know more about.

It is a brief book, a little more than 205 pages long but it makes great use of every page. There are various longer looks at the Puritans and Winthrop but few get at the man and the beliefs like this one.


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The First American- The Life And Times of Benjamin Franklin By H.W. Brands

2/20/2023

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I am a big fan of historical biographies when they are well written and well researched.H.W. Brands', The First American-The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin, is both.

While I've read many biographies from the era this is the first one I found of Franklin that I found both engaging and focused on reality. You don't need to be fanciful or add to the life of Franklin. He was a scientist, a journalist and printer, a diplomat and a politician and he excelled in all these roles. Without any doubt he was the most widely known and respected American of his time and one of the two most important figures in the American Revolution (George Washington being the other).

This book lays out Franklin's life well but there are some issues that could have been talked about at more length. Slavery leaps readily to mind. Early in his life Franklin owned slaves and was ambivalent about the institution. Later he became an opponent. The book does talk about how he came to believe those of African heritage were every bit as intelligent and capable as Europeans. But for such an important issue the book deals with it only briefly. This is possibly because Franklin's surviving letters and writing on the subject are brief. It isn't as if The First American ignores the issue nor does it deny it importance. The subject just seems to cry out for more detail (and this is often true in Founding Father's bios).

I never slowed down reading this except when there were long portions that included letters to and from his lady friends. Part of his history to be sure! Just not one I find interesting, even if it does serve rather definitively to humanize the subject!



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The British Are Coming by Rick Atkinson

2/20/2023

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Rick Atkinson is known for his three book history of the American Army in the European Theater during World War 2. Those masterful books tell the stories not just of generals and presidents but common soldiers, often in their own words. I would find myself reading these books as the sun rose; I could not put them down.

The British Are Coming is part one of a new trilogy on the American Revolution. It is another deep dive into what led to the revolution and what followed. He gives a clear view of the minds and motivations of those on high like George III and General Washington.  But it also details the motivations, often via letters to loved ones, of common soldiers and other less prominent people. Where are people more likely to tell their true feelings than in such correspondence?

This book also tosses on the trash heap notions that the Americans were being soundly beaten before Saratoga (which isn't covered in this volume). The Americans took their lumps and made a number of dubious decisions--invading Canada, how they defended New York. Yet, for each of those there was a Lexington & Concord, a Trenton, a Princeton etc.

Often, when the American Revolution is taught, the attack on Canada is not covered. It isn't terribly glorious but it is an important part of the history of the war. Atkinson ignores nothing and I am impatiently awaiting volume 2.

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    This is really to motivate me to read and remember what I am reading. I'd love to hear what YOU are reading.

    What I am reading now--The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy and China Marches West by Peter C. Purdue.

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