The River Where America Began: A Journey Along the James - Hardcover

Deans, Bob

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0742551725 ISBN 13: 9780742551725

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2007

Synopsis

In this engaging new book, Bob Deans introduces Americans to the James River, explaining its essential role in the shaping of modern America and helping readers to understand how much of who we are as a nation is rooted along its shores. iThe River Where America Begani takes readers on a journey along the James from the earliest days of civilization nearly 15,000 years ago through the English settlement at Jamestown and finishing with Lincoln's tour of the defeated capital of Richmond in 1865.

About this title

About the Author:

Bob Deans, a long-time Washington, D.C. journalist, is Federal Communications Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council Inc. He grew up in Richmond, Virginia and now lives in Bethesda, Maryland with his family.

Review:

The James is America's river. It witnessed the birth of English-speaking America in 1607 and the 'new birth of freedom' ushered in by Union victory in the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln's dramatic visit to the fallen Confederate capital of Richmond on April 4, 1865. Bob Deans' eloquent narrative does full justice to the story both tragic and majestic of this historic river. (James M. McPherson, Princeton University)

A beautifully written, brilliant book, The River Where America Began is history the way it should be told. An inspiring story of America and its unique struggle to become a great nation. (Helen Thomas, Dean, White House Press Corps, Hearst Columnist)

The James River was America's first waterway and may still be its most historic. With the eye of a fine journalist and the heart of a native Virginian, Bob Deans has made an engaging human drama of the great river's history, from Pocahontas and John Smith to Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln. It's a compelling read. (Doyle McManus, Washington Bureau Chief, Los Angeles Times)

A waterway that runs through Virginia also runs through—and nourishes—our identity as a nation. This book is the work of a superb journalist, and also a masterful storyteller. In Bob Deans' unsparing and riveting narrative, we really get to know characters like Captain John Smith and Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry, and understand why we wouldn't be who we are if they hadn't been who they were. (Time Magazine)

Deans has written an account of our history that is at once lively, surprising and deeply insightful, a powerful book that reveals much about who Americans are and where we came from. (New Orleans Times-Picayune)

Deans roves far beyond Jamestown's first couple of decades. . . . His succession of stories brims with drama and vignettes of famous and not-so-famous people. Local Virginia collections may be interested in Deans' work. (Library Journal)

Anyone with an interest in early American history should appreciate Deans's mix of natural and cultural perspectives. (Publishers Weekly)

Deans' interlineal commentary reflects the zeitgeist's critical stance toward America's origin story, while his fast-moving presentation successfully engages interest in an overview of Jamestown and its aftermath. (Booklist)

The genuine attempt to include native sources, including the views of twenty-first century natives, is laudable. For historians of the United States or of Virginia specifically, this book should be readable and entertaining. (American Studies)

Heartfelt and engaging. . . . Persons rooted in or who live near the shores of the Hudson and James Rivers will treasure this volume. (Journal Of The American Republic)

About this edition

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0742551725
• ISBN 13: 9780742551725
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224