Place de la Concord: Obelisk and la Fontaine des Mers installed in 1836 and 1846

Destination: Paris

Book: The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris (NEW May 2011) by David McCullough

1900 Cafe, Left Bank

The master biographer, David McCullough , in the travel biography  The Greater Journey , focuses on a variety of people who spent time in Paris during the period between 1830 and 1900.  A crowd of medical students, art students, scientists, politicians–some dilettantes and some accomplished and dedicated to self-improvement–come from the raw new country of the United States to soak up some style in the cultural capitol of Europe.

It seems appropriate to review this book the day after the tenth anniversary of September 11, a day that sharpens a feeling of patriotism in America. Despite the fact that it takes place in Paris, the reader also learns about the maturing of the young country. Time after time these travelers to Paris–whether short-term tourists or long-term ex pats–tell friends how their time in Paris has made them feel more American.  McCullough skillfully shows the growing confidence of the United States citizens in their own country.

In the early sections, McCullough pulls off a complex act, juggling a great many life stories and at the same time filling in the history, culture, and look of Paris itself. People we meet include Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., father of the better known Supreme Court Justice. The elder Holmes studied medicine in Paris when U.S. medical schools lagged far behind.

And did you know that Samuel Morse, inventor of the telegraph, intended to become an artist? That’s why he went to Paris.

Posters for sale in book stall

We follow Richard Rush, American Minister to France, through the overthrow of the last King of France and then the horrible uprising of 1848, brought on by desperate economic conditions. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first American female physician, makes interesting observations on the arts, comparing Rembrandt to Hawthorne. “ The House of Seven Gables is a succession of Rembrandt pictures done in words instead of oils.”

Writers flocked to Paris, too.  McCullough gives us an in-depth portrait of James Fenimore Cooper. Regardless of whether you like Cooper’s  overwrought adventures of the American frontier, (eg. Last of the Mohicans) you must admit that he truly was an American writers, despite the fact that many of his books were actually written while he was resident in Paris.  McCullough says in the Source Notes “Cooper was a far more interesting man and the popularity of his work abroad far greater than generally appreciated in our time.”

Of the outstanding New Englanders whose brilliance distinguished American letters in the 1850s, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and now Harriet Beecher Stowe had all made pilgrimages to Paris.  In 1858 followed yet another, Nathaniel Hawthorne…The only one of the New England “immortals” who did not come was Henry Thoreau , but then he seldom went anywhere.

McCullough also praises the ordinary people who kept diaries–a form of writing that generally escapes fame– and we can thank this book for bringing them to our attention.

“….so many of the protagonists were superb writers… Such descriptions to be found in the letters and journals of even those who did not regard themselves as professional writers–like Emma Willard, Charles Sumner, or Thomas Appleton–amply qualify as American literature of the sea.  Anyone wishing a sample of the professional virtuosity of a writer like Nathaniel Willis need only read his hilarious account of dining on board the brig Pacific in rough weather.” From the introduction to Source Notes, Section 1. The Way Over.

In the Source Notes, McCullough recommends the first of John Sanderson’s  two-volume The Americans in Paris, as  ”one of the best books about Paris by an American ever written.”

In the later sections of the book, McCullough focuses on one or two people at a time, going into great depth about men and women we may or may not remember, but who deserve our attention. The story of Elihu Washburne, friend of Ulysses S. Grant and ambassador to France during the great upheaval of a German siege from outside and a vicious internal revolt, surely deserves to be known as one of the truly great men of American history. We get mini-biographies of artists John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt and Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

Pont Neuf, Paris

Why does this book deserve a place in the traveler’s library? For one thing, a traveler planning a trip to Paris could use The Greater Journey as a guide. Here an uprising took place, here a famous artist or author had an apartment, here a  famous American took medical classes, or attended an artists’ atelier.

Traveler’s activities today echo those described in The Greater Journey. Naturally, all artists flock to the Louvre, many sitting all day and copying paintings.

Copying a Masterpiece at the Louvre (21st century)

Many of the figures in the book live on the left bank–several in St. Germaine. The Jardins Luxembourg and the Tuilleries are important to the lives of the 19th century visitor as they are today. The landmark bridges and even the venerable Procope restaurant had been visited as far back as the 18th century when Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin and John Adams came to Paris. They are all still there.

Rear view of Procope with portraits of famous guests

McCullough always has an eye for the telling detail. For instance when the city residents are scrambling for food–dining on rat and horse, American Minister to France Elihu Washburne holds a Christmas dinner in which he serves canned goods, and

“…in addition chocolates, of which there was still no shortage in Paris.  Indeed, supplies of French chocolate, mustard, and wine appeared to be inexhaustible.”

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose, or as Henry James called it, “the still-present past of Paris.”

[A copy of the book, The Greater Journey, was supplied by the publisher, Simon & Schuster for the purposes of review. All photos are the property of Ken Badertscher and Vera Marie Badertscher. Please inquire if you want to reuse. The book title is linked to Amazon for your convenience. If you click through to Amazon and purchase anything at all, I get a few cents which helps support A Traveler's Library. Thanks.]

For many of the figures in the book, their time in Paris was transformative. You can see more modern stories of the influence of Paris in the book, Paris Was Ours. Have you visited another country and felt the visit changed you in important ways?

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©2012 A Traveler's Library. All Rights Reserved.

Book: 1776 by David McCullough

On the Fourth of July, we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  But this book focuses on the war that preceded the Continental Congress and continued after the important paper was signed;the war that gave the document meaning.

George Washington

In 1776, David McCullough transports us to October 1775 through the end of the war. We are with the troops day by day, hour by hour.  We also read what the British were doing and saying.  The British soldiers were far from home and not overly enthusiastic. While the rag tag American troops–the home team–were cheered and urged on by villagers and farmers along the way.

In the background, the politicians met in Philadelphia and carried on their (to British eyes) treasonous business.

“We are in the midst of a revolution,” wrote John Adams, “the most complete, unexpected and remarkable of any in the history of nations.”

And as the delegates to the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, McCullough writes:

“..the citizen-soldiers of Washington’s army were no longer to be fighting only for the defense of their country, or for their rightful liberties as freeborn Englishmen...It was now a proudly proclaimed, all-out war for an independent America, a new America, and thus a new day of freedom and equality.”

The war dragged on but the book ends with New Year’s Day 1777. It ends with just a mention of the surrender at Yorktown and the final treaty that was not signed until 1783.

What better way to celebrate July 4th than to visit some of the less-frequented sites related to the Revolutionary War.

In New York City, you can travel to the very southern tip of Manhattan and be amazed at the cobble-stone streets and 18th century buildings that remain. This was pretty much all there was of New York when the war began. It is easy to miss the small Fraunces tavern where Washington said goodbye to his troops.  A restaurant serves patrons on the ground floor, and when I was there, I had to ask a waiter to allow me up the stairs to see the rooms where Washington met with his troops.

The entire National Historic Park at Valley Forge in southern Pennsylvnia is beautiful, peaceful countryside, unlike the rough conditions soldiers faced there in 1776. My favorite spot was the stone house that served as Washington’s headquarters. There you can actually walk up the wooden stairs that Washington climbed to the bedroom that served as his office.

I loved the Pennsylvania park at Washington Crossing (there is another park on the New Jersey side.)  Made famous by the exaggerated painting of Washington standing up in the boat, the park now incorporates some 18th century buildings that you can tour. Drive down the River Road where the troops walked during that bitterly-cold winter crossing that proved a brilliant move as the British were not expecting company in Trenton, New Jersey. I did not go on to the Trenton battle site monument, the spot of the decisive battle, but that is on my list for another time. Just a small crossroads at the time of the war, the city has obliterated the site of the battle, but a 150′ monument stands where the Americans had their artillery. Fittingly, George Washington stands atop the pillar, towering over the city, as he did over our history.

Finally, visit Yorktown Virginia, where the last battle took place and the British surrendered after being let down by their hired Hessian troops. Just a small crossroads at the time of the war, the city has obliterated the site of the battle, but a 150′ monument stands where the Americans had their artillery. Fittingly, George Washington stands atop the pillar, towering over the city, as he did over our history.

Note, if you’d like to read more about the book 1776, see this excellent blog post at Navy Reads blog.

This content is a post from: A Traveler's Library To comment on this post or search for related information, click on the link to A Traveler's Library. We'll leave a light on for you.

©2012 A Traveler's Library. All Rights Reserved.