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637 reviews for:
The Black Count: Napoleon's Rival, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo – General Alexandre Dumas
Tom Reiss
4.11 AVERAGE
637 reviews for:
The Black Count: Napoleon's Rival, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo – General Alexandre Dumas
Tom Reiss
4.11 AVERAGE
It's easy to look like a superhero when your publicist is your son who was raised on your legend but barely got to meet you enough to humanize you, but if even a quarter of this is true, Alex Dumas was a rock star. A real life story of a self-made man who was infinitely capable, loved by everyone (except Napoleon and probably the Austrian government) and who stood up for the helpless. I'd say he was the original Captain America, but he was French, so he was the original Steve Rodgers.
Only in the last year or two did I learn that Alexandre Dumas, the author of the Count of Monte Cristo (among others), was part black. My mind was blown that a black man could rise to such prestige in 19th century Europe when slavery was still so rife in the Americas. To learn that his father (who was even more obviously black and was born a slave himself) had been able to rise to the rank of General and given command over thousands of white men is a whole nother level of mind blown. Why isn't something this amazing taught as part of every mainstream history textbook? This was so inspiring. For once there's a historical hero who would still be considered a hero by today's standards of enlightenment, which is always a feel good, and that once upon a time, there was a short sliver of history where black men were given the chance to prove themselves and they knocked it out of the park (Reiss makes sure to show that Dumas was not the only uber competent black man in the French army, just the most all around accomplished)! It makes the backlash of racism that followed even more crushing and horrific. This is a story that more people need to know.
Only in the last year or two did I learn that Alexandre Dumas, the author of the Count of Monte Cristo (among others), was part black. My mind was blown that a black man could rise to such prestige in 19th century Europe when slavery was still so rife in the Americas. To learn that his father (who was even more obviously black and was born a slave himself) had been able to rise to the rank of General and given command over thousands of white men is a whole nother level of mind blown. Why isn't something this amazing taught as part of every mainstream history textbook? This was so inspiring. For once there's a historical hero who would still be considered a hero by today's standards of enlightenment, which is always a feel good, and that once upon a time, there was a short sliver of history where black men were given the chance to prove themselves and they knocked it out of the park (Reiss makes sure to show that Dumas was not the only uber competent black man in the French army, just the most all around accomplished)! It makes the backlash of racism that followed even more crushing and horrific. This is a story that more people need to know.
I found this to be a really fantastic biography -- well-researched and measured in its claims, but still gripping and illuminating. I learned a lot about historical events of the period, especially the rise and fall of France's treatment of people of colour, without feeling like we lost sight of Alexandre Dumas. I particularly appreciated the discussions of how Dumas' legacy had been erased, rather than simply forgotten. The audiobook was well-read, too. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in the eighteenth century, French history, or histories of race or slavery -- it's some of the best non-fiction I've read in a while.
The information in this book is nothing short of amazing. It's exhaustively researched, technically well written and is THE biography of General Dumas. If you're VERY interested in General Dumas, I would recommend it to you.
That said, I rec it w/ the following caveat: in addition to being a good biography of General Dumas, it is also an excellent example of the possessive investment in whiteness.
We are often told the lie that white men are the objective & universal figures in media, this biography perfectly illustrates why that is not true. The lens of whiteness permeates the entire book, to the extent that several passages make me incredibly uncomfortable.
Why does the author go to such lengths to mitigate how deplorable it is for General Dumas' father to sell him into slavery, however briefly he did it for? Why would the author try to explain that it wasn't racism that spawned the Black Codes in the French colonies, but jealousy?
The book contains so much vital and important information about Dumas, and I'm glad to have read it, but it would have been much better if the author hadn't felt the need to somehow be unbiased on the unquestionable racism of Dumas' time or in his treatment. Read this, but read this with a careful eye on how whiteness forms much of the crafting of the story.
That said, I rec it w/ the following caveat: in addition to being a good biography of General Dumas, it is also an excellent example of the possessive investment in whiteness.
We are often told the lie that white men are the objective & universal figures in media, this biography perfectly illustrates why that is not true. The lens of whiteness permeates the entire book, to the extent that several passages make me incredibly uncomfortable.
Why does the author go to such lengths to mitigate how deplorable it is for General Dumas' father to sell him into slavery, however briefly he did it for? Why would the author try to explain that it wasn't racism that spawned the Black Codes in the French colonies, but jealousy?
The book contains so much vital and important information about Dumas, and I'm glad to have read it, but it would have been much better if the author hadn't felt the need to somehow be unbiased on the unquestionable racism of Dumas' time or in his treatment. Read this, but read this with a careful eye on how whiteness forms much of the crafting of the story.
I won this book as an ARC from Goodreads but I procrastinated in reading it. Then it won the Pulitzer, so I felt compelled to read it.
At first I loved hearing about the noble who sired Alexander Dumas and life in the French colony that would become Haiti. Until he got to France and it was all military history. I liked hearing more about free men of color in France at the time and the French Revolution, but the military stories started out interesting, but by the time Napoleon showed up, I was bored with them. I do like the author's interjection of opportunities and information that he was able to record and use but then they were destroyed. The writing was so-so to me.
At first I loved hearing about the noble who sired Alexander Dumas and life in the French colony that would become Haiti. Until he got to France and it was all military history. I liked hearing more about free men of color in France at the time and the French Revolution, but the military stories started out interesting, but by the time Napoleon showed up, I was bored with them. I do like the author's interjection of opportunities and information that he was able to record and use but then they were destroyed. The writing was so-so to me.
informative
sad
slow-paced
I love the novels of Alexandre Dumas and thus, was fascinated by the idea that his characters could be based, in part, upon his father and his experiences. The story of Alex Dumas as told in the book, The Black Count, was compelling. Besides his individual history, it gave additional insight and perspective on a time in French history that I had found previously only to be horrifying based upon reading books such as A Tale of Two Cities. I was especially pleasantly surprised about how far their perspective on equal rights had taken hold as it pertained to slavery and the advancement of people of color within leadership. So I was appalled at the end of the book to see how Napoleon cavalierly eliminated all those gains. I was also shocked to discover how easily they were willing to submit to the authority of a despot with no true right to reign.
The story of Alex, himself, did read as being from one of his son's books -- his beginnings as a slave, his relationship to his noble father, his rise from within the ranks of the military, his faithful love for his wife, his imprisonment with paranoia about being poisoned, and finally his abandonment and ostracism by the country he had served so faithfully.
I would happily recommend this biography to anyone with an interest in French literature from this time period or the history of the French revolution and Napoleon's rise to power.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
The story of Alex, himself, did read as being from one of his son's books -- his beginnings as a slave, his relationship to his noble father, his rise from within the ranks of the military, his faithful love for his wife, his imprisonment with paranoia about being poisoned, and finally his abandonment and ostracism by the country he had served so faithfully.
I would happily recommend this biography to anyone with an interest in French literature from this time period or the history of the French revolution and Napoleon's rise to power.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
This was a well-written account of the famous Alexandre Dumas' father who was a mixed-race general during the French Revolution. I learned a lot about the general but even more about the Revolution and the following years in a way that was easy to understand which was probably the highlight of this biography.
Really good book. I'm a huge fan of The Count of Monte Cristo, and this book make me want to read even more of Alex Dumas' son's work. I learned so many things about revolutionary France. Just a great read.