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A review by nicoleankenmann
Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson's Lost Pacific Empire: A Story of Wealth, Ambition, and Survival by Peter Stark
5.0
Audiobook: 10h.54m.
As a Canadian public school kid, I have spent a great many hours of my life in less-than-enthusiastic history classes. Though I’ve studied the war of 1812 nearly every year of my formal education, the details still feel blurry and irrelevant to me.
This book has breathed life into the continental the stories I’ve known and dismissed since childhood. Flat names were given flesh; vague motives became important. When my future children bemoan their elementary school Canadian History courses, I will absolutely reach for this book.
Astoria does not seem designed to be read in one sitting. Like a television show that anticipates commercial breaks, this book begins many chapters with a recap of the previous scene, or a summing up of the story so far. This structure would make for an excellent part-by-part bedtime read, especially for younger ears, but is generally a helpful ploy for a historical work.
I would highly recommend this book to those who are enchanted by adventure in the outdoors, and to those who are disenchanted with 18th Century Canadian (or American) history.
As a Canadian public school kid, I have spent a great many hours of my life in less-than-enthusiastic history classes. Though I’ve studied the war of 1812 nearly every year of my formal education, the details still feel blurry and irrelevant to me.
This book has breathed life into the continental the stories I’ve known and dismissed since childhood. Flat names were given flesh; vague motives became important. When my future children bemoan their elementary school Canadian History courses, I will absolutely reach for this book.
Astoria does not seem designed to be read in one sitting. Like a television show that anticipates commercial breaks, this book begins many chapters with a recap of the previous scene, or a summing up of the story so far. This structure would make for an excellent part-by-part bedtime read, especially for younger ears, but is generally a helpful ploy for a historical work.
I would highly recommend this book to those who are enchanted by adventure in the outdoors, and to those who are disenchanted with 18th Century Canadian (or American) history.