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Binding: HardcoverDewey Decimal Number: 970.01 EAN: 9780805076035 ISBN: 0805076034 Label: Henry Holt and Co. Manufacturer: Henry Holt and Co. Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 464 Publication Date: April 29, 2008 Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. Release Date: April 29, 2008 Studio: Henry Holt and Co. Editorial Review: Product Description: The bestselling author of Blue Latitudes takes us on a thrilling and eye-opening voyage to pre-Mayflower America On a chance visit to Plymouth Rock, Tony Horwitz realizes he’s mislaid more than a century of American history, from Columbus’s sail in 1492 to Jamestown’s founding in 16-oh-something. Did nothing happen in between? Determined to find out, he embarks on a journey of rediscovery, following in the footsteps of the many Europeans who preceded the Pilgrims to America. An irresistible blend of history, myth, and misadventure, A Voyage Long and Strange captures the wonder and drama of first contact. Vikings, conquistadors, French voyageurs—these and many others roamed an unknown continent in quest of grapes, gold, converts, even a cure for syphilis. Though most failed, their remarkable exploits left an enduring mark on the land and people encountered by late-arriving English settlers. Tracing this legacy with his own epic trek—from Florida’s Fountain of Youth to Plymouth’s sacred Rock, from desert pueblos to subarctic sweat lodges—Tony Horwitz explores the revealing gap between what we enshrine and what we forget. Displaying his trademark talent for humor, narrative, and historical insight, A Voyage Long and Strange allows us to rediscover the New World for ourselves. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - The real American historyHorwitz spends three years traveling to the sites of early explorers and settlers who were in the Americas 100 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. Plymouth Rock or PR was long considered the birthplace of America, Horwitz shows that other places, especially Florida, can easily claim the title. Rating:  - Excellent history - Excellent ReadTony Horwitz asks the very simple question - "What happened in North America between Columbus and the Pilgrims?" - a 128 year interlude that seems strangely ignored - and then searches out the answer. Along the way he also searches out where, why, and by whom it is still remembered. A very funny book as a bit of travel writing (think Bill Bryson) and slice of present day Americana, and a very solid primer on the explorations and settlement of North America before the Pilgrims came and claimed ... Read More Rating:  - Not in my libraryThe serious weakness in the book is first suggested in the grossly inaccurate colored map on the inside cover of the book. The map and text show Cabeza de Vaca's route as beginning in Texas (rather than Florida)and running through central Texas (rather than norther Mexico). Cabeza de Vaca's route has been extensively covered by well documented historical and archeological studies over the past thirty years with no one faintly suggesting the route identified by the author's map and narrative. The ... Read More Rating: - great light and at times funny look at "real" history of the U.SThis book offers a look at what really took place from the Vikings to the Mayflower. At times serious and other time humorous. well done and easy and too fast reading. Rating: - Great read, well writtenI greatly enjoyed this book. While being scholarly sound, it is easy reading. It is the kind of book a teacher of history should embrace. |
