World History
Carhart, Thad. Across the Endless River. New York: Doubleday, 2009. 308 pp, $17.79 in hardcover. Review by Joyce Salisbury, Central Michigan University.
Across the Endless River, by Thad Carhart, is a fictional account of Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau?s visit to Europe. Charbonneau was the son of Sacajawea and French fur trader Toussaint Charbonneau, who accompanied the Corps of Discovery led by Lewis and Clark. Unlike most historical fiction where the main characters are fictional encountering historical individuals, in Carhart?s novel, the two main characters, Baptiste and Duke Paul of Wittenburg, are historical characters while the individuals they meet (for the most part) are fictional, ?composites of those who would have been in Paul?s social ambit.? The danger of this is that it is easy to read this as a biography and forget that from the moment they set sail for Europe, little to nothing is known of Baptiste?s experiences. From a historical perspective, however, the facts upon which the story is built are accurate. A short ?Author?s Notes? helps clarify where fiction takes over from fact.
The book is well-written; I would even use the word ?charming? to describe this book. There is little tension or dramatic climaxes (although the narrative about the young Mandans? initiation into manhood is dramatic and graphic as is the visceral excitement of a buffalo hunt); rather this is a pleasant account of Baptiste?s experiences and viewing Europe through the eyes of a young man who has lived both the Native American life and been educated in St. Louis. Baptiste himself is a combination of naïve and worldly. He is young, eighteen, when he embarks on his European experience with Duke Paul. He has led visitors as they explored the American West and interacted with various Indian tribes, but in Europe he is totally at a loss to understand that world. Over the five years he lives in Europe, assisting Paul with his book about American natural history, he learns about life and love.
The book provides an interesting look at life in Europe during the 1820s. Four years after Napoleon?s death in exile, he is still of paramount interest to the people not only in France, but throughout Europe. We get insights into the interest in natural history, music, and politics through Baptiste?s experiences. The life lived in harmony with nature in America is compared and contrasted with the refined life in Europe.
This book should be of interest to individuals interested in early nineteenth century American and Europe, Native American life, international politics, natural science and more. For example, anyone concerned with the repatriation of Native American goods (i.e., NAGPRA) may be interested in this account of how so many Native American artifacts spread throughout the globe and the attitudes of those collecting them. Baptiste?s growing discomfort with the scientific, almost clinical, handling of these artifacts is a theme throughout the latter part of the book.
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World History
Book Review - Across the Endless River
Carhart, Thad. Across the Endless River. New York: Doubleday, 2009. 308 pp, $17.79 in hardcover. Review by Joyce Salisbury, Central Michigan University.Across the Endless River, by Thad Carhart, is a fictional account of Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau?s visit to Europe. Charbonneau was the son of Sacajawea and French fur trader Toussaint Charbonneau, who accompanied the Corps of Discovery led by Lewis and Clark. Unlike most historical fiction where the main characters are fictional encountering historical individuals, in Carhart?s novel, the two main characters, Baptiste and Duke Paul of Wittenburg, are historical characters while the individuals they meet (for the most part) are fictional, ?composites of those who would have been in Paul?s social ambit.? The danger of this is that it is easy to read this as a biography and forget that from the moment they set sail for Europe, little to nothing is known of Baptiste?s experiences. From a historical perspective, however, the facts upon which the story is built are accurate. A short ?Author?s Notes? helps clarify where fiction takes over from fact.
The book is well-written; I would even use the word ?charming? to describe this book. There is little tension or dramatic climaxes (although the narrative about the young Mandans? initiation into manhood is dramatic and graphic as is the visceral excitement of a buffalo hunt); rather this is a pleasant account of Baptiste?s experiences and viewing Europe through the eyes of a young man who has lived both the Native American life and been educated in St. Louis. Baptiste himself is a combination of naïve and worldly. He is young, eighteen, when he embarks on his European experience with Duke Paul. He has led visitors as they explored the American West and interacted with various Indian tribes, but in Europe he is totally at a loss to understand that world. Over the five years he lives in Europe, assisting Paul with his book about American natural history, he learns about life and love.
The book provides an interesting look at life in Europe during the 1820s. Four years after Napoleon?s death in exile, he is still of paramount interest to the people not only in France, but throughout Europe. We get insights into the interest in natural history, music, and politics through Baptiste?s experiences. The life lived in harmony with nature in America is compared and contrasted with the refined life in Europe.
This book should be of interest to individuals interested in early nineteenth century American and Europe, Native American life, international politics, natural science and more. For example, anyone concerned with the repatriation of Native American goods (i.e., NAGPRA) may be interested in this account of how so many Native American artifacts spread throughout the globe and the attitudes of those collecting them. Baptiste?s growing discomfort with the scientific, almost clinical, handling of these artifacts is a theme throughout the latter part of the book.
- Opening Atlantis
I just finished reading Opening Atlantis by Harry Turtledove. It is an alternate history novel that takes place in a setting with a continent between North America (Terra Nova) and Europe. The map on the cover of the book shows the east coast of the United...
- Nineteenth-century American Children And What They Read
Nineteenth-Century American Children and What They Read - A site devoted to the magazines and books read by 19th-century American children, especially works published before 1870. Includes timeline, books and authors, papers and analyses, and images....
- Those Were The Days
Those Were The Days - Short book self-published on the web by Trevor Hemans: "Some of the incidents and experiences in the life of a District Commissioner in Rhodesia and Zimbabwe between 1946 and 1981." From the site: I have attempted in this little...
- Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise And Fall Of Jack Johnson
Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson. This is an interesting book review. It examines this book by Geoffery C. Ward. It gives a good summary of Jack Johnson's life as well. From the site: In the later years of his life, Johnson...
- Teaching About Western Europe
Teaching about Western Europe. This is an essay which details ways that teachers can instruct American students about European history. From the site: Despite the urgent need to address the very real concerns of today's minorities, the development...