Lafayette | 
| Author: Harlow Giles Unger
Publisher: Wiley
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 137517
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 480
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.1 x 1.3
ISBN: 0471468851
Dewey Decimal Number: 920
UPC: 723812618941
EAN: 9780471468851
Publication Date: November 4, 2003
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Product Description
Acclaim for Lafayette
"I found Mr. Unger's book exceptionally well done. It's an admirable account of the marquis's two revolutions-one might even say his two lives-the French and the American. It also captures the private Lafayette and his remarkable wife, Adrienne, in often moving detail." -Thomas Fleming, author, Liberty!: The American Revolution
"Harlow Unger's Lafayette is a remarkable and dramatic account of a life as fully lived as it is possible to imagine, that of Gilbert de Motier, marquis de Lafayette. To American readers Unger's biography will provide a stark reminder of just how near run a thing was our War of Independence and the degree to which our forefathers' victory hinged on the help of our French allies, marshalled for George Washington by his 'adopted' son, Lafayette. But even more absorbing and much less well known to the general reader will be Unger's account of Lafayette's idealistic but naive efforts to plant the fruits of the American democracy he so admired in the unreceptive soil of his homeland. His inspired oratory produced not the constitutional democracy he sought but the bloody Jacobin excesses of the French Revolution."-Larry Collins, coauthor, Is Paris Burning? and O Jerusalem!
"A lively and entertaining portrait of one of the most important supporting actors in the two revolutions that transformed the modern world."-Susan Dunn, author, Sister Revolutions: French Lightning, American Light
"Harlow Unger has cornered the market on muses to emerge as America's most readable historian. His new biography of the marquis de Lafayette combines a thoroughgoing account of the age of revolution, a probing psychological study of a complex man, and a literary style that goes down like cream. A worthy successor to his splendid biography of Noah Webster."-Florence King, Contributing Editor, National Review
"Enlightening! The picture of Lafayette's life is a window to eighteenth- and nineteenth-century history."-Michel Aubert La Fayette
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 Poorly researched February 19, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is one of those "fast-paced" narratives that is long on drama, but short on quality research. Should not be used as a reference at all for Lafayette's experiences during the American Revolution, especially for the 1781 Virginia campaign. Very inaccurate.
 Gripping reading January 18, 2008
Fascinating book about a man I knew only by name and whose name and dedication to the fight for independence is not as well known as it should be. There should be a national holiday for this man. I had not known about his passion for manumission. I did know about his failure to bring human rights to France and failed during the Great Terror and his wife's role in aiding the poor at great risk.
An exellent beginning book because I would like to know more.
 Maybe for a younger audience? December 26, 2007
This was the second book I'd read on Lafayette, the first being General and Madame de Lafayette. Get that one, not this.
Not that this book was horrible, but it was, like another reviewer said, written very simply. Rather than having perhaps a poetic effect, at times it feels condescending -it might make a good book for a middle school student, but certainly not for one in high school. My biggest point against this book is that it seems to be attempting to overly flatter him in the reader's mind by omitting some of what we might consider character flaws, such as his extramarital affairs. If you want a more complete picture read General and Madame de Lafayette. I have since read numerous books on Lafayette and not found a better one. If you must read this book, get it from the library -you will not feel the need to read it more than once.
 Inexcusable Historical Mistakes July 29, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is an extremely disappointing book of "history"? As one earlier reviewer indicated, the book contains some appalling historical mistakes. Here are two that blew me away because they are so completely inaccurate and so obvious - on page 60 "Saratoga had been America's only military victory since the beginning of the war" - well I guess Concord, Trenton and Princeton must not have been victories!!! On page 120 regarding Benedict Arnold, "...Arnold suffered a crippling wound in the disastrous American assault on Quebec...and his injuries left him reluctant to assume anymore battlefield commands". Of course this is completely inaccurate since Arnold was certainly never "reluctant" to take on any military command and in fact his most successful military actions, (as you can find in any basic book on the Revolution) Valcour Island and Saratoga, occurred long after Quebec.
I simply can't believe these inaccuracies (along with many other questionable statements) were allowed to be included in a history book, where were the editors! I was really looking forward to reading the chapters on the Lafayette's involvement in the French Revolution (since I am not too familiar with that period) but since the ARW content is dubious at best I decided not to waste my time and possibly be led to believe inaccurate facts that I do not have the knowledge to recognize.
Finally, the book seems to white wash Lafayette to the extreme and makes him appear to be the most important and sometimes only player in a number of the most dramatic events of the war, other than possibly Washington. For instance there is little about Franklin's involvement in winning French support for independence. The best portions of this book are the letters the author has included. Lafayette was certainly one of the most important and noble people in the history of our country - but I'll have to find another book to satisfy my interest in him.
Factual errors are inexcusable! October 16, 2006
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
This book is apparently not well researched and has at least three errors so far and I am not a fifth finished with it.
For one on page 71: "After signing the treaty, (The Treaty of Alliance between the United States and France) Franklin, Deane, and Adams were officially presented to the king..."
Unger means Arthur Lee, not Adams. The treaty was signed on February 6, 1778, the presentation ceremony was March 22. John Adams didn't arrive in Paris until April 8.
This is pitiful and I could list the other errors and I certainly will if it is requested. But I resent the time involved to do it, they are not my errors! Why the Library Journal claims this is a "well-researched" biography one can only speculate. The (few?) errors make the whole suspect. A sad event for publishing. Perhaps we should wait another 20 years for an accurate book.
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