Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 60
 So much History February 7, 2010
B. Wilfong (Newark, OH)
Mr. Horwitz's past work has a wonderful knack for combining travel, history, and current culture into a satisfying blend that leaves the reader interested and informed. A Voyage Long and Strange is not as good as his past efforts, but it is a delightful and informative read none the less.
I guess my education was not as bad as the ones lamented by Horwitz in this text because I had a passing familiarity with most of the explorers, conquistadors, etc. that he mentioned. Still, Horwitz developed those stories on a human level, and I enjoyed his exploration of how those long ago expeditions and voyages shape this nation to this very day.
A strength of the book is that Horwitz gives credit where credit is due, and does not paint all the conquistadors and explorers as men who raped and pillaged exclusively. He gives them as fair a shake as can be expected in our sensitive modern world, while not glossing over their cruelties and flaws. The people in the past were like us, good and bad mixed together, and Horwitz seems to keep away from the postmodern tenet of judging people by our time and standards.
Another great strength of the text is his interviews and adventures with the modern inhabitants of the places that were the quest of the explorers he examines.
Love them or hate them, names like Columbus, DeSoto, DeVaca, Coronado, Smith, etc. are names that anyone who wants a real understanding of America's history should be familiar with. This text is a good place to go exploring. You will be entertained and informed.
 Fabulous! January 8, 2010
M4 (Massachusetts)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This writer is fantastic. If you love history and love history that reads like a funny, fascinating and moving novel, you will really enjoy this. Brilliant, exciting, and poignant, this is a great read for those interested in North American history .
What You Don't Know! October 19, 2009
R. L. Santiman (Lansdowne, Pa)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is a fantastic way of learning what your were not taught in school! Mr. Horwitz has created a journal of his own travels that wonderfully relates his attempts to find history! This should be mandatory reading for anyone interested in Colonial American History!
Wonderful Reading August 15, 2009
Don65
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A most enjoyable book.
History I should have known and never did. I suspect I am not alone in that state and encourage others to read this book. Horwitz entertains and painlessly educates the reader. I could scarcely stop talking about the new knowledge I found in this book.
A perfect gift for the history buff with a sense of wonder.
Travels with Tony July 31, 2009
E. L. Weinhold (Maryland, USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Tony Horwtiz's style really appeals to me - I like his "gung ho" approach of reporting. It totally worked in Confederates in the Attic and in Blue Latitudes.
I heard about this book before its release in 2007. I was visiting the Jamestown settlement in Virginia and overheard a conversation about how Horwitz had been there doing some research for his new book. I knew he was living in Virginia at the time, so it didn't come as a big surprise, and the timing was right, since Jamestown celebrated its 400th anniverary in 2007.
When this book hit the market, I immediately added it to the queue and picked it up at the bookstore a few weeks later.
The premise of the book is a little jab at the American education system - the misinformation and the general laziness of historical education at the primary and secondary levels. Of course the educators alone are not at fault, but a general public who believe that Columbus landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts, or that the pilgrims were at Jamestown. Dates and geography forgotten so easily... and Horwitz wants to fill in those gaps.
He sets out on this quest first by researching the *many* explorations through North America and the Caribbean by the host of imperial European powers. He starts with Columbus, and travels to the Dominican Republic and searches for signs of the explorer in the modern day country. This is his modus operandi for the book: go to the modern country/region/state, and look for signs of the past. He relies on several archival resources, but he really just likes to talk to people. So, he goes into museums, into bars, into public parks, and just talks to people. It's a kind of guerilla approach, but he shares some interesting anecdotes and meets many unique characters.
There were a few dry spells in the book, and I freely admit to skipping over some portions and starting on the next chapter/region. The chapters on the Southwest took me back to my New Mexico history class in middle school - we did learn many of the same things, so it was good to revisit. My favorite chapters in the book were the stories of the explorations in the southeast by the Spanish and the French - perhaps it is because I knew the least about that region's history, or because the stories were so enticing.
Horwitz does not cover completely unexplored territory here (to keep with the theme!) but he does it in a fun and readable way. The general idea is similar to Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me (Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong). One criticism that I had while reading this book - and I understand that we just don't have the documentation to truly "back up" the other party's experience - it all seemed so Euro-centric. I couldn't help but think that the book needed a little dose of Zinn'sA People's History of the United States: 1492-Present (Perennial Classics)... added to the mix for more palpability.
That being said, I enjoyed it and learned some great little tidbits. While reading, I felt the need to share said tidbits with family and friends :)
Showing reviews 1-5 of 60
|
