For Liberty and Glory: Washington, Lafayette, and Their Revolutions Book

On April 18, 1775, a riot over the price of flour broke out in the French city of Dijon. That night, across the Atlantic, Paul Revere mounted the fastest horse he could find and kicked it into a gallop. So began what have been called the "sister revolutions" of France and America. In a single, thrilling narrative, this book tells the story of those revolutions and shows just how deeply intertwined they actually were.

Bryan Craig - Library Journal

The famous relationship between George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette was forged in battle in the American Revolution. Gaines (former editor, Timemagazine; Evening in the Palace of Reason) presents an engrossing book about their complex friendship. He effectively argues that theirs was not a father-son relationship of pure devotion and that the two did end up on opposites sides on occasions. For example, although Washington supported the principles of liberty within the French Revolution, he did not support the export of those liberties beyond French borders when France then waged war with Prussia and Austria-Hungary. However, Lafayette commanded one of those French armies. Gaines's book is much broader than David Clary's recent Adopted Son: Washington, Lafayette, and the Friendship That Saved the Revolutionbecause Gaines includes more about Lafayette's role during the French Revolution and his life after Washington's death in 1799. He uses a good balance of primary and secondary sources and includes recent works as well. Highly recommended for both public and academic libraries.