Reviews for Australian-American relations

The average rating for Australian-American relations based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-07-13 00:00:00 Martin Richards I came across this title in January 2018 while reading a book on the history of slavery, the fur trade, etc in Detroit. It was quoted and referred to in the bibliography of that other book. Having an abiding interest in the city’s history from having grown up there I decided to read Makin’ Free. Both the Forward and the Author’s Notes claimed its historical merit based on having reviewed primary and secondary sources. It is true that each of its brief chapters of text has some footnotes at the end. However, it should also be noted that the author Reginald R Larrie offers many opinions and more than a few quotes without a footnote attached. This plus the fact that its chapters are so brief (maybe 10 pages or so) mean that the book is less than what I would consider a scholarly piece of history. In its favor, however, are that MF provides many photos. Most of these are of the people discussed in the narrative. A few are of documents relating to the text. These along with its rich descriptions of the people and their involvement in and contribution to life in 18th and 19th century Detroit, as well as southern Michigan, give the book some value. Thus, I learned a number of interesting things. For example, the presence of free African Americans and Quakers along with the fact that the area is in close proximity to Canada made it an important stop on the Underground Railroad for escaped slaves seeking freedom from the South. Famed African American abolitionist speaker and writer Frederick Douglass met with John Brown in Detroit sometime before Brown’s failed raid on Harper’s Ferry. There was a regiment of African American soldiers from Michigan who fought bravely for the North in the Civil War. The expression ‘the Real McCoy’ is based on an African American inventor named Elijah McCoy. African Americans published a newspaper in 1880’s Detroit called The Plaindealer. For those who want a more thoroughly documented and in depth study of Detroit and its environs circa the 18th and 19th centuries I highly recommend The Dawn of Detroit by Tiya Miles. This little monograph of 100+ pages offers some complimentary information which someone like me with an abiding interest in what ultimately became known as the Motor City might find worthwhile.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-09-27 00:00:00 Diarmuid Sands I literally had zero idea about pre-wwii China and wooooooow I have no idea how the pacific didn't explode beforehand.