Reviews for Rude Pursuits and Rugged Peaks: Schoolcraft's Ozark Journal, 1818-1819

The average rating for Rude Pursuits and Rugged Peaks: Schoolcraft's Ozark Journal, 1818-1819 based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-09-23 00:00:00 Sean Ross This is a book from the 80s and the writing and scholarship style are from that period. But it’s got fascinating stories and tables about the economic activity and property ownership and demographics of black men and women in Savannah from after the Revolution to just at the end of the Civil War. His argument that sets him apart is that Black Savannah wasn’t segregated by mixed race versus full African descent Voeltz between and enslaved. Instead because of the unique situation in Savannah of the institution of “nominal slavery”, there was a much more cohesive black community and little overt revolt or resistance in ways that worried whites. Mixed race people were a much smaller segment of the free population than in other southern cities. Johnson lays out the roles of the churches and their early roles in uniting the groups and promoting a strong literate Black/mixed race population.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-04-21 00:00:00 G S Gravlee This entertaining social history looks at the years 1880 through 1920 and is set largely in or near New York. The author’s primary subjects, beginning with Cornelius Vanderbilt, are four generations of a family who at one time controlled $200 million, “the largest fortune in America if not the world.” While Auchincloss’ research is obviously extensive, he conveys his erudition with a light touch and in a concise style. In general, as in his novels the author’s subject is how money is made and spent. Especially striking here, however, are the portraits Auchincloss paints. Cornelius Vanderbilt “was puffed up with divine greed,” as a contemporary wrote. Gertrude Vanderbilt was an arts patron who instigated a scandalous battle for custody of her niece, Gloria Vanderbilt. Harold Stirling Vanderbilt was a champion yachtsman and “the father of contract bridge.” In some cases, more interesting than the Vanderbilts are other individuals Auchincloss describes. These include the historian Henry Adams and his brothers, infamous speculator Jay Gould, the artists Augustus Saint-Gaudens, John Singer Sargent and Louis C. Tiffany, the diplomat Henry White, the architect Stanford White and the author Edith Wharton. Auchincloss is notably good at relating her major novels to the era.