Duel!: Burr and Hamilton's Deadly War of Wordsby Dennis Brindell Fradin
Walker & Company
unpaged
In the early morning hours of July 11, 1804, two men stood facing each other on a New Jersey cliff side. One was the U.S. vice president, Aaron Burr, and the other was Alexander Hamilton, the secretary of the treasury. They were ready to fight to the death for honor.
6 comments:
What a sad story, yet an interesting glimpse into this part of American history. There was great similarity between the two men at the beginning of the book -- they both had difficult childhoods, they both served bravely in the Revolution. Yet their differences resulted in such hardship - and the illustrations brought this point out well.
This episode in American history is one that sticks out well from my middle school and high school history classes. I thought this book did a good job of showing the two men, but the last sentence of the book wrong false to me. Maybe I am really one of the "few people," but I have a difficult time thinking that could be true.
I read this a while ago and can't recall the last sentence. I'll have to look it up again, or maybe you could refresh my memory, Teresa?
The last sentence:
"Today, few people realize that both men were at fault for the most famous duel in American history."
It works for me. This simple book gives equal attention to each participant and points out the other options that each had - so I think it is a fair statement.
A little more information about honor and all of that business would have been nice to explain WHY a gentleman of the times wouldn't have just walked away.
I really like that this book draws attention to the fact that people can make mistakes and only one person maybe pin-pointed for the mistake. It would have to fit the needs of the classroom and lesson. It is a great glimpse into the trials and struggles of some of the firsts in American leadership.
What a powerful book. What a great story that really makes you think about what is going on. So often people think about things from a one-sided view point, but this book presents two sides and shows the errors that both sides made. What a great, great book.
Post a Comment