The Marquis de Lafayette: A Hero of the Revolutionary Era Across Two Worlds

Kindle Customer: While I did find the first half or even 2/3 of the book slightly disappointing, by disappointing I mean 4 stars maybe even 3 at places, the last few chapters were amazing and made up for somewhat disappointing beginnings. Mike, just as in his podcasts, has the style of an old educator. While his style is casual and sometimes humorous, he still shares a wealth of information. Most importantly, like the best educators, he manages to get his readers interested in a topic. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a new generation of historians who were introduced to history my Mike Duncan. In short, he made history cool and this book is again a great example of his amazing style.

United Kingdom on Nov 16, 2023

Douglas Shurts: Mike Duncan has done a masterful job of covering Lafayette's Entire history of over 2 worlds. Written in understandable prose, Duncan brings to light Lafayette's life and his impact over his 70 year life. I highly recommend this book And I learned a great deal especially his later years in during the tumultuous Years in France in finding her way to liberty.

United States on Nov 09, 2023

C. M. Godfrey: Like most Americans, I was familiar with the name, Lafayette, but I didn't know quite why.
This excellent biography tracks the history of a wealthy orphan who acquired the rank of Major General in the Continental Army when he was 19 and who was an important participant in the success of the United States Revolution. Along the way, Lafayette became a close confident of Washington for whom he named his son, and he was a friend of Jefferson, Franklin, John Jay and others of the Founding Fathers.

Lafayette was also involved in the French Revolution, but with less success. He favored a constitutional monarchy with a ceremonial head of state surrounded by republican institutions. While he frequently received acclaim and significant responsibilities, his attempts to thread the needle was too liberal for the royalists and too accommodating of the monarchy for the revolutionaries. Oh, and there was his opposition to Napolean's imperialism.

Lafayette's actions in the French Revolution wound him up in prison with all of his lands and fortune confiscated. His faithful wife survived by the generosity of Lafayette's American friends. Adrianne Lafayette, along with her...

United States on Aug 25, 2023

Siggy: Reseña sobre la versión en inglés de tapa dura.
Si ya conoces a Mike Duncan por sus podcast o su anterior libro no hay mucho más que decir pero entrando en materia, este es un libro muy agradable y entretenido sobre la vida, las penurias y los logros del Marqués de Lafayette desde su infancia y con especial énfasis en las varias revoluciones en las que se involucró.

El estilo de Mike Duncan es didáctico pero a la vez ameno, lo cual hace que la lectura sea ágil a pesar del tamaño del contenido.

Spain on Aug 04, 2023

Emanuel Ferreira: Comprei usado mas chegou em bom estado.

Spain on May 08, 2023

Robert Mitchell: A great read. His life, through the American and French revolutions, is unique.

Canada on Mar 29, 2023

William J. Bahr: In short, this is a brilliant book about both Lafayette and the French Revolution. I’ve read about a dozen books on Lafayette and over three dozen on the French Revolution. Mike Duncan’s book is easily the best. With his deep research involving his learning French and using historical resources while living in France, Duncan has mightily advanced our knowledge of Lafayette. I have learned many things in this book that I never knew or fully appreciated before.

A couple of items for the author to consider (if he hasn’t already) and if he updates his book:

First, the reason why French Admiral DeGrasse humorously called Washington “My little general,” was reputedly that DeGrasse was six-feet-four to Washington’s six-feet-two.

Second, halfway through Lafayette’s “1824-” tour of the “24” states of America, he gave another Bastille key to the Masons in Alexandria, Virginia. It is now located at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. Unfortunately, the first key (Mount Vernon’s, for the Bastille’s pedestrian entrance) and the second key (for the Bastille’s vehicular entrance) have never been reunited since the Storming of the...

United States on Nov 25, 2022

CCH: I love this book and could not put it down after opening the cover! It is an engrossing narrative about Lafeyette's exciting life and the exciting and turbulent revolutions he participated in, from fighting alongside George Washington to leading the French National Guard as the people overthrow their king.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is curious about the origins of modern America and Europe but thinks most history books are boring. You will love this book!

Australia on Nov 28, 2021