A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of AmericaMacmillan, 2005 M04 2 - 489 páginas In this dazzling work of history, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author follows Benjamin Franklin to France for the crowning achievement of his career In December of 1776 a small boat delivered an old man to France." So begins an enthralling narrative account of how Benjamin Franklin-seventy years old, without any diplomatic training, and possessed of the most rudimentary French-convinced France, an absolute monarchy, to underwrite America's experiment in democracy. When Franklin stepped onto French soil, he well understood he was embarking on the greatest gamble of his career. By virtue of fame, charisma, and ingenuity, Franklin outmaneuvered British spies, French informers, and hostile colleagues; engineered the Franco-American alliance of l778; and helped to negotiate the peace of l783. The eight-year French mission stands not only as Franklin's most vital service to his country but as the most revealing of the man. In A Great Improvisation, Stacy Schiff draws from new and little-known sources to illuminate the least-explored part of Franklin's life. Here is an unfamiliar, unforgettable chapter of the Revolution, a rousing tale of American infighting, and the treacherous backroom dealings at Versailles that would propel George Washington from near decimation at Valley Forge to victory at Yorktown. From these pages emerge a particularly human and yet fiercely determined Founding Father, as well as a profound sense of how fragile, improvisational, and international was our country's bid for independence. |
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Contenido
Introduction I | 1 |
The First Mistake in Public Business Is the Going into It 1776 | 7 |
Half the Truth Is Often a Great Lie 17761777 | 36 |
Three Can Keep a Secret If Two of Them Are Dead 1777 | 65 |
The Cat in Gloves Catches No Mice 17771778 | 94 |
There Is No Such Thing as a Little Enemy 1778 | 126 |
Admiration Is the Daughter of Ignorance 1778 | 165 |
Success Has Ruined Many a Man 1779 | 196 |
The Sting of a Reproach Is the Truth of It 17801781 | 260 |
Those Who in Quarrels Interpose May Get Bloody Nose 1782 | 291 |
The Absent Are Never Without Fault 1783 | 325 |
Creditors Have Better Memories Than Debtors 17841785 | 359 |
Epilogue | 398 |
CHRONOLOGY | 413 |
459 | |
Everyone Has Wisdom Enough to Manage the Affairs of His Neighbors 1780 | 229 |
Otras ediciones - Ver todas
A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America Stacy Schiff Vista previa limitada - 2006 |
A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America Stacy Schiff Vista previa limitada - 2006 |
A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America Stacy Schiff Vista de fragmentos - 2005 |
Términos y frases comunes
abbé abbé Morellet Abigail Adams Adams's affairs alliance already ambassador American arrival Arthur Lee Beaumarchais Benjamin Franklin Benny BF's Britain British Carmichael Chaumont cited colleague colonies commissioners comte de Vergennes Congress court CP Espagne CP Etats-Unis Cröy Deane Papers Deane's Diary diplomatic dispatch Dubourg England envoy Europe felt foreign France French minister Frenchman friends gennes Gérard honor Izard Jefferson John Adams John Laurens John Paul Jones Jones Journal de Genève July June king knew Lafayette Landais Lauraguais Laurens Lee's letter London Louis XVI Luzerne Madame Brillon Madame Helvétius Maurepas mission Morellet Morris negotiate never Paris Parisian Passy peace Philadelphia Press proposed reason reminded Revolution sailed secret secretary Sept ship Silas Deane Spain Stormont Temple tion treaty Valentinois Veillard Vergennes Vergennes's Versailles Washington weeks Wentworth William Lee