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The Grand Idea - by Joel Achenbach (Paperback)

The Grand Idea - by  Joel Achenbach (Paperback) - 1 of 1
$15.49 sale price when purchased online
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About this item

Highlights

  • The Grand Idea follows George Washington in the critical period immediately after the War of Independence.
  • About the Author: Joel Achenbach is a reporter for The Washington Post, and the author of seven books, including The Grand Idea, Captured by Aliens, and Why Things Are.
  • 384 Pages
  • History, United States

Description



About the Book



Achenbach captures a Washington rarely seen: rugged frontiersman, real estate speculator, shrewd businessman. The general tangles with squatters; gathers data on trails, portages, falls, and rapids; and imagines a future Empire of Liberty.



Book Synopsis



The Grand Idea follows George Washington in the critical period immediately after the War of Independence. The general had great hopes for his young nation, but also grave fears. He worried that the United States was so fragmented politically and culturally that it would fall apart, and that the "West," beyond the Appalachian mountains, would become a breakaway republic. So he came up with an ambitious scheme: He would transform the Potomac River into the nation's premier commercial artery, binding East and West, bolstering domestic trade, and staving off disunion. This was no armchair notion. Washington saddled up and rode west on a 680-mile trek to the raucous frontier of America.
Achenbach captures a Washington rarely seen: rugged frontiersman, real estate speculator, shrewd businessman. Even after his death, Washington's grand ambition inspired heroic engineering feats, including an audacious attempt to build a canal across the mountains to the Ohio River. But the country needed more than commercial arteries to hold together, and in the Civil War, the general's beloved river became a battlefield between North and South.
Like such classics as Undaunted Courage and Founding Brothers, Achenbach's riveting portrait of a great man and his grand plan captures the imagination of the new country, the passions of an ambitious people, and the seemingly endless beauty of the American landscape.



Review Quotes




"A magnificent display of impeccable scholarship blended with incomparable storytelling."
-- Fort Worth Star-Telegram

"Reveals a dimension of the man not often seen -- that of Washington as a dreamer....He too had dreams, and happily for readers, Achenbach rediscovers them."
-- The Washington Monthly

"This is history as storytelling, driven by personalities and ideas."
-- USA Today

"Truly riveting....Achenbach allows the reader to understand the real Washington in so many new ways he literally grows in stature."
-- Douglas Brinkley, The Boston Globe



About the Author



Joel Achenbach is a reporter for The Washington Post, and the author of seven books, including The Grand Idea, Captured by Aliens, and Why Things Are. A Washington Post staff writer since 1990, Achenbach writes about science and politics. He started the newspaper's first online column, "Rough Draft", and started the Washington Post's first blog, Achenblog. He regularly contributes science articles to National Geographic. A native of Gainesville, Florida and a graduate of Princeton University, he lives in Washington, DC with his wife and three children.
Dimensions (Overall): 9.09 Inches (H) x 6.03 Inches (W) x .92 Inches (D)
Weight: 1.27 Pounds
Suggested Age: 22 Years and Up
Number of Pages: 384
Genre: History
Sub-Genre: United States
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Format: Paperback
Author: Joel Achenbach
Language: English
Street Date: June 2, 2005
TCIN: 85126513
UPC: 9780743263009
Item Number (DPCI): 247-55-2460
Origin: Made in the USA or Imported
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Shipping details

Estimated ship dimensions: 0.92 inches length x 6.03 inches width x 9.09 inches height
Estimated ship weight: 1.27 pounds
We regret that this item cannot be shipped to PO Boxes.
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