This detailed exploration of the settlement of Maine beginning in the late eighteenth century illuminates the violent; widespread contests along the American frontier that served to define and complete the American Revolution. Taylor shows how Maine's militant settlers organized secret companies to defend their populist understanding of the Revolution.
#1945006 in Books 2010-09-27Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 1.24 x 6.46 x 9.46l; 1.63 #File Name: 0807833649416 pages
Review
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Christmas in Germany; a HistoryBy William L. RoweI bought the book before publication; and reviews; to take on a tour of German Christmas markets. The book is a fairly academic history of Christmas in Germany. It wasn't appropriate for my purpose; but it seems a good academic history.1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy CustomerVery incitefull3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Stille Nacht; heilige Nacht; KristallnachtBy gerardpeterI spent Christmas in Munich. The atmosphere rich and warm; seemed special. The street markets felt timeless – the rustic stalls; the handcrafted toys; the smell of pine needles. I wanted to know a bit more and this book seemed to fit the bill. It sort of did but it is a serious academic study. Very well researched and argued and fascinating in its way but not a light read.The author traces the Christmas story from the Napoleonic Wars to German reunification [or rather re-reunification] in the 1990s. Christmas has played a significant role throughout 200 years of turbulent history; its symbols and rituals interpreted and reinterpreted to fit the times – be it the Second Reich or the Third; Weimar or the DDR.Elements of the festival go back to the Dark Ages; but the modern family affair was an invention of the early 19th century. The urban middle class created Weihnacht - Christmas Eve - with gifts; under a tree; round which they sang carols. It spread to the rest of the population and was indeed exported to Britain and the USA world-wide. ; it was increasingly commercialized.After 1871 Christmas brought all the new Germans together in the Imperial State. Through 1914-18 it united trench and heimat. In subsequent defeat it gave hope.Perry’s chapter on the Nazi festival is fascinating. Ideologues sought to write the Jewish people out of the celebration and to put the “winter solstice†centre stage. Nativity plays were scripted without Joseph; Mary; Jesus and Bethlehem. It is clear that to a degree both Churches and citizens adopted or adapted to the Volk’s Christmas.Again in defeat consolation was offered by the birth of the Saviour. Thereafter in the Federal Republic Christmas took its place in the Cold War; a time especially to oppose the atheism of the Communist bloc. It was celebrated in East Germany; too; but as a festival of socialism building true peace on earth. In a final chapter he argues that even before the fall of the Wall; both east and west converged in a festival of consumption and entertainment.This book is more than a history of two hundred years of Xmas days – quite literally all our Christmases coming at once! The chapters contain so many fascinating stories and well worth reading for these alone. More than that; an explanation is offered why it has been so durable. This is set out in the introduction and conclusion –and it is quite hard to follow. Basically Christmas as in 1815 [when Hoffmann wrote his classic Nutcracker and the Mouse King] so in 2015 gave “the familyâ€; and “the nationâ€; a cache of feeling and tenderness; renewed every year; replenished and reinvigorated.Like a precious family heirloom it has served for purposes dark and in times shameful – but it is as much part of the German emotional landscape; as its mountains and rivers are part of the country’s topography.
