Customer Reviews

Eagle's Cry: a Novel of the Lousiana Purchase

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

David Nevin is not a particularly great writer. (Either that, or he's been remarkably underserved by his editors who allow him to get away with far too much repetition, such as, for example, redundant references to the "clattering guillotine" until you find yourself screaming "Enough already!")

What David Nevin is, however, is a particularly gifted writer. His gifts include an immense talent for characterization and development, a thorough understanding of his subject matter (in this case, the crisis-ridden days of the United States as the 18th century gave way to the 19th), and the ability to convey his passion for his characters and their story over to his reader.

The result is well worth reading. You may find yourself, as I did (much to my surprise), on the edge of your seat at times, worried that we're going to end up at war with France; or maybe you'll find yourself aching with young Merriwether Lewis at the seemingly elusive prospect of an exploration; you might even -- if you don't watch out -- find yourself strangely smitten with a married woman and hoping against hope that she will eventually get her chance to live in that big white house and make the improvements she longs to carry out (of course, that means that her husband will have to overcome his reticence and actually allow himself to be put forward for president once Jefferson's time is ended). And then you'll have to slap yourself with the realization that these events are two hundred years in the past and of course this and that did happen, and of course such and such didn't . . .

Which is the point at which I realized why "Eagle's Cry" is such a totally satisfying experience. I gave it only three stars; this, as I alluded to earlier, is the result of sloppy editing at Nevin's publishing house. He deserves far better.

Although he took some creative license when developing the characters and the dialog for Eagle's Cry and 1812, David Nevin generated more interest for me in the early years of our country then years of history in school could ever hope to accomplish. You can really appreciate the trials our young nation faced with this "great experiment" called democracy after reading his books. Because of books like this (and Jeff & Michael Shaara's for the Civil War Era), I've bought numerous other books that have helped humanize the early history of our country in my mind.

of the 18th century & the start of the new one. It is a good jumping off point for this prequel to David Nevin's novel, 1812. It is written four years later but his style is unmistakable. It is 608 pages long. Since it is told like a story, I felt the unabridged audio version was the best way to go.
The presidential camapaign of 1800 may have been the vilest & mean-sprited in our history. It also effected a major change in our constitution. No longer would the runner-up in the presidential race become vice president as had previously been the case. It just became be too politically dificult for the president to have his major opponent sitting as president of the Senate. It was the final step into full blown political parties & conventions that we now have. Interestingly, there is no mention of political parties or conventions in our constitution as a way to nominate a presidential canidate.
There are two major plots in this novel that are connected. The first is an expedition clear accross the continent to the Pacific. First mentioned in 1795 by Thomas Jefferson to his neighbor back home in Virginia. This became the Lewis & Clark Expedition of 1804-06. That neighbor was Merriweather Lewis, a Major, U.S. Army. It was a trip to the moon by today's standards. The other plot line was a the fate of New Orleans. Spanish? French?American? It was nominally owned by Spain who could not hold it much longer & everyone knew that. Much depended on the war in Europe. There was currently a truce as Naploloen pondered an invasion of England. There was a slave revolt in the French Colony of Haiti. France sent 25,000 troops. It was also a conveniant jumping off point to invade New Orleans. The United States also needed New Orleans for it controlled the Mississippi River, gateway to the vast interior of the continent, owned, at this time by France. America could not have resisted the French alone. They would need the British Navy. The British were eager to help the Americans. That would have reduced America to a vassel state beholden to England & hastened the sucession of New England (& New York) from the rest of the union. It never came to that of course. As it turned out Napoloen lost his entire 25,000 man army in Haiti to the heat, disease & fierce native resistance. They never returned. He rethought his plan to send another 25,000 men to New Orleans. As all this was going on Major Lewis was obsessing over the expedition. He finally got the go ahead from President Jefferson. It was at first a secret. The expedition would be tresspaasing through French territory. Lewis felt it would be a long shot that the French would kmow about it much less find him.
Through-out this history lesson is the drama of the personal lives of Lewis, Jefferson, James & Dolly Madison, Vice President Aaron Burr, John Ouincy Adams etc. & many fictious characters to advance the plots. What is happening in New Orleans or Paris or Washinton D.C.? The tension between France & The United States at this time is well exploited by Mr. Nevin.
Spain has given New Orleans legally to the the French. Finally Napoleon sells not only New Orleans but the entire Lousisiana
Territory. He wisely recognizes that he cannot fight in America as well as Europe. It is also a stick in the eye of England who had expansionist plans in the west. This purchase instantly doubles the land mass of the United States. This book, or tape, if your prefer, is an excellent entertainment & historical value & highly recommended.

Why was the Louisiana Purchase so important? How did it come to pass, anyway? Which one was Meriweather Lewis? Eagle's Cry is a fine piece of historical fiction that will bring back to life many of the influential leaders of the nascent United States. The rise of political parties and the origins of partisanship, the bitterness and animosity against Adams and his Alien and Sedition Acts, and the wisdom of Madison, the quirkiness of Jefferson, and the selfishness of Burr are all here.

And yet, somehow, the characters seem almost two dimensional at times under Nevin's pen. The author tries hard - and often succeeds - to bring a level of familiarity and casualness to these exceptional men and women. While that did not bother me, the recurrent technique of beginning sentences with verbs and completely dropping subjects ("Marched into New York", "Felt better already," etcetera etcetera ad infinitum) did. And with all of these wonderfully charismatic historical figures, the introduction of a prominent fictional character detracts from, rather than augments, the novel.

I enjoyed Eagle's Cry and often found myself stealing a few minutes here and there guiltily to advance a chapter whenever possible. And Nevin's history is top notch. So why am I hesitating to read the next in the series?

What wonderful timing David Nevin has had with this book. If you think our political times are crazy now (the election of 11/2000), take a dive into the politics of 1800-1804. Tomas Jefferson withstood Aaron Burr's attempt to gain the Presidency through chicanery and then set out to build a new nation based on principals different from the preceeding Federalist administration of John Adams. The book is written in first person which qualifies it as a novel, as no one knows the exact conversations that were actually held. Yet, the people, places, and actions are all historical and quite facinating. Mr. Nevin puts all the pieces of the puzzle together quite nicely and it all makes for a truly great read.

I am certain that Mr. Nevin did his homework, and I am aware that this is a "work of fiction". However, I have difficulty with the fact that Thomas Jefferson is referred to as "Tom", James Madison is "Jimmy", and Alexander Hamilton is "Alex".

I did not see the movie Pearl Harbor released this May, but the main complaint about the movie fits this book- we should not project today's culture on historical events. Nurses during WWII did not wear bikinis, and I suspect that stable hands in 1800 did not discuss politics with the Secretary of State.

I read his other novel "1812" and was so impressed that I purchased this one as well and was not disappointed.

His novels give you a ground level perspective of historical events that otherwise, to be honest, would be rather dry. I'm more of a Civil War buff, but his novels about the Lousiana Purchase and the War of 1812 got me a bit excited about those time periods.

If you want to learn the ins and outs of these murky and oft-overlooked periods of American history and get a picture of just how important they were to who we now are, AND still have an entertaining read, then these are the books for you.

Nevin's 1812 was a fantastic book that covered a portion of American history unknown by most. Eagle's Cry isn't as compelling, and lacks the action that made 1812 fun, but is well worth reading by those who appreciate well-researched, good historical fiction.

What other reviewers say about lack of suspense is partially right. Because this novel is based on so much historical fact, not much can be done to dress up the events without altering the heart of what really happened. I didn't find the book to be boring in the least, and thought it very informative. By reading this book I learned more about the people and events of early America - that I had most recently learned in a college US History class, but now have so much accompanying information and a better feel for those times.

David Nevin's historical novel, Eagle's Cry, covers the election of 1800 until the time of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 using the Madisons, the Jacksons, Aaron Burr, and a couple of fictional characters to tell his tale. The novel has a gripping beginning in the election of 1800 covering the tie between Jefferson and his vice presidential nominee, Aaron Burr. The book, unfortunately, loses some steam with the section portraying the Louisiana Purchase. It was not as tighly written and suspenseful as the election as it meanderend like the Mississippi itself through the lives of all the characters. It worked very hard for historical accuracy, and achieved it to a great extent, but sacrificed to history any element of surprise. The history was good but the drama suffered at times for that. Definately worth a look for the first half of the book and it is a good omen for the next book in the series as it will be dealing more with the behind the scenes Washington politics.