Empires in the Forest: Jamestown and the Making of America [Hardcover]

Avery Chenoweth (Author), Robert Llewellyn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2006

From the author and photographer who brought us "a new genre of art book" in Albemarle: A Story of Landscape and American Identity comes a new collaborative effort detailing the story of our nation's birth: Jamestown and the Making of America. This beautiful work of photography and prose traces the ways in which American culture grew out of the conflict that characterized the first contact between Native Americans and Europeans. Expanding in their unique treatment of Albemarle County, the artists use photographs from our time to suggest both the ancient and recent pasts, creating a virtual experience from the Colonial era into modern times. Telling this great story in modern terms by dusting off the history to reveal the main players as fresh and alive today as they were then, Jamestown and the Making of America beautifully depicts a landscape synonymous with American history, from its tumultuous beginning through today.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I read 'Empires in the Forest,' entranced from first page to last." -- John Barth, National Book Award-winning author of 'The Sot-Weed Factor'

"If you buy only one book this year, let it be this one." -- Delmarva Quarterly

"Totally absorbing . . . in every sense of the word, a real work of art . . . something to be treasured for many years." -- The Virginia Gazette

"[A] vivid and cinematic depiction of Jamestown. A gem for any history buff. . . . . Chenoweth captures this fragile chapter in our country's birth [and] Llewellyn illustrates the book with a haunting authenticity. . . . The rich words and texture of the images make readers feel as if they, too, are part of the fabric of history." -- Southern Living (picked as Read Of The Month)

"[An] exciting, readable work . . . Permeated by much wisdom, [this book] should be read and pondered by every Virginian." -- The Virginian-Pilot

"[B]lends spectacular photography with a vivid text to present a panoramic vision of the Jamestown Colony and its Powhatan neighbors." -- Herman J. Viola, Curator Emeritus, Smithsonian Institution

"[Combines] exemplary empathy for Native peoples with an imaginative, fresh interpretation of the colonial records." -- Karenne Wood (Monacan), Chair, Virginia Council on Indians

"[P]resents an intriguing vision of the Jamestown's early days. . . . A well-researched and absorbing narrative." -- Martin Gallivan, author of James River Chiefdoms: The Rise of Social Inequality in the Chesapeake , Assistant Professor at the College of William & Mary

"[R]evelatory...essential...'Empires in the Forest' is a wonderful find. It is that rare combination of literature and art that compels one to grab friends by the shoulders, shake them and yell, 'Buy this book!'" -- Bill Glose, 'Virginia Living'

About the Author

Robert Llewellyn is a photographer with more than thirty books of his work in print, including Upland Virginia, The Academical Village, and Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown: America's Historic Triangle. His book Washington, the Capital was an official diplomatic gift of the White House and State Department. He and his family live in the Albemarle countryside, an area he has photographed extensively for more than thirty years. Avery Chenoweth is a Charlottesville writer whose novel-in-stories, Wingtips, was short-listed for the Library of Virginia fiction prize and nominated for the Sue Kaufman Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has written for a number of national magazines, including Harper's, Spy, Lingua Franca, and the New York Times Magazine.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Rivanna Foundation (October 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974270717
• ISBN-13: 978-0974270715
• Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 10.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,564,876 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Timeless and memorable re-telling of the Jamestown story!, October 29, 2006

By 

John C. Wiegard "Virginia Librarian" (Chester, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Empires in the Forest: Jamestown and the Making of America (Hardcover)

This book is a special experience. The format combines a sort of historical fiction approach with beautiful photographs portraying the English, the Native Americans, and the timeless beauty of the natural world in coastal Virginia. The text explores the complex relationships of Captain John Smith, chief Powhatan, Opechancanough, Pocahontas, and John Rolfe, and how it resulted in the destruction of the native Americans and the creation of a new nation, America, based on the profit motive.

This is a tale told so many times before. But somehow this is one of the best versions ever-it really is more accesible than a scholarly treatise. A great deal of heartbreak, a great deal of depth and understanding, and a pretty clear differentiation between what we are sure of and what is still unclear. You have to experience this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, October 31, 2011

By 

F. Nunn "rocky n" (charlotte, n.c. usa) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Empires in the Forest: Jamestown and the Making of America (Hardcover)

Book came much faster than I expected. When it arrived the book was like new and in better shape than described.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Empires in the Forest, January 12, 2007

By 

Nancy S. Mclaughlin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Empires in the Forest: Jamestown and the Making of America (Hardcover)

This is an extraordinary book. A sensitive collaboration between photographer and author, it suggests a broad emotional landscape in which to view the founding of Jamestown. Intellectual bearings are difficult, given Chenoweth's fictional handling of the material. But the brilliant photography of Robert Llewellyn grounds the work in what clearly was the book's intent--an artful evocation of the ephemeral nature of American history.