Customer Reviews

Ethan Allen: His Life and Times

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As an avid reader of American history, I find it distressing to find such a worthy effort receiving bad reviews based not on content but on the fact that the Kindle price seems high. By their own admission, neither of the previous two "reviewers" have read the work at all. It is, in fact, quite excellent, and fills an important gap, as noted by historian Joseph Ellis.

Bottom line: Don't be fooled by "reviews" by potential customers who are in fact reviewing Amazon's pricing policies. Give this book the chance it deserves. You will be well rewarded.

As an avid student of Vermont history, I thought I had read everything there was to read about Ethan Allen. I was therefore apprehensive about buying another book on the subject, but I'm certainly glad I did. This book is one of the best! Randall weaves Allen's life around the many forces that were in play during the latter part of the eighteenth century, providing context to what made Allen tick. Thoroughly researched and laden with first-hand accounts from Allen's contemporaries, the book makes it is easy to understand his dynamic personality. Randall's writing style made it an absolute pleasure to digest several chapters in one sitting and would then leave you anxious to return for more. I was so taken with the charming account of Allen's meeting of the woman who would become his second wife that I read the chapter out loud to my own wife- something I have never done with a book before. If you are looking for a wonderful book about a true American hero, this is it.

Joe Benning
Vermont State Senator
Caledonia-Orange District

Well written but disappointing. There are so many obvious errors and unexplained inconsistencies which leads one to question all the information which is not obvious.

There is lack of understanding of New England geogaphy. For instance, Worcester, MA(our 2nd largest city) is not "on the Connecticut River"(page 6-hardcover) and in fact over 40 miles away. Allen couldn't "have followed the Batten Kill"(page 178 into Pownal from the South as as in fact the Batten Kill never goes into Pownal but flows 3 towns to the north. Fort William Henry is on the southern, not northern(page 103), part of Lake George. On page 253 it states that Pittsford is 20 miles from Bennnington whereas it is actually over 55 miles. On page 299, the book states that Westminter is in the "southwest" part of Vermont when according to Mapquest it is actually as far east as it can be given it is on the Connecticut River(the NH/VT border). There also seems to be very little knowledge of the way rivers/lakes flow in Vermont and Upstate NY.

Inconsistencies are also frequent. For example, on page 190 its indicates Benning Wentworth(NH) chartered 140 towns, yet on page 194 it says 127 and on page 195 its says 137. To top it off, on page 243, the book indicates 178 towns. Another inconsistency is where Ethan Allen's cousin, Remember Baker lived. On pages 177/178 it is stated stated that Baker's home was Pownal for 4 years prior to 1767 or starting in 1763/1764. Yet on pages 363/364, it is stated that Baker lived in Arlington for 12 years prior to 1775(when he was killed) which would mean he was in Arlington, not Pownal, from 1763/1764. This inconsistency also raises the whole question of Baker ever having a home in Pownal. Another Baker inconsistency is referring to his only wife on page 263 as Desire and on page 364 as Deane. No explanation. Proofreading should have caught this.

An unexplainable error is referring to the Catamount Tavern(Vermont's most storied and documented Tavern)as Landlord Dewey's(see Index page 587 and pages 357 and 237. This is remarkable given the reference on page 262 the author himself uses includes a word for word quote of the reward Allen put out for New York officials and in that quote indicates they are to be brought back to "Landlord Fays" (the Catamount Tavern). Proofreading should have red flagged this. The Catamount Tavern was the headquarters of the Green Mountain Boys and John Stark prior to the Battle of Bennington.

The above are only a few of the errors and inconsistencies in the book. Apparent inconsistencies should be explained.

Looking at the acknowledgements, one must ask whom in Bennington Vermont proofread this book for historical accuracy? Allen lived in Bennington and the headquarters of the Green Mountain Boys(Catamount Tavern) was there. There is good museum and research library there but there are no acknowledgements. Because the writing style is good, this could be good book about the flamboyant founding father Ethan Allen. However, it needs some serious proofreading and corrections.

Unlike some of the folks on here who have left reviews of this book without ever picking it up, I have actually read it. Ethan Allen: His Life and Times is a great book about one of the most intriguing characters of the Revolutionary War, and it is written in such a way that is not patronizing to the subject but rather an honest look at his life. As a Vermonter, I love to read about my state's history but I admittedly didn't know very much about Ethan Allen before reading this book. Reading about his courage and strong-will in combination with his flaws make him a very real and identifiable hero.

This book is obviously the product of extensive research into the subject matter. Randall's writing style made this book impossible to put down as the chapters read like a novel rather than a biography.

I highly recommend this book -- not only because it is about an underappreciated American Hero -- but because it is a great book.

At first, I had a hard time following the story but then I got into the author's style. What I find interesting is reading this book during an election year. If there is truth in this book, then believe me, history repeats itself. In the 1700, and as a developing country, we broke many English laws. Smuggling and trading illegal goods was at the top of the list. What developing economies are doing today, early Americans did back then. That being said, Ethan Allen was a very interesting man who challenged fundamental religiious views as well as revolted against a demanding government. I recommend this book to any one interested in understanding early Americans and the challenges a developing country faces.

As someone who's interested in the Revolutionary War era and who has enjoyed numerous vacations in Vermont, I learned a great deal by reading this book. The book presents an interesting look at several overlapping forces that combined to propel revolutionary zeal in a territory that became Vermont. And, in an age when book titles often don't reflect what's contained inside, this one deserves credit for being completely accurate. It is equally about Ethan Allen's life AND the times in which he lived.

The author weaves together several themes from a period of great change, tumult, hardship, and, ultimately, triumph. He teaches us about a relatively unknown undercurrrent during the Revolution -- namely, independent statehood for Vermont, and how independent-minded Vermonters contributed to the war effort. He does a great job of describing the state's tempetuous history as a contested land grant of New York and New Hampshire and then basically under seige by the British for much of the Revolutionary War.

The author also takes on smaller, fascinating issues that fed into that big picture. For example, he explains how Vermont was, basically, a release valve for tenant farmers and the dispossessed to flee from colonies and try to achieve the 18th century version of the American dream. He covers the budding religious disputes of the time between ruling-class Puritans and others, and he tells how smallpox innoculations were one of the first public displays of that dispute. His lesson that the key Revolutionary War leaders probably survived the war's harsh conditions because they were smart enough to self-inoculate should be learned by today's opponents of immunization programs.

Finally, the author does a good job of moving through the highlights of the extraordinary life history of Ethan Allen: businessman, political leader, warrior and intellectual. Vermonters might know the story, but the rest of us have little understanding of the man's importance, perhaps primarily because he spent so much of the Revolutionary War as a British prisoner. (And even in those circumstances, he apparently was the leading advocate for improving living conditions of prisoners of war.)

However, I agree wholeheartedly with several other reviewers who pointed out that the book is sloppily written and edited. It has many typos and far too much repetition; sometimes repetition is okay when a person is reintroduced 100 pages later in the text, but that's not the situation in this book. The entire structure of the book is hard to follow, as the author jumps back in time over and over again to try to show things that happened on parallel tracks. While I know that's not always easy to do, he is especially awkward about it, and it makes for terrible confusion. Also, the maps of New England and Vermont are pathetic; they are about 2" x 3" and on grayscale that is almost impossible to see. Finally, the entire story seems to end far too quickly. In the last 30-40 pages, Allen's shuttling to the Continental Congress on behalf of Vermont statehood, his 2nd marriage to a woman 20 years his junior, and his publication of a fiery Diest tract are dispatched. The Deist work alone seems worthy of a few chapters or a book.

In sum, this book contains a substantial amount of research on the wide-ranging life and achievements of Ethan Allen. For that is to be commended. But the book falls far short of excellence, due to weak writing and a confused presentation.

Randall has numerous excellent historical biographies--I have enjoyed all that I have read, and this is no exception...definitely up to the Randall standard.

THE BOOK ETHAN ALLEN APPEARS TO HAVE PLACES AND MAPS-WHY THEN IS THERE NO MENTION OF WHAT THE KINDLE IS MISSING SINCE WHAT THE KINDLE CANT PRESENT ARE MAPS ETC

I read a very interesting review of this book on SLATE. Premise is that much of the Revolutionary War was driven by land title issues. I would consider reading this book on my Kindle, but I am not willing to pay the hardcover price for an electronic version.