Customer Reviews

Green Mountain Man: The Odyssey of Ethan Allen

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I am not inclined to be as hard on Mr. Faine as the 1998 reviewer. I actually enjoyed the book for what it was. He made no pretense of it being anything but a loose biography of Ethan Allen with a lot of fiction thrown in to tie it together. The essential story is mostly correct but I wonder if Mr. Allen was anywhere near as vulgar or hot-headed. The author did not need to go into such graphic detail about Ethan's sexual relations with his cold fish wife. That was a turn-off and I am no prude.

The part that annoyed me the most was his failure to research the culture of the 1700's. They did not use "Lucifers" until the next century. "At Ease" is a modern military term. Salt and pepper shakers were not used in the 1700's and the word "Hello" was invented in the late 1800's, early 1900's when the telephone became a part of our lives. I got tired of marking all the errors caused by the author's laziness. As someone who reads a lot of fiction and non-fiction history books, and someone who studies historical minutia for presentation purposes, this author got under my skin at least once per chapter. One item which really bothered me was his continual reference to "wooden teeth". This concept came from George Washington who supposedly had wooden teeth. Mr. Washington's teeth are in the museum at Mount Vernon for all to see. There is a sign there explaining that the teeth are made from large animal or fish teeth which had been carved to human shape. I have read elsewhere that wooden teeth never existed.

I won't be reading any more of Mr. Faine's books.

This is the first book that I can remember returning to the library without finishing. I love to read historical fiction, not hysterical fiction. Portrays Ethan Allen as an infantile dolt. Skip this one, and save a few hours for something worthwhile, like picking lint from your belly-button and from between your toes.