Customer Reviews

Jefferson's Great Gamble: The Remarkable Story of Jefferson, Napoleon and the Men behind the Louisiana Purchase

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a very interesting subject and the book does cover quite a bit of what happened. But the final decision to sell was made by Napolean - and he is barely mentioned. It's like he is off in a side room and a couple of times one of the French negotiators would go talk to him off camera.

It also does not discuss much the context in America that lead to Jefferson being pushed to try to gain New Orleans and that also made him think it would be ok to buy all of Louisiana.

So, lots of interesting stuff, and it is well written. But a lot of the context is missing.

After recently finishing "Founding Brothers" by Joseph J. Ellis, which essentially covered various major events in post-revolutionary American history through the 1800 election of Thomas Jefferson to the presidency, I was interested in continuing my reading through the next several years of Jefferson's administration. The Louisiana Purchase was an obvious next step - and arguably the next event of any significance after Jefferson's election - in a reading of early American history.

I was disappointed by the narrative, though I think the subject matter was generally interesting. In the hands of a more accomplished author/historian, the story could have had the pop, the suspense and the intrigue of a historical novel. It didn't. Cerami's narrative was plodding and often dull. He backtracked and zig-zagged to provide context to his principal narrative to such an extent that there was no real "story" to follow.

There's so much history available to read and so much good scholarship from original source material that narrative skills separates the mediocre works from the great ones. I would put this book in the former category.

Cerami's book is an easy read. I read about three quarters of it in an hour and half. Unfortunately, when I bought it I was expecting the story of the Louisana purchase. True enough it was there, but you have to sort through the biographies of each of the characters. I am still not entirely certain how Talleyrand got to the position of foreign minister really impacted the purchase of the Louisana territory, but it was there.

The best part of the book was the last chapter. The story of Jackson's victory at New Orleans was interesting and probably the best piece of history included in the book, but unfortunately, it really came far too late in the read for me. Had there been more of this kind of history included, in terms of the writing style, the book probably would have kept me going with a greater degree of interest.

Finally, this is a small point for some, but the last part of the book includes a series of notes associated with each page. However, there isn't any reference on those pages as to what the note is dealing dealing with. You have no way of correlating the text with the notes included, which makes the explanatory notes all the more difficult to understand.

There was some positive to the book however, in addition to the last chapter. Cerami did include reference to the Treaty of San Ildefonso and to the circumstances that led to it being signed, which then leads us to have an understanding of how Napoleon got the territory. I include this as a positive because finding much information in the popular literature is difficult. It's too bad that Cerami didn't choose to focus on the similar aspects of the purchase to improve the overall historical nature of the book.

I enjoyed reading the book, but since the author purported to be telling the entire story, I would liked to have seen other characters who played a role in the Louisiana Purchase included: General Wilkonson, head of the American Army, a "confidant" of Jefferson while a spy on Spain's Payroll, Aaron Burr, the big intriguer who was scheming to make New Orleans part of a Southern Empire, and others including George Rogers Clarke who was intriguing with Spain and France to organize an Army, invade New Orleans and place it under French control

The other problem I had with the book is that the author led the reader to believe that, in the War of 1812, Jackson's defeat of the British was the deciding factor in America keeping New Orleans and thus the entire Louisiana Territory. Not true. Amerca and Britain had concluded a peace treaty before the battle of New Orleans was waged and won.

Jefferson`s great gamble ? He is hardly mentioned. Perhaps it should have been called "Livingston`s Crying Towel."
A boreing history of an ex New York Governor who was the US Ambassador in Paris during the Louisianna purchase but who had no idea what was going on.
This man, Cerami, is not an author..he may be a a marketing expert. He knew how to put a Title on the book that is compeletly false in order to fool customers into buying it.
Perhaps he could write the ad copy on cigarette packages..
Please.. never again.

The value of Cerami's rendition of the Louisiana Purchase is l) its down-to-earth clarity, and 2) the way the historical participants come alive on every page! For those who know little or nothing about the importance of the Louisiana Purchase, this book will whet your appetite for more details of this exciting, invalualuable event that brought us the territory west of the Appalachians which, without it, we may never have become the world leader for freedom and democracy.

For those who have an understanding of why Jefferson and others forsaw the importance of U.S. expansion on this continent, the author brings the major players from the U.S., Spain and France to life for you through their negotiations, their letters, private thoughts, and individual personalities. This is history told at its best with uncomplicated clarity and at the same time gives enough pros and cons from all the countries involved to allow the reader to understand why negotiations were so difficult; and how we could have lost the whole deal had other personalities been in charge.

I now have a new sense of such simple facts as why the West became "the wild west", why the northeastern states are so small and the western states so much larger, why being one country that stretched from "sea to shining sea" gave us time to grow and mature in relative peace to European countries, and land with all the natural resources needed for independence.

Jefferson's Great Gamble whetted my appetite for more on the subject, so I bought A Wilderness So Immense, by Jon Kukla. I'm very glad I read the former first because it gave me a background to help understand Kukla's book, which I might have put down before finishing the first chapter because it's slow getting started. There are a lot of characters in Kukla's book mentioned only once (check the index) and in my opinion don't add any importance to the story of the La. Purchase; rather it makes the reading drag. But since I've a long way to go, I'll reserve final judgement on Kukla's book for now. Charles Cerami's book deserves five stars.

In Jefferson's Great Gamble, Charles A. Cerami gives the reader a look behind the scenes of the greatest real estate deal in American history. We see all of the participants, some mere glimpses, others in-depth. It was a moment in time when their strengths and weaknesses showed clearly.

Cerami has done a great service to those who study Early American history. But it is the less dedicated students who may learn things they never knew. For instance, we learn here about Robert Livingston, a man who has been nearly lost to history, yet the one who was present at the beginning of the negotiations between the United States and France. The story opens with information on Livingston and how his relationships with the leaders of France made it all possible. We learn, too, about the machinations used by Jefferson and Madison, from disinformation to sending Monroe to conclude the deal. Going from seeking to purchase New Orleans, in order to secure use of the Mississippi, to being offered the whole of Louisiana, whose boundaries were only vaguely known,

Although some of the narrative is slightly disjointed, it is not difficult to follow the story. The participants often seem petty and self-serving, yet their strength of character and dedication to their countries stand out. This is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the early history of America or the Napoleonic period.

No one will accuse me of being a pro or much a historian, but after reading this book, I think I have a solid grasp of the crucial events and characters that led to the Louisiana Purchase. And what made it special was that it was such an enjoyable journey provided by Cerami. I've read a few books about the Corps of Discovery and have become fasinated by Lewis & Clark's amazing expedition. I've felt rewarded by a some Revolutionary biographies, as well. So when I saw Cerami's title, it was a natural choice to bridge the gap. When I laid the book on my night stand for the last time, I felt a sense of appreciation as well as enlightenment. Enlightened because of the lucid, so very understanable presentation of the pertinent events and the important insights into the motivations and actions of the men involved in securing the Purchase. Even though Napolean and Jefferson were the decison makers, the real, intriguing and mostly unknown story is their subordinates and their influence on and link to this remarkable event in history. For this non-pro, yet immensely interested reader, the dots of those cultural, political, communicative and economic times and rhythms with the startlingly different personalities involved in securing the Purchase were rendered almost effortlessly connected. My knowledge has been substantially enhanced.

Appreciation because Cerami created a project so inviting and so easy to read. I often felt like I was a participant and from time to time a fly on the wall tasting history being blended for my benefit. I especially appreciated the structural device he used to create sections within the chapters. It gave me a chance to catch my breath and reflect on what had just transpired, as well as make connections to my previous knowledge of the times and events. I found the reasons for, preparation and description of the Battle of New Orleans an interesting device for tying the Louisiana Purchase together.

If you enjoy history but aren't a pro, this book will be a pleasant and informative experience.

a very easy and quick read that highlights US diplomacy and how diplomats interact on the global stages with lessons to be learned for today.

This book describes the background and the details of the Louisiana Purchase. The personalities, their ambitions, frustrations, successes and disappointments are woven into the story. Also, the history of the ownership of the Louisiana Territory. In 1803 it appeared to be Spain, but it was France. The revolution in what became Haiti was responsible for Napoleon's sale of New Orleans and the rest of the territory to the United States. This story was not in my history books in school -- and I found it very interesting.
I would have bought the book anyway, but the price was definitely right. I definitely got my money's worth.