The first biography of the great French explorer in twenty-five years focuses on his resolve, curiosity, and courage, on his actual explorations from Quebec to Louisiana, and his role in the overall exploration of North America.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Robert Chevalier de la Salle, the French historian Anka Muhlstein writes, stands indisputably among Europe's most accomplished explorers. In the 1670s and '80s he crossed over most of what is now French Canada and the middle United States and charted the length of the Mississippi River--almost always traveling on foot, almost always under dangerous circumstances. Thanks to his pioneering travels, in the next century "America seemed destined to be French, until the Seven Years' War in Europe resulted in a reordering of the New World." La Salle would not live to see this turnabout. Murdered by two of his servants for reasons that are still unclear, La Salle drifted into history's cluttered attic, and his deeds have been nearly forgotten. France has yet to erect a memorial to him while in the United States his name lives on as an old car make, an unfitting tribute to that indefatigable walker. Thanks to Muhlstein's fine study, he may one day earn his due.
From Publishers Weekly
Robert Cavelier de La Salle is largely forgotten in the annals of exploration in North America. Muhlstein ( Baron James ) resurrects him in this lively biography and adventure story that also portrays the struggle for power between lay and religious officials in Quebec. Educated by the Jesuits in France, La Salle resigned the priesthood and traveled to Quebec in 1667 to search for the Northwest Passage. He focused on the Great Lakes and rivers that led him to the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The arrival in Quebec of a new governor, the Comte de Frontenac, in 1672 set the stage for La Salle's more extensive explorations, as the two men conspired to circumvent the powerful Jesuits. La Salle learned Indian languages and customs; Nika, an Iroquois, became his trusted guide. La Salle claimed Louisiana for King Louis XIV in 1682. On a return voyage from France in 1687, his ship got lost in the Mississippi Delta, and as the party struggled through swampland, LaSalle was murdered by two of his own men.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dramatic and exciting. It would make a great movie.,
By A Customer
This review is from: La Salle: Explorer of the North American Frontier (Paperback)
A lot of people know that La Salle discovered the mouth of the Mississippi in 1682. Would they know that was probably his easiest trip? Anka Muhlstein gives you an intimate experience of real life in French America of the 1670s. Priests, civil administrators, trappers, and explorers fighting each other fiercely but living in peace with the Indians. Frenchmen in bark canoes with skate blades on the keel racing down a frozen river. It's the story about mosquitos, Iroquois attacks, shipwrecks, desertions and treachery and about the man who astonished both Indian and Frenchman with his perserverence and adaptation to each reverse and travail. This history reads like a good novel and would make a great movie.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very readable account of La Salle's life and explorations,
By
This review is from: La Salle: Explorer of the North American Frontier (Paperback)
Although I've lived in Canada for quite some time, all I knew about La Salle before reading this book was that he was one of the early French explorers of North America and that there are a few places in Canada named after him (like the suburb in Montreal). After reading this well-written and very clearlt set out account of La Salle's life and explorations, I'm a lot wiser. It's clearly written, easy to follow, well-written and interesting. Not at all a dry academic account which so many books like this unfortunately are.
Amazing voyages through the Great Lakes and down the length of the Mississippi by canoe. And on top of that he built forts and established settlements along the way. Many north americans don't have any idea just how far into the interior the French explored and settled back 400 years ago. This book really does give you an idea of what happened, how tough it was and how things could go disastorously wrong (such as happened on La Salle's last voyage where he attempted to find the mouth the of Mississippi from the seaward side and ended up landing in what is now Texas instead). Riveting book. Some good illustrations too.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
amazing story,
By joyce smith (new orleans) - See all my reviews
This review is from: La Salle: Explorer of the North American Frontier (Paperback)
This was a very readable account of LaSalle's journeys. It's truly amazing the conditions that people could survive back then as a matter of course. The language seems stilted sometimes, I believe because it was translated from French, but there is also an interesting slant, in that this is a european writing about our country, and our neighbor to the north. Keep an atlas handy to help track the story, and be prepared to be impressed. There is just enough well-researched information to bring the story alive, but not get too bogged down.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
