Utopias on Puget Sound, 1885-1915 [Paperback]

Charles Pierce Lewarne (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 16 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Washington Pr (August 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0295974443
• ISBN-13: 978-0295974446
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #481,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is how History should be written!!!, February 15, 2006

By 

Louis XIV "horba" (Bothell, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Utopias on Puget Sound, 1885-1915 (Paperback)

This is one of the best written and researched books out there. The respect that Dr. LeWarne gives these communities helps bring out their achivements and their follies. A must-read for any local historian or person interested in Western History.

5.0 out of 5 stars WONDERFUL STUDY OF WESTERN WASHINGTON UTOPIAN COMMUNITIES, January 20, 2010

By 

Steven H. Propp (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Utopias on Puget Sound, 1885-1915 (Paperback)

Dr. Charles Pierce LeWarne is a historian who seemingly specializes in the Washington area (e.g., see his book, Washington State). In this book, Dr. LeWarne focuses on an often-told tale---19th/20th century utopian communities---but rather than give a broad survey of a great deal of such communites, he concentrates on a 30-year period, and only five communities: The Puget Sound Co-Operative Colony; Equality Colony; Freeland; Burley Colony; and "Home."

LeWarne notes at the beginning of the book, "Near the term of the present century, a half dozen of so communitarian experiments, commonly called utopian or socialist colonies, appeared near the inland waters of western Washington that embrace Puget Sound. Part of a long communitarian tradition and of a contemporary revival, they drew together radicals, reformers, and generally good and well-meaning people in a common search for a better life. The experiments disappeared, and their settlers merged forgotten into the general populace."

His own observations are quite pertinent, and rather charmingly understated: e.g., "the persons attracted were not necessarily the most valuable workers; needing money, the colony accepted some who had the required fee but were not strong contributors thereafter." And "Ironically, the two most vocal defenders of free love at Home ... were in their seventies."

In his conclusion, LeWarne notes, "The communitarian experiments of western Washington failed not only to achieve their grandest aspirations but also to maintain their very existence.... Despite relative longevity, the Washington experiments, like those elsewhere, failed to endure."

This exceptional book is of continued interest to anyone interested in intentional communities, utopian societies, communes, ecovillages, or similar experiments in living arrangements.