Lafayette

De: Harlow Giles Unger

Narrado por: Matthew Boston

In this gripping biography, acclaimed author Harlow Giles Unger paints an intimate portrait of the heroic young French soldier who, at 19, renounced a life of luxury in Paris and Versailles to fight and bleed for liberty - at Brandywine, Valley Forge, and Yorktown. A major general in the Continental army, he quickly earned the love of his troops, his fellow commanders, and his commander in chief, George Washington, who called him his "adopted son".

Unger follows Lafayette from the battlefields of North America to the palace of Versailles, where the marquis won the most stunning diplomatic victory in world history - convincing the French court to send the huge military and naval force needed to win American independence. He then returned to America to lead the remarkable guerrilla campaign in Virginia that climaxed with British surrender at Yorktown.

Lafayette's triumph turned to tragedy, however, when he tried to introduce American democracy in his native land. His quest for a constitutional monarchy unwittingly set off the French Revolution and plunged Europe into more than a decade of slaughter and war. Declared an enemy of the state, Lafayette fled France only to be imprisoned for five years in an Austrian dungeon, while his wife, Adrienne, and her family festered in prison, awaiting the cruel blade of the guillotine.

©2002 Harlow Giles Unger (P)2021 Tantor

Lafayette has taught me about patriotism

This book has been life changing for me. Thank you, Mr. Unger for your care and love of the Marquis and his dear wife and family. This story is touching at every stage. It is so well told, it survives one of the worst narrators I've heard. I BEG the publishers to re-record this. The narration is so bad, you will think it is AI, except that AI can pronounce words correctly.

How is this man not known more?

An absolutely amazing man. One of the greats of history! As always, Unger does fantastic job with Layfeyette and his research and insight is amazing.
Read this book! NOW!

This is how history should be narrated

So good I gave this to my 12-year old daughter to convey what values such as courage and principles mean in the context of the men and women who crafted the Independence of the US.

The Greatest American Ever Born, was French

With over 24 years in service to the US, as a Marine and DoD civilian, this is the biography of the single greatest American and one of the most important proponents of liberty, self determination, and the rights of all men. I'm saddened and shocked I didn't fully understand or appreciate the impact of his life on the entire modern world. HIGHLY recommend everyone invest the time for this book.

A French hero who makes America's greatness more clear

Having read only the most cursory references to Lafayette, this biography brought out the true nobility of Lafayette. A young man of 19 came to help the American Revolution and he excelled at it. He was truly selfless and he became enamored of Americans and their democracy.
Tragically, his attempts to bring American democracy to France failed because it's people could not understand or accept it. In France his efforts were gallant but frustrated. This history is worth deeper study and this book inspires it.

Excellent in every way

This book was fantastic. I’ve been interested in learning more about General LaFayette since I saw Hamilton the musical. Intertwining American and French and world history, this biography brings it all together, from pre-American revolution through Napoleonic rule and beyond in an entertaining way. I highly recommend this book.

The Last and Greatest French Knight

This is an exciting and emotional glimpse at the life of one of the world's greatest men. Well written and insightful to the character of Lafayette.

A must read

Many lessons in here. Including some important analogies re the current situation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the deadly socio-psychological mindset of empire, domination, & extremism as opposed to equality, democracy, & system balance. Lafayette was a more true & unflaggingly active advocate for good than I had realized. What a role model.

Fantastic!

Really brings the man and his times alive. He was such a compelling and honorable person who accomplished more in one year than most do in a lifetime. They sure don’t make them like that anymore!

Remarkable Man, Above Average Story

The Marquis de Lafayette was a truly remarkable man. In a time where I question the loyalty of many of my fellow Americans, its truly inspiring to follow the exploits of someone not born here but who came to America as a result of an admiration based on the defiance of authoritarian rule by its founders and their vision for a more perfect nation. My criticisms of this book are few. I wish there was more original narrative and a little less reading of Lafayette's letters. They're not always that revealing; how many times do we need to hear how much Lafayette loves his family and wishes he was with them? As for the audible reading, Mr. Boston did a fine job with the one exception of replacing "cavalry" with "calvary". Quite different meanings I'm afraid and its misquoted numerous times. So with those few exceptions a great retelling of the exploits of a great man.