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The Forty Years that Created America: The Story of the Explorers, Promoters, Investors, and Settlers Who Founded the First English Colonies Kindle Edition

by Edward M. Lamont (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 12 ratings
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The names “Jamestown” and “Plymouth” have become synonymous for most students of American history with “founding,” and “birth”—both, of the American nation, and of freedom and democracy themselves. In this book, author Ted Lamont asks us to reconsider our country’s formative years, and explore the stories, lives, achievements, and failures of America’s earliest founding fathers: those who paved the way for the Colonial Era, and the American Revolution. They were explorers, investors, passionate religious leaders, and determined developers who struggled for generations to successfully plant the English flag in this strange new soil. Lamont deftly details the ways in which the stories and struggles of figures like Sir Walter Raleigh, Bartholomew Gosnold, Richard Hakluyt, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, and Captain John Smith were not just related, but connected in ways that help us better understand the colonies and culture born of their efforts. The infancy of America— from Roanoke’s founding in 1585 through the firm establishment of Jamestown and Plymouth in 1625—is where we first see planted the seeds of the rest of America’s colonial, economic, political, and cultural history, that was the immensely difficult, and often overlooked, first step toward the New World we are still working to perfect.
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  1. ISBN-13
    978-1442236592
  2. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  3. Publisher
    Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
  4. Publication date
    October 3, 2014
  5. Language
    English
  6. File size
    17253 KB
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Lamont examines English colonization of the New World from 1585-1625 while taking a close look at the activities of Captain John Smith of Jamestown and Governor William Bradford of Plymouth. Between the uneven trajectory of colonization and the various obstacles settlers had to overcome along the way, Lamont arrives at the conclusion that to be motivated by profit was by no means a harbinger of success for colonists. Indian skirmishes, disease, and various disasters made it a wonder any of them survived at all. Lamont covers a lot of literal ground (from Quebec to Florida and beyond) and enlivens his narrative through diaries, letters and publications, and historical legends. John Smith plays a prominent role, particularly in his role as a promoter of English settlement. Many parts of Lamont’s story will feel familiar, but readers will learn a great deal more about Sir Walter Raleigh, Pocahontas, and the investors in the settlements. Lamont offers a concise but thorough profile of a period through the eyes of those who lived it. ― Publishers Weekly

Edward Lamont brings to life the struggle and sacrifice of the brave men and women who founded America. He has given us a well-told tale of folly and brutality, courage and vision—fortunately, more of the latter than the former. -- Evan Thomas, Assistant Managing Editor, Newsweek

True to his promise, Ted Lamont honors dozens of unique characters in The Forty Years that Created America. From intrepid explorers, to Pilgrims and Puritans, to Indian chiefs, a feisty John Smith, and a valiant Pocahontas, the stage was set for the transformation of His Majesty's plantation into a nation of free Americans. -- Phyllis Lee Levin, Author of Abigail Adams: A Biography

About the Author

Edward M. Lamont served in the U.S. Navy, and was a banker for twenty-three years with the World Bank and JP Morgan & Co. He also worked for the Marshall Plan and NATO in Paris and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, DC. He is a chairman emeritus of The Children's Aid Society in New York City. Lamont is the author of The Ambassador From Wall Street: The Story of Thomas W. Lamont, J.P. Morgan's Chief Executive and Ned Miner and His Pioneering Forebears. He and his wife Camille made their home in Laurel Hollow, Long Island, New York. They have three children and five grand children.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00O9RAEH4
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (October 3, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 3, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 17253 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 297 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 12 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars
4.9 out of 5
12 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Ann
5.0 out of 5 stars tobacco and turkeys were just the beginning
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2015
Verified Purchase
In Jamestown and Plymouth we see the yin and yang of the American experience: Jamestown was long on promoters and investors and many ner do well's who required military style supervision; Plymouth was founded by true believers. They both learned how to survive and both were equally ready to fight- with a tortured relationship with the native Americans who greeted and repelled them. The author finally makes this idealized time in our founding come to life, warts and all. The harsh reality makes our founding all the more powerful.
4 people found this helpful
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ned
5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this book for christmas
Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2015
Verified Purchase
Forty Years tells a moving story of two very different inspirations- Jamestown was inspired by money, Plymouth by God. Ted Lamont makes the earliest settlements come to life, and four hundred years later America is still propelled by both inspirations.
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virginia cazedessus
5.0 out of 5 stars The research is excellent and the characters and events come to life
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2015
Verified Purchase
a fascinating account of the early years of discovery and colonialism. The research is excellent
and the characters and events come to life! I enjoyed reading Mr.Lamont's book and learning more
about this important time period in US history.
One person found this helpful
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ND
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a wonderful book. Lamont gives us instructive overview of America ...
Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2014
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This is a wonderful book. Lamont gives us instructive overview of America 1785-1825, as well as riveting tales of settlement, Indians and the sea. You can't put it down!
3 people found this helpful
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B. Middleton
5.0 out of 5 stars An in-depth, fast-moving and comprehensive account of how the ...
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2015
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An in-depth, fast-moving and comprehensive account of how the English managed to establish permanent settlements, at Jamestown and Plymouth, that became the United States we now know.
3 people found this helpful
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Sms
5.0 out of 5 stars It's a great book, and I got it for my son-n-law ...
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2014
Verified Purchase
It's a great book, and I got it for my son-n-law and he is very interested in reading History books. Pretty sure he'll like it very much.
One person found this helpful
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BT
4.0 out of 5 stars a primer it is just fine.
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2017
Mr. Lamont was not a professional historian, and as a result this work of his on the early Colonial period comes across as very matter-of-fact. That it lacks sweeping professorial pronouncements should not hide its accomplishments: it is a very clear, accessible, and informative account mostly focusing on Jamestown and Plymouth. As an introductory text, a primer it is just fine.
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