
Walt Whitman’s America
A Cultural Biography
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Narrated by:
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John Lescault
In his poetry, Walt Whitman set out to encompass all of America, and in so doing, heal its deepening divisions. This magisterial biography demonstrates the epic scale of his achievement, as well as the dreams and anxieties that impelled it, for it places the poet securely within the political and cultural context of his age.
Combing through the full range of Whitman’s writing, David Reynolds shows how Whitman gathered inspiration from every stratum of 19th-century American life: the convulsions of slavery and depression; the raffish dandyism of the Bowery “b’hoys”; the exuberant rhetoric of actors, orators, and divines. We see how Whitman reconciled his own sexuality with contemporary social mores and how his energetic courtship of the public presaged the vogues of advertising and celebrity. Brilliantly researched, captivatingly told, Walt Whitman’s America is a triumphant work of scholarship that breathes new life into the biographical genre.
©2011 David S. Reynolds (P)2019 Blackstone PublishingListeners also enjoyed...




















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Finally understanding Whitman
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Whitman Demystified
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A wonderful insightful biography well narrated
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Simply Superb
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I highly recommend this book.
Helps the listener to understand Leaves of Grass
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Excellent
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Remarkably well researched.
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However, this book is significantly more detail than the casual reader can tolerate. Spending literally hours on transcendentalism,reform movements, civil rights, religious ideology, scientific developments, changing views of sexuality and more - the book becomes a slog for the reader.
The book represents an uncomfortable compromise, too detailed for the casual reader, or even fan of Whitman but certainly not scholarly enough for the true scholar - this book is really only appropriate for the amateur historian or someone who is deeply interested in 19 century America and Whitman.
Interesting but too detailed for the casual reader.
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