
Walt Whitman’s America
A Cultural Biography
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Narrated by:
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John Lescault
About this listen
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.
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password “primaeval”
- By Chas Carner on 05-28-20
By: Walt Whitman
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Waking Giant
- America in the Age of Jackson
- By: David S. Reynolds
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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The years from 1815 to 1848 were arguably the richest period in American life. In Waking Giant, award-winning historian David S. Reynolds illuminates the era's exciting political story alongside the fascinating social and cultural movements that influenced it. He casts fresh light on Andrew Jackson, who redefined the presidency, as well as John Quincy Adams and James K. Polk, who expanded the nation's territory and strengthened its position internationally.
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Lucid narration
- By Tad Davis on 12-09-08
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And There Was Light
- Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle
- By: Jon Meacham
- Narrated by: Jon Meacham
- Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Hated and hailed, excoriated and revered, Abraham Lincoln was at the pinnacle of American power when secessionists gave no quarter in a clash of visions bound up with money, race, identity, and faith. In him we can see the possibilities of the presidency as well as its limitations. This book tells the story of Lincoln from his birth on the Kentucky frontier to his leadership during the Civil War to his tragic assassination: his rise, his self-education, his loves, his bouts of depression, his political failures, his deepening faith, and his persistent conviction that slavery must end.
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A Winner
- By Diane Moore on 10-31-22
By: Jon Meacham
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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