A Wilderness So Immense - The Louisiana Purchase and the Destiny of America

Review“A sprawling and absorbing account . . . [of] how individual characters and appetites interweave to create great events. . . . Hugely entertaining and wonderfully informative.”--\*Los Angeles Times Book Review“Kukla’s vivid fresco . . . is peopled by a cast that includes kings, queens, ministers, adventurers, generals, politicians, presidents." —The New York Times Book Review“As exciting and readable a narrative of the Louisiana Purchase as we’re likely to get in the foreseeable future.” —The New Republic“Kukla writes history that reads with the urgency of a suspense novel. . . . Best of all, his graceful prose sings with the conviction of one telling a great story.” --Dallas Morning News“A sweeping tale . . . . [Kukla’s] ability to interweave evocative anecdotes, biography and colorful asides with the complex diplomatic, military and political events that led up to the Louisiana Purchase makes A Wilderness So Immense fresh, stylish and compelling.” —Times-Picayune\* (New Orleans)“A story of fascinating international intrigue and fallible human beings dealing with issues far beyond their comprehension. It is the best book on the subject yet available.” –The Baltimore Sun “As exciting and readable a narrative of the Louisiana Purchase as we are likely to get in the foreseeable future.” –The New Republic“Enlightening. . . Kukla is good at showing what a ferment of ideas and resultant activities the world was going through at this time.” –\*Minneapolis Star-Tribune“A thoroughly readable, entertaining, and informative history of the incredible period that led to the purchase of a land that doubled the size of the United States. . . . A wonderful book, not to be missed.” –D... \*Product DescriptionIn A Wilderness so Immense, historian Jon Kukla recounts the fascinating tale of the personal maneuverings, political posturing, and international intrigue that culminated in the greatest land deal in history. Spanning nearly two decades, Kukla’s book brings to life a pageant of characters from Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and John Jay, to Napoleon and Carlos III of Spain and other colorful figures.Employing letters, memoirs, contemporary documents, and a host of other sources, Kukla creates a complete and compelling account of the Louisiana Purchase. From the hinterlands in Kentucky to the courts of Spain, France, and England to the halls of Congress, he re-creates the forces and personalities that turned a struggle for navigation rights on the Mississippi into an event that doubled the size of the country and altered the destiny of the United States forever.From the Trade Paperback edition. The remarkable story of the land purchase that doubled the size of our young nation, set the stage for its expansion across the continent, and confronted Americans with new challenges of ethnic and religious diversity. In a saga that stretches from Paris and Madrid to Haiti, Virginia, New York, and New Orleans, Jon Kukla shows how rivalries over the Mississippi River and its vast watershed brought France, Spain, Great Britain, and the United States to the brink of war and shaped the destiny of the new American republic. We encounter American leaders--Jefferson and Jay, Monroe and Pickering among them--clashing over the opening of the West and its implications for sectional balance of power. We see these disagreements nearly derailing the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and spawning a series of separatist conspiracies long before the dispute over slavery in the territory set the stage for the Missouri Compromise and the Civil War. Kukla makes it clear that as the French Revolution and Napoleon's empire-building rocked the Atlantic community, Spain's New World empire grew increasingly vulnerable to American and European rivals. Jefferson hoped to take Spain's territories--piece by piece,--while Napoleon schemed to reestablish a French colonial empire in the Caribbean and North America.Interweaving the stories of ordinary settlers and imperial decision-makers, Kukla depicts a world of revolutionary intrigue that transformed a small and precarious union into a world power--all without bloodshed and for about four cents an acre.From the Hardcover edition. Publisher's description: The remarkable story of the land purchase that doubled the size of our young nation, set the stage for its expansion across the continent, and confronted Americans with new challenges of ethnic and religious diversity. In a saga that stretches from Paris and Madrid to Haiti, Virginia, New York, and New Orleans, Jon Kukla shows how rivalries over the Mississippi River and its vast watershed brought France, Spain, Great Britain, and the United States to the brink of war and shaped the destiny of the new American republic. We encounter American leaders--Jefferson and Jay, Monroe and Pickering among them--clashing over the opening of the West and its implications for sectional balance of power. We see these disagreements nearly derailing the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and spawning a series of separatist conspiracies long before the dispute over slavery in the territory set the stage for the Missouri Compromise and the Civil War. Kukla makes it clear that as the French Revolution and Napoleon's empire-building rocked the Atlantic community, Spain's New World empire grew increasingly vulnerable to American and European rivals. Jefferson hoped to take Spain's territories--piece by piece, --while Napoleon schemed to reestablish a French colonial empire in the Caribbean and North America. Interweaving the stories of ordinary settlers and imperial decision-makers, Kukla depicts a world of revolutionary intrigue that transformed a small and precarious union into a world power--all without bloodshed and for about four cents an acre

in a Wilderness So Immense, Historian Jon Kukla Recounts The Fascinating Tale Of The Personal Maneuverings, Political Posturing, And International Intrigue That Culminated In The Greatest Land Deal In History. Spanning Nearly Two Decades, Kukla’s Book Brings To Life A Pageant Of Characters From Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, And John Jay, To Napoleon And Carlos Iii Of Spain And Other Colorful Figures.

employing Letters, Memoirs, Contemporary Documents, And A Host Of Other Sources, Kukla Creates A Complete And Compelling Account Of The Louisiana Purchase. From The Hinterlands In Kentucky To The Courts Of Spain, France, And England To The Halls Of Congress, He Re-creates The Forces And Personalities That Turned A Struggle For Navigation Rights On The Mississippi Into An Event That Doubled The Size Of The Country And Altered The Destiny Of The United States Forever.

the New York Times

jon Kukla's Exuberant Book, a Wilderness So Immense, Is Not About The Wilderness That Extended West Of The Mississippi To The Rockies And Only Briefly About The Louisiana Purchase. Instead, Kukla, The Director Of The Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation, Recounts The Colorful Story Of The Long And Complicated Struggles In The 1780's And 90's For Unimpeded Use Of The River And Its Southernmost Port. The Louisiana Purchase Itself Was Merely The Unexpected Coda To Two Decades Of Painstaking — And Fascinating — Negotiations. — susan Dunn

In A Wilderness so Immense, historian Jon Kukla recounts the fascinating tale of the personal maneuverings, political posturing, and international intrigue that culminated in the greatest land deal in history. Spanning nearly two decades, Kukla's book brings to life a pageant of characters from Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and John Jay, to Napoleon and Carlos III of Spain and other colorful figures. Employing letters, memoirs, contemporary documents, and a host of other sources, Kukla creates a complete and compelling account of the Louisiana Purchase. From the hinterlands in Kentucky to the courts of Spain, France, and England to the halls of Congress, he re-creates the forces and personalities that turned a struggle for navigation rights on the Mississippi into an event that doubled the size of the country and altered the destiny of the United States forever. From the Trade Paperback edition