Sunday, October 08, 2006

The October meeting

Our book for this meeting was Richard Zacks's The Pirate Coast: Thomas Jefferson, the First Marines and the Secret Mission of 1805.

Here are the key issues we discussed:
  • What is Zacks’s writing style? Sense of humor? Does this undermine the scholarly nature of the book?
  • View of Eaton? Is he a tragic figure? A hero? Are his problems only of his own making? Would he have made it past the desert trek from Egypt to Derne without the stubbornness?
    • What does Zacks think of Eaton? Is he objective enough?
  • View of Jefferson? Of Tobias Lear? Of Yussef? Of Hamet?
    • How much does this book fit into the larger trend of "humanizing" the Founding Fathers?
  • What did you think of the use of extended excerpts (or complete) primary sources?
  • What impression does this book leave of Tripoli and the other Barbary nations in North Africa?
    • Of slavery and prisoners’ experiences there?
  • What is Zacks’s view of Islamic culture? [Use of “Moslem” as term?]
  • View of Capt. Bainbridge? [Isn’t this all his fault?]
  • Sense of the strengths and weaknesses of the new American Nation? Federalists and Republicans?
  • Why wasn’t Lear censured or condemned for his secret treaty about Hamet’s family? For his immense spending?
  • We all caught ourselves thinking at some point that Zacks should have written a better ending for this historical event....
  • Why did the Acknowledgements have the tone that they did?
  • As one person pointed out, “I think the lyrics should be re-written. ‘From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores and walls of DERNE’ I have to say I was EXTREMELY disappointed to learn that they never actually landed at Tripoli!”
  • Epilogue and Bin Laden? -- Are these reasonable connections? Is there something to be learned from comparing this mission to later covert missions (377-378)?
    • Does Zacks have an overt modern political agenda?
  • Overall view of the book? Success?
Whether you were at our meeting or not, please feel free to comment on what you thought of the book.

Thanks!

The first post -- The UMW Book Club goes online!

A number of alums of Mary Washington's History and American Studies Program have been meeting to discuss books we've read and picked together. This blog will be a place to continue those conversations and to allow other alums to participate in these discussions, even if they're far away from Fredericksburg.