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Chesapeake
"Michener's most ambitious work of fiction in theme and scope."
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
"Brilliantly written."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Once again James A. Michener brings history to life with this 400-year saga of America's great bay and its Eastern Shore. Following Edmund Steed and his remarkable family, who parallel the settling and forming of the nation, CHESAPEAKE sweeps reader...more
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
"Brilliantly written."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Once again James A. Michener brings history to life with this 400-year saga of America's great bay and its Eastern Shore. Following Edmund Steed and his remarkable family, who parallel the settling and forming of the nation, CHESAPEAKE sweeps reader...more
Mass Market Paperback, 1081 pages
Published
by Fawcett Crest
(first published 1978)
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Dec 08, 2012
Telly McGaha
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
history buffs and Marylanders
A friend of mine, upon moving to Baltimore, asked why the area was so eff'd up. A friend told her she should read this book. She's moved on to Denver, but we had a recent conversation about Baltimore, which is where I still reside. I posed the same question, and she gave me the answer that had been given to hear, "You should read "Chesapeake.""
Michener, I'm told by this friend, is a famed histo-geographical fictionalist, which is to say he writes stories that span centuries in a way in which a...more
Michener, I'm told by this friend, is a famed histo-geographical fictionalist, which is to say he writes stories that span centuries in a way in which a...more
Apr 27, 2007
Alison Smith
added it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
patient readers in the Delmarva region
Don't be afraid of Michener! I've heard the rule is that you can put the book down if you're not finished in 6 months ha! I think I am 2 months in. Drink tea and read little by little. Chesapeake follows a bunch of families living on the Choptank River on Maryland's Eastern shore from before pre-colonial times through....well, I'm still reading. About halfway through, I was tickled to read about a GOOSE FAMILY hahaha. HONK!
7 likes · like · see review
There is no better way to make history digestible than by telling the story through fictional characters...dynasties, really. This was really a beautiful and telling account of American history, from the days of Native Americans to the tragedy of Watergate. The scope of the story is magnificent - from exploration, to taming the land, to revolutions, to pirates, to civil rights. One of the things that struck me was how dramatic of a change occurred between about 1890 to 1930. I was sort of disapp...more
What is Michener's best book? Now that's a tough question. It's like asking 'what was Shakespeare's masterpiece?' or even 'what's your favourite Baskin & Robbins flavour ice-cream'? To me, based on the books I have read so far, it is a toss-up between Alaska, Hawaii and this marvellous page-turner, Chesapeake.
I'll admit I really had doubts that a story which was limited to the history and area surrounding Chesapeake Bay would hold me for the 700 + pages in which Michener likes to let his na...more
I'll admit I really had doubts that a story which was limited to the history and area surrounding Chesapeake Bay would hold me for the 700 + pages in which Michener likes to let his na...more
I read 'Chesapeake' some thirty years ago - yet the vivid memories and impact of it are still with me today so that I intend to reread it again if time ever permits ! I mention the time factor because it sits in that genre of massive 'blockbusters'(alongside 'War And Peace') - the size of a brick and unputdownable !
In this masterpiece, James A. Michener encapsulates almost the entire history of America within the microcosm of the Chesapeake Bay area, with its ancient abundance of fish, herons an...more
In this masterpiece, James A. Michener encapsulates almost the entire history of America within the microcosm of the Chesapeake Bay area, with its ancient abundance of fish, herons an...more
Hey! I'm reading only later voyages in this book for school, if anyone can catch me up by replying to these questions, I would reallly appreciate it... thanks!
xoxo lola
Voyage 2: 1608 and The Island
3. What, apparently, is the main motivation for the creation of the Church of England? How is it
different from the Catholic Church?
4. What impact does the Catholic / Protestant rivalry have on the colonies in the Chesapeake?
5. How does Devon Steed’s story illustrate both the hardships of life in the co...more
xoxo lola
Voyage 2: 1608 and The Island
3. What, apparently, is the main motivation for the creation of the Church of England? How is it
different from the Catholic Church?
4. What impact does the Catholic / Protestant rivalry have on the colonies in the Chesapeake?
5. How does Devon Steed’s story illustrate both the hardships of life in the co...more
This novel is a sweeping saga that tracks three families of differing socials classes from the day they arrive on the Delmarva (eastern shore of Maryland) to the late 1970s. It would be interesting to read Michener's view on the last 30 years. Michnener is sparse on dialog and fond of using words that even the college prep courses haven't discovered. If you decide to take this journey, and it is a long one (800+ pages), don't expect high drama and page-turning action and suspense. Prepare yourse...more
1 like · like · see review
This is a marvelous book, with much information about the history, geography, and wildlife of the Chesapeake Bay region. It concentrates on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, but also includes much about the rest of the Bay. Michener is skillful in incorporating the sweep of 400 years of history in the stories of 3 main families, and even has one of the families include a suicide resulting from the Watergate scandal. I think Michener could have been more even-handed regarding the latter, but the boo...more
From 1583 to 1978 the saga moves, tracking the lives of individuals, their families, the society they live in, and most importantly the place where all of this happens. Chesapeake is as much about a way of life, as it is about the place and its people.
The book is typical Michener, and uses individual stories across generations to show the way a place and its society has evolved. Even as each generation's story is read, it is difficult to realise the passage of time, since sometimes the changes...more
The book is typical Michener, and uses individual stories across generations to show the way a place and its society has evolved. Even as each generation's story is read, it is difficult to realise the passage of time, since sometimes the changes...more
Even though it was very dry towards the end, I really did enjoy Chesapeake, and it really brought the Eastern Shore to life. The book covered about four hundred years of history, and told the story of the harassment of the Native Americans in the 1500s on up to the Watergate scandal in the 70s. Three main families served as the characters, and though fictional, met and talked with many "big wigs", like George Washington, Senator Clay, Daniel Webster, and so on.
Of all the families, I loved readi...more
Of all the families, I loved readi...more
Well written book. Michener distinguishes the families well enough, but not the different generations. Also he doesn't change the families up enough (specifically with jobs). Some parts of the book are really interesting when he adds the historical perspective, especially at the beginning. However there are other more aggrevating times (for instance he spends more than 50 pages on the issue of slavery, but 5 pages on the actual Civil War).
So, yours truly managed to pick up a first edition of this book for a few shekels recently.
I found it to be very typical of Michener.
His detractors will try to tell you that his formulaic writing style and lack of character development made the late author nothing short of a hack.
Indeed, I found this best-seller from 1978 to be very much like the other two Michener novels I've read.
And, as he covers nearly four centuries over 865 pages, the folks who populate his narrative are painted in very br...more
I found it to be very typical of Michener.
His detractors will try to tell you that his formulaic writing style and lack of character development made the late author nothing short of a hack.
Indeed, I found this best-seller from 1978 to be very much like the other two Michener novels I've read.
And, as he covers nearly four centuries over 865 pages, the folks who populate his narrative are painted in very br...more
In a way, if you've read one Michener, you've read them all. But not because, after all, just because you know the history of mankind in Spain (or Hawaii or Poland) doesn't mean you know it for ... the Eastern Shore of Maryland. I started this novel my first week in DC. It was a thousand pages long. It became a roadblock between me and the next book ("I will not open another book until I finish this!") and I let it block me for over a year (I was busy!). All that said, I'm glad to have read it....more
Si les chemins que prend le destin d'André ne sont pas ceux qu'on pourrait lui souhaiter, il nous accompagne, rue après champs, situations précaires après jolis moments de liesse vers un monde d'hier au franc parlé qu'il ne me semble pas ridicule d'imaginer être de nouveau tangible dans notre actualité... la faim justifie les moyens dit-on... l'espoir justifie peut-être les actes !
Un livre à lire et à confronter avec les souvenirs qu'auront pu évoquer un grand oncle grincheux, une grand-mère éco...more
Un livre à lire et à confronter avec les souvenirs qu'auront pu évoquer un grand oncle grincheux, une grand-mère éco...more
Sep 05, 2008
Ron
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
general-fiction,
historical-fiction
Read this when I moved to the Chesapeake bordering community of Poquoson, Va. Was an excellent introduction to the area and culture. Ran into Bull Islanders who could have been the prototypes used to develop some of the cast.
Random House, Inc., 1978. 1001 pp. Through the fictional Steed and Turlock families, Michener weaves an excellent account of US history. Michener covers the colonial period, revolutionary war era, the war of 1812 and continues through the civil war and into the 1900s. Through his writing, one is able to experience the rich cultural history of the states. Navel adventures. Pirate ships. Waterfowling. The bay’s fisheries. Slavery. Plantations. Religion. Each of these subjects are explored through...more
This is an interesting story of three families who settled on Maryland's Eastern Shore in Colonial times. Michener includes detailed descriptions of the flowers and fauna in the area, so you have to be a patient reader. A Michener book cannot be read overnight or even in a week. It will take months to read and digest if you want to get everything you can from the book. I was disappointed at first because I wanted to read about Virginia, but it didn't take me long to realize that it's all pretty...more
About average for him. Not my favorite writer, but the area interested me since I lived there for about 40 years. It's worth reading once, certainly.
The true histories, with a little romance thrown in. Another no-holds barred historical epic from the master of chronological writing. His research is impeccable, his characters are both real and realistic- and Michener just proves over and over, that he has a gift for telling a story that no one else has the stamina, nor the honesty, to tell. His books are unforgettable, the characters stick with you and every country you visit, that he has written about, jogs your memory all over again and you...more
Michener has entertained me in the past, so when a friend recommended Chesapeake, I took the plunge into 1000+ pages. It will help many understand the past- often incidents deemed not appropriate for history books.
You'll follow early settlers to Maryland/Virginia: Indians, Brits, slaves and various religious factions. I appreciated that the author pulled from families that lived through the centuries, often hunting in the same grounds occupied by the original Indians.
On the minus side, after a...more
You'll follow early settlers to Maryland/Virginia: Indians, Brits, slaves and various religious factions. I appreciated that the author pulled from families that lived through the centuries, often hunting in the same grounds occupied by the original Indians.
On the minus side, after a...more
If you want to read this book, prepare yourself for A LOT of detail. Personally I am not big on a lot of detail so I was kind of bored the whole time. But I definatley recommend this book to any history buff because it is all about history. It goes back to when Native Americans lived in America and the land was just starting to be discovered by Englishmen. America is born through this novel which ends in the Watergate years. Michener tells Chesapeake through the stories of three families that al...more
Mar 28, 2013
Marie
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who loves, history, adventure, epics
I've always loved the detail which Michener used to weave his historic tales and some 40 years later find his work just as intriguing and just as delicious as the first time I spent a summer devouring Centennial, later Chesapeake and much later traveling though Tales of the South Pacific.
Currently still working my way through Chesapeake for the second time (think I was about 20 when I read it first) I am already looking forward to reading Tales of the South Pacific again.
Master storyteller tha...more
Currently still working my way through Chesapeake for the second time (think I was about 20 when I read it first) I am already looking forward to reading Tales of the South Pacific again.
Master storyteller tha...more
I almost put this down after 200 pages because it's so ferociously non-literary, but I'm glad I slogged through. Michener takes a god's eye view of the region, beginning with John Smith and the Indians, and unrolls the history through the generations of 4 families--plantation owners, Quakers, low-life "watermen", and African American. There are cameo appearances from George Washington and other worthies, incursions by pirates, chapters on boat building--even a crab cake recipe, and a little dram...more
This book looks at the lives of three different families that live off the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. We see how the Steed, the Paxmore, and the Turlock families came to Maryland how their families grow and how they are affected by world event for the next 400 years. James Michener goes into great detail how these different families fit into society and how their roles affect the community for the next 400 years. James Michener is great at describing the nature of the Chesapeake Bay and after r...more
Finished it! I enjoyed it immensely, especially since we now live within a couple of hours from the Chesapeake and we've begun visiting the Potomac from our home base in Virginia. The descriptions of the wildlife were surprisingly interesting as Michener has us identify with one particular fowl, animal or crustacean, as the case may be, and we begin to care about what happens to it. The history of the early Native Americans and the slave trade was heart breaking, but very insightful as we ponder...more
Call me sad, but I do better reading about history in the form of historical fiction. As usual with Mr. Michner, the historical information about the forming of the Eastern coastal states is very detailed, very thorough. I learned about the building of Schooners, how blue crabs came to be so populous, the forming of the Quaker society, the slave trade, piracy, and two very fair accounts/views of the slavery issue from the Maryland point of view and the Virginian point of view. If you want to und...more
An epic story based on the history of the Chesapeake Bay region. JM tells a tale of triumph and tragedy as four families develop over several generations from the 1600's till present day. Topics range from shipbuilding, to high seas piracy, to slavery, to dog domestication. Each topic woven tightly towards a historical effect on the region. At almost 1000 pages, it should be on the must-read list of every Michener fan. It took me almost 8 months of daily nightime reading sessions to finish, but...more
I like these long, almost boring, plodding chronicles to read. Not thrilling while you are reading them, but after you are glad you read it. It starts so far back you don't feel like you missed a thing. You get a feel for the whole place like a biography will leave you feeling about a person. A good book to pick up and read effortlessly through a long period of time when you want relaxing reading, but dont want fluff and can't stand a romance novel. Tons of people stories, history thrown in, tho...more
People out here have been calling this a real "page turner"....well, at roughly 1000 pages, it's hard to escape without turning lots and lots of them.
It is a good book, but it's also a long hard slog. I'm not ready to go out and read another thick Michener anytime soon. In Chesapeake, he covers the history of Maryland's Eastern Shore from Native American times prior to European arrival, through the 1970's. The book has several focal points....
- Quakers seeking refuge from persecution
- The declin...more
I love historical fiction, and I loved this imaginative (and well-researched) narrative of life on the Chesapeake from colonial times to more modern times. Michener weaves the tale of several families throughout the generations, touching on some of the serious issues that have plagued the Chesapeake region throughout time, all while telling his story in a delightful manner. The best part is that the entire novel was truly believable to me, and I had to keep reminding myself that it was a work of...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| review | 1 | 30 | Jul 30, 2008 01:31pm |
James Albert Michener is best known for his sweeping multi-generation historical fiction sagas, usually focusing on and titled after a particular geographical region. His first novel,
Tales of the South Pacific
, which inspired the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific, won the 1948 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Toward the end of his life, he created the Journey Prize, awarded annually for th...more
More about James A. Michener...
Toward the end of his life, he created the Journey Prize, awarded annually for th...more
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