An innovative work of biography, social history, and literary analysis, this Pulitzer Prize-winning book presents the story of two men, William Coo...
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reviews
Jan 11, 2012
Manray9
rated it: 
"William Cooper's Town" certainly deserved recognition with the 1996 Pulitzer Prize. It is an intriguing look at the development of a frontier community in the earliest days of the republic. The story of parvenu William Cooper's rise and eventual decline from political and social prominence in Upstate New York is well-told with keen insight into the fractiousness of early U.S. politics.
James Fenimore Cooper's first great success in the literary world was a fictionalized acco More...
James Fenimore Cooper's first great success in the literary world was a fictionalized acco More...
Feb 24, 2010
Jonathan
rated it:
An impressive accomplishment. It's too heavy on blow-by-blow political history for my taste, but it certainly does what it tries to do historically. Yet I don't entirely buy into the personal story.
Alan Taylor describes how William Cooper (father of novelist James Fenimore Cooper) rose from poor wheelwright to New York land magnate after the Revolution thanks to a long series of fraudulent land deals; how he became an influential but awkward local community leader in the frontier to More...
Alan Taylor describes how William Cooper (father of novelist James Fenimore Cooper) rose from poor wheelwright to New York land magnate after the Revolution thanks to a long series of fraudulent land deals; how he became an influential but awkward local community leader in the frontier to More...
Jul 26, 2011
Fantastic history of the two generation rise and fall of would-be patriarch William Cooper and his dubiously gained Otsego Patent in New York--rising from marginal society thanks to a Revolution he didn't participate in, land chicanery, maple sugar and land development schemes, self-education and a failed attempt to get big city elite to pay him deference, misjudged Federalist politics in 1800 and ultimately the squandering of potential by spoiled heirs raised in privilege and frontier luxury wh
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Jan 06, 2011
Lindsay
rated it:
As history books (and I love history) go this one is pretty darn interesting. It's not as all-absorbing as some fiction work, but the people in the story come alive and Taylor does a great job of showing you their whole characters, flaws and all. For anyone who is from or has visited upstate New York, it's a fascinating read about the roots of this town and how different it was back then. Not the fastest or easiest of history books to read, but if you are in the mood for a longer, more challengi
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May 27, 2008
Gwynneth
rated it: 
It should come as no surprise that disreputable real estate deals and land brokers have not changed all that much since the 18th century. The fashions may be different, but the fast and loose rules are relatively the same.
Taylor documents the rise of William Cooper from poverty to genteel landlord and political office holder. This was accomplished by combining aspects of social climbing with sketchy land title grabs and political intrigue (aka special interest lobbying). If there is More...
Taylor documents the rise of William Cooper from poverty to genteel landlord and political office holder. This was accomplished by combining aspects of social climbing with sketchy land title grabs and political intrigue (aka special interest lobbying). If there is More...
Jan 26, 2008
Jeffrey
rated it:
Immeditaley, following the War for Independence and the Constitution, the U.S. was a very unstable place both politically and econmically. Anyone who thought that "free land" meant "freedom" was mistaken 9at leat that's what I got out of this book.) Taylor teaches at UC-Davis and I've caught many of his lectures. He is very wise to a forgotten p[eriod of AMerican history, the highly-contentions 1790 political battles. This book documents politics on the Amreican forntier in u
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Jan 19, 2010
Judy
rated it: 
I got to page 84 and decided it wasn't interesting enough to finish. It read more like a history book than a Pulitzer Prize winner. Maybe my expectations were too high and I expected something easier to read like Champlain's Dream.
Feb 23, 2009
2009-Winter,Pulitzer Prize,American history,late 1700s,Cooperstown,William Cooper,biographical,narrative,James Fenimore Cooper,The Pioneers,gentility
Sep 09, 2010
Bought this book because I thought I should. Tried to plod through it. Didn't get very far.
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