Chesapeake

Rating:
Summary: Michener Captures Factual Chesapeake In This Fiction
Review: "This book is a novel, and to construe it as anything else would be an error," commences Michener in his story covering 394 years of life on the Chesapeake Bay. With this short, direct statement the author releases himself from rendering any obligatory factual information. The wordy writer, however, can't help himself from bringing the reader as much accurate historical information as comfortably possible in this 1,024 page book.

From the broad shouldered Susquehannock outcast Pentaquod who becomes a tribe leader of the Choptanks to the Roman Catholic outcast Edmund Steed who becomes the cornerstone of the Maryland Colony to the well-muscled African Cudjo who becomes the ray of hope for all Maryland slaves before the Emancipation Proclamation, Michener takes the reader through time, marking milestones with strong-willed heroes who stood fast against prevalent social mores. This gives the reader a deeper understanding of why historical events turned out as they did.

The author also provides a medley of sinister characters, devious families, and pious personalities, which keeps the story alive and invigorates the reader for reading yet another page.

The key character is the Chesapeake Bay, as it endures naval battles, life-ending rain storms and pollution. In the end, the Bay flexes its muscle to reveal how many more times powerful it is than any of Michener's characters presumed.

Rating:
Summary: It's one of those great books that becomes a classic!
Review: Although it is the largest book I've read, it was one of the best! I would've finished it alot sooner, had I more time. I enjoyed learning about the struggles of the Paxmores the Steeds, the Turlocks, and most of all, the Native Americans. when I was reading it, my U.S. history class was learning the same information, and my teacher was amazed I knew so much! I also read the book for a book report, and my teacher was amazed I picked the book, as opposed to the shorter, Catcher in The Rye-like books we've been reading. Never have I learned this much history from one book, and actually kept my interest in it! I went to the Chesapeake Bay when I was little, and remembered the atmosphere that I had forgotten, almost immediately. If this is a fair example of what James Michener has written, you can count me in as a regular James reader.

Rating:
Summary: Recommended
Review: First off, let me say this was the first Michener book that I ever read. I'm in the 10th grade, and we were given a long list of books to choose from, only a few of which were Michener's. I knew how long it was, and that's mainly why I decided to try it (my version was 1001 pages). The beginning of this book goes into a lot of detail with the landscape, as does Hawaii, which I'm currently reading. Therefore, if you just skim the parts which he describes the landscape, you won't miss anything. The book takes you through around 400 years of history, up until the 1970s. It focuses on three main families, as well as the history of the surrounding land. It's a great book, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who has/think they might have the time to read it.

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite
Review: I read James Michener's CHESAPEAKE for the first time while I lay in a hospital bed recovering from my first total hip replacement. It was my introduction to this talented story teller. CHESAPEAKE has entertained me more than once since that first read and has easily become my favorite in Michener's long line of Best Sellers. The author's characters always seem real as does the action and dialogue. It is difficult to seperate truth from fiction as you read through the well developed plot of this Best-Of-The-Lot novel. If you are unfamiliar with this author's work, grab a copy of CHESAPEAKE and sit down to great entertainment.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Experience!
Review: I'm a Michener fan, but this is the best of the best in my humble opinion.

As I write this, I'm waiting for a confirmation of my reservation to spend a long weekend in Cambridge MD and take a couple of days exploring the Choptank and surrounding area.

We vacation several times a year on Maryland's Eastern Shore, Baltimore, Annapolis, St. Michael's, Havre de Grace and the general Chesapeake area, so I'm somehwat familiar with the area. As a young adult, I first read the book when it was first introduced in the 70's. Now I'm retired, I just read it again to re-discover the fascinating stories and appreciation for the history behind them.

As a northern Pennsylvanian, I loved the chapter about the character who follows the Susquehanna River to its point of origin in upper New York state. That chapter touched very close to my home.

As others have said, don't let the size intimidate you. I've completely immersed myself in this wonderful combination of fiction and fact, including reading the book with two maps beside me and frequent visits online to gather even more details of significant events.

Now I can't wait 'til Spring thaw to take my trip back into time... I want to know more... I need to know more!

Rating:
Summary: An epic through the generations
Review: James Michener's novels generally tell the story of a geographical location - sometimes large, sometimes small - through a fictional set of interrelated characters. Chesapeake (perhaps a more accurate title would have been Choptank, but never mind) follows the careers of three families living on the eastern shore of this great bay. The Steeds: Rich, well-educated pro-slavery plantation owners, forced to take the lead in the Revolution even though they considered themselves royalists. The Turlocks: uneducated, racist slavers/pirates/privateers, living off the land, poaching and killing Natives, English, and runaway slaves. The Paxmores: Quaker shipbuilders, lynchpins of the underground railway and moral voices of the Choptank area.

The timeframe is from the 15th century to Watergate. Multiple generations of these three families come and go. In spite of the huge numbers of characters, Michener manages to keep everything clear. Each chapter is basically a short story - one is the story of a slave brought from Africa, sold to the Steeds, who eventually buys his freedom. Another is the story of a Turlock privateer's running feud with a British captain through the War of 1812 and beyond. These short stories are all interwoven in a larger narrative that develops the land and history of the Chesapeake.

For my money, Chesapeake is a well-crafted tale, seamlessly intertwining the individual stories into a coherent whole. Michener does a much better job here than with, for example, the disjointed Caribbean. My only complaint is the fact that the last two chapters are extremely weak - rambling, self-indulgent, and without focus. However, as this is only 100 pages of a 1000 page book, there is so much more to like that I recommend it to anyone. Even those, like me, who previously had little interest in the area and who have never visited the Chesapeake.

Rating:
Summary: My Chesapeake...
Review: People from the western shore sneer and ignore me if I say I'm from the Eastern Shore. I'm not really from there--just spent a number of years there. Doesn't matter. They're just jealous that western shore isn't capitalized and that somebody unique and fascinating like James Michener never wrote a book about where they live--ha! If you're lucky enough to have ties or just a handful of memories about Maryland's Eastern Shore, then you'll find this book absolutely enthralling. From the mighty warrior who became the unlikely leader of a small band of Indians later known as the gentle Choptanks to a handful of diverse European families who shaped the bountiful wilderness into the comfortably proud land it is today, Michener's book is alive with strong women, stubborn men, the crafty and the vile, the shamefully wrong and the helplessly righteous. Don't let the size of the book scare you--it's a fast read full of laughs and wonder, historically altered, yet accurate to the times and places in so many ways. A rare book describing the growth of a portion of our mighty country including the trials and tribulations of the Native Americans and the never ending struggles of the Africans brought over as slaves. He glosses through the Civil War, but I think the book might've been twice as long had he written much more about it. For everyone who's stalked the marshes and seen the skipjacks gallantly skim by, from the poor farm boy to the community-building rich--Michener's toast to you. As treasured as the Bay herself.

Rating:
Summary: ONE OF MICHENER'S BEST
Review: The more Michener I read the more I want to read. CHESAPEAKE is one of Michener's best. Following four established families from the beginning of American colonization and into the 70's, JM provides many perspectives into the Maryland's eastern shore. The primary families are made up of boat builders, plantation owners, watermen, and a black family beginning with a kidnapped slave. Fascinating stuff.

JM begins with the degeneration of the indigenous Indians and shows how colonization was destined to dominate less industrialized populations. The Indians didn't stand a chance. Usually, Michener is light on the characterization, but I would say he milked the characters to the bone with this one. Just keep in mind, the story is about the development and socialization of the region, not so much the individual characters. Though these characters are not given short shrift by any means.

I had always heard CHESAPEAKE was one of JM's best works, but at this point I would say I liked TEXAS and then CENTENNIAL better. Great stuff here. I hope to read all of Michener's novels.

Rating:
Summary: ONE OF MICHENER'S BEST
Review: The more Michener I read the more I want to read. CHESAPEAKE is one of Michener's best. Following four established families from the beginning of American colonization and into the 70's, JM provides many perspectives into the Maryland's eastern shore. The primary families are made up of boat builders, plantation owners, watermen, and a black family beginning with a kidnapped slave. Fascinating stuff.

JM begins with the degeneration of the indigenous Indians and shows how colonization was destined to dominate less industrialized populations. The Indians didn't stand a chance. Usually, Michener is light on the characterization, but I would say he milked the characters to the bone with this one. Just keep in mind, the story is about the development and socialization of the region, not so much the individual characters. Though these characters are not given short shrift by any means.

I had always heard CHESAPEAKE was one of JM's best works, but at this point I would say I liked TEXAS and then CENTENNIAL better. Great stuff here. I hope to read all of Michener's novels.

Rating:
Summary: They All Follow a Similar Formula and are Spellbinding.
Review: This book is among my favourites but not as good as his Hawaii. I have read most or many of his books twice and always find them to be entertaining and educational. I keep a copies close at hand.

This is a nice 1000 page historical novel that gives a very detailed picture of the evolution of the region. This is a geographical area close to the main US population centers but an area often missed by residents and visitors. I lived for a while in Maryland and I found that I was visiting just a fraction of the area described in the book.

I some ways the book is hard to review since his books have a similar structure and feel. So it boils down to do you want to read this type of book - 1000 pages, do you like his style, and are you interested in this- the general DC area and eastern Maryland?

Michener's books use a common plot formula that starts out by telling a story that in some way reflects and utilizes accurately the actual or known historical developments and time lines and people of a region. It progresses through the development of the region adding in settlers, farmers, plantations, fisherman, business people, adding in more characters and phasing out as time moves forward up to current times.

When I decided to review this book I was not certain if people were still interested in buying this book but I was pleased to see that there is still interest at Amazon.com in buying and reading this great story.

Good read and a good gift in the Michener tradition. Once you start be prepared to read with joy until finishing all 1000 pages.