John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American NavyThe New York Times bestseller from master biographer Evan Thomas brings to life the tumultuous story of the father of the American Navy. John Paul Jones, at sea and in the heat of the battle, was the great American hero of the Age of Sail. He was to history what Patrick O’Brian’s Jack Aubrey and C.S. Forester’s Horatio Hornblower are to fiction. Ruthless, indomitable, clever; he vowed to sail, as he put it, “in harm’s way.” Evan Thomas’s minute-by-minute re-creation of the bloodbath between Jones’s Bonhomme Richard and the British man-of-war Serapis off the coast of England on an autumn night in 1779 is as gripping a sea battle as can be found in any novel. Drawing on Jones’s correspondence with some of the most significant figures of the American Revolution—John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson—Thomas’s biography teaches us that it took fighters as well as thinkers, men driven by dreams of personal glory as well as high-minded principle, to break free of the past and start a new world. Jones’s spirit was classically American. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 62
Page ii
... coast of England in 1779 Jones's story is uniquely told here by a superb biographer who portrays the sailor as a man who advanced by his own merits and drive—not by pedigree or his place in society." —The Louisville Courier-Journal ...
... coast of England in 1779 Jones's story is uniquely told here by a superb biographer who portrays the sailor as a man who advanced by his own merits and drive—not by pedigree or his place in society." —The Louisville Courier-Journal ...
Page 1
... coast, the two ships crept toward each other. No captain of an American navy ship had ever defeated and captured a British man-of-war of any real size or strength. Jones ached to be the first. He had about four hours to contemplate his ...
... coast, the two ships crept toward each other. No captain of an American navy ship had ever defeated and captured a British man-of-war of any real size or strength. Jones ached to be the first. He had about four hours to contemplate his ...
Page 8
... coast. As a strategist and commander, Jones was well ahead of his time. In the eighteenth century, warfare was notable for its restraint. Battles were contained, hot and fierce when the forces clashed but rarely free-wheeling or ...
... coast. As a strategist and commander, Jones was well ahead of his time. In the eighteenth century, warfare was notable for its restraint. Battles were contained, hot and fierce when the forces clashed but rarely free-wheeling or ...
Page 13
... coast—to lay out the gardens at Arbigland, a 1,400-acre estate in the soft and wildly beautiful countryside that rims the Firth of Solway, the body of water that divides England and Scotland on Britain's west coast. John Paul Sr.'s ...
... coast—to lay out the gardens at Arbigland, a 1,400-acre estate in the soft and wildly beautiful countryside that rims the Firth of Solway, the body of water that divides England and Scotland on Britain's west coast. John Paul Sr.'s ...
Page 16
... coast and the mountains of the Lake District. On most days of his childhood, he could watch the great ships slipping down the firth to the Irish Sea beyond, bound for distant lands. Young John was an eager, bossy boy. Mr. Craik's son ...
... coast and the mountains of the Lake District. On most days of his childhood, he could watch the great ships slipping down the firth to the Irish Sea beyond, bound for distant lands. Young John was an eager, bossy boy. Mr. Craik's son ...
Contents
1 | |
30 | |
Chapter Four | 67 |
Chapter Five | 87 |
Chapter | 113 |
Chapter Seven | 137 |
Chapter Eight | 168 |
Chapter | 199 |
Chapter Twelve | 235 |
Chapter Thirteen | 259 |
Chapter Fourteen | 279 |
Chapter Fifteen | 300 |
Acknowledgments | 313 |
Bibliography | 361 |
Photo Credits | 383 |
Chapter Eleven | 215 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
able aboard Adams Alliance American appeared arms arrived Bancroft battle become began Benjamin Franklin boat Bonhomme Richard British called captain carried close coast command Commissioners Committee Congress Continental crew deck enemy England English feelings fight fire fleet force France Franklin French frigate give guns hands head honor John Paul John Paul Jones Jones wrote Jones's JPJP JPJto July June L O C ladies Landais later letter Lieutenant London March Marine master Morison morning Morris naval navy needed never night officers once ordered Paris Pearson port Potemkin prisoners privateer prize Providence quarterdeck Ranger reported Robert Royal Russian sail sailors sent Serapis ship ship's side squadron Thomas tried turned wanted warship wind wish wounded