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
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Page i
... to practically every event that has been recorded elsewhere Both Jones and his latest biographer can justly be praised as masters of their respective fields." —Publishers Weekly "Amazing ... Jones has now come vividly alive in this.
... to practically every event that has been recorded elsewhere Both Jones and his latest biographer can justly be praised as masters of their respective fields." —Publishers Weekly "Amazing ... Jones has now come vividly alive in this.
Page 10
... Master and Commander, John Paul Jones's ambition—ever present, all-consuming, and limitless—was his most defining characteristic, his goad and his vice. It was a traithe shared with many of the leaders of the American Revolution—and a ...
... Master and Commander, John Paul Jones's ambition—ever present, all-consuming, and limitless—was his most defining characteristic, his goad and his vice. It was a traithe shared with many of the leaders of the American Revolution—and a ...
Page 14
... master of Arbigland and John Paul's employer, was not a Jacobite. He cast his lot with the ruling English. Craik was a domineering figure, "ardent to make himself completely master of whatever he took in hand," according to his daughter ...
... master of Arbigland and John Paul's employer, was not a Jacobite. He cast his lot with the ruling English. Craik was a domineering figure, "ardent to make himself completely master of whatever he took in hand," according to his daughter ...
Page 16
... But the social prestige and chance of glory for a first mate or even a master aboard a merchantman did not approach that of a naval officer. M*iu A Typical TKree-Masted Skip Jones swallowed his disappointment at 16 JOHN PAUL JONES.
... But the social prestige and chance of glory for a first mate or even a master aboard a merchantman did not approach that of a naval officer. M*iu A Typical TKree-Masted Skip Jones swallowed his disappointment at 16 JOHN PAUL JONES.
Page 20
... master or first or second mate aboard a merchantman may not have been nearly so grand as that of a naval officer, but it was better than ordinary seaman, in part because the first or second mate was rarely required to work aloft or ...
... master or first or second mate aboard a merchantman may not have been nearly so grand as that of a naval officer, but it was better than ordinary seaman, in part because the first or second mate was rarely required to work aloft or ...
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 |
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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