The New Nation: The Creation of the United States in Paintings and Eyewitness Accounts by Mort Künstler
What was your most memorable Christmas night? If you’re George Washington, it was probably the evening of December 25, 1776, when you made a nighttime crossing of the Delaware River in order to launch a surprise attack against Hessian forces in Trenton, New Jersey the next morning. The operation helped turn the tide of the Revolutionary War. Merry Christmas, General Washington!
[giveaway giveaway_id=1852 side=”right”]Now, there’s a new book that faithfully and accurately captures that scene, and you can put that book under the Christmas tree of your favorite hard-to-shop-for history buff. The New Nation: The Creation of the United States in Paintings and Eyewitness Accounts: The Art of Mort Künstler (Sterling 2014) is a meticulously researched account of the birth of our country, lavishly illustrated with the paintings of America’s premiere historical artist.
Künstler ignited a media firestorm in 2011, when he painted Washington’s Crossing, a version of that scene that is believed to be a more factual representation than the legendary Emanuel Leutze work, Washington Crossing the Delaware. Spurred by the success of his painting (which was featured everywhere from The New York Times to ABC News), Künstler created The New Nation, which brings the early days of our nation to life in a way no book has ever done before.
In addition to Künstler’s art, the book features text by noted George Washington historian Edward G. Lengel, and provides eyewitness accounts of some of the most important moments from the founding of our country. In The New Nation, readers can find themselves re-living such historic moments as the Boston Tea Party; Patrick Henry’s speech at St. John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia; the crisis at Valley Forge; the Constitutional Convention; and Washington’s first presidential inauguration in New York City. “Künstler makes it possible to experience how George and Martha Washington must have felt as they embraced on their Christmas Eve reunion in 1781,” writes Lengel, “or how Lewis and Clark must have felt upon seeing the Pacific Ocean for the first time.”
The combination of artistic depth and historical accuracy lend The New Nation a quality that previous books on the subject have lacked. In the book, “participants (in historical events) become flesh-and-blood human beings,” said retired Lt. Gen. Dave R. Palmer, former Superintendent of West Point (which was itself a key locale in the war). “Künstler’s paintings present a remarkable array of vivid scenes, all radiating an irrepressible aura of authenticity, while Lengel’s flowing narrative provides both context and chronology . . . The result is spellbinding.”
The New Nation helps bring to life a period of our history that’s often lost in legend. It’s a great find for that history buff on your holiday list.
Buy this Book!
Amazon
