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    The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris
    The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris
    The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris
    Audiobook (abridged)8 hours

    The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris

    Written by David McCullough

    Narrated by Edward Herrmann

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    The #1 bestseller that tells the remarkable story of the generations of American artists, writers, and doctors who traveled to Paris, fell in love with the city and its people, and changed America through what they learned, told by America’s master historian, David McCullough.

    Not all pioneers went west.

    In The Greater Journey, David McCullough tells the enthralling, inspiring—and until now, untold—story of the adventurous American artists, writers, doctors, politicians, and others who set off for Paris in the years between 1830 and 1900, hungry to learn and to excel in their work. What they achieved would profoundly alter American history.

    Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female doctor in America, was one of this intrepid band. Another was Charles Sumner, whose encounters with black students at the Sorbonne inspired him to become the most powerful voice for abolition in the US Senate. Friends James Fenimore Cooper and Samuel F. B. Morse worked unrelentingly every day in Paris, Morse not only painting what would be his masterpiece, but also bringing home his momentous idea for the telegraph. Harriet Beecher Stowe traveled to Paris to escape the controversy generated by her book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Three of the greatest American artists ever—sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, painters Mary Cassatt and John Singer Sargent—flourished in Paris, inspired by French masters.

    Almost forgotten today, the heroic American ambassador Elihu Washburne bravely remained at his post through the Franco-Prussian War, the long Siege of Paris, and the nightmare of the Commune. His vivid diary account of the starvation and suffering endured by the people of Paris is published here for the first time.

    Telling their stories with power and intimacy, McCullough brings us into the lives of remarkable men and women who, in Saint-Gaudens’ phrase, longed “to soar into the blue.”
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateMay 24, 2011
    ISBN9781442344174
    Author

    David McCullough

    David McCullough (1933–2022) twice received the Pulitzer Prize, for Truman and John Adams, and twice received the National Book Award, for The Path Between the Seas and Mornings on Horseback. His other acclaimed books include The Johnstown Flood, The Great Bridge, Brave Companions, 1776, The Greater Journey, The American Spirit, The Wright Brothers, and The Pioneers. He was the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award. Visit DavidMcCullough.com.

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    Reviews for The Greater Journey

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    • 2/5
      DNF - I'm disappointed to report that I have bailed on The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris. I had been looking forward to this book for quite some time. But I gave up after listening to about four hours. I just can't bring myself to listen to any more of this book.I love Edward Herrmann, it's not his narration. He does a stealer job - I loved his French. It's the book. I normally love David McCullough's writing but this book just seemed scattered to me. Maybe it's because most of the histories I've read lately have centered on one person. But it didn't seem like there was a plan. It was like he had all these great stories about all these notable Americans and he just threw them down on the page.So I'm going to take a bit of advice from that old saying, life is too short to read bad books.
    • 4/5
      We all love Paris, right, even though it's filled with French people? (I suspect many French might say something similar in connection with the U.S.). Our country's history is so intertwined with Paris and France - e.g. the critical help of the French in the American Revolution, and Americans like Jefferson and Franklin and Paine all deeply affected by their time there. Later, in the days of Hemingway's Movable Feast, U.S. authors like Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein flourished in its artist-friendly climate. But what about the time in between?David McCullough gives us the vibrant answer in his extensively researched The Greater Journey. Beginning in 1830, he tells the story of the many 19th century American artists and authors who we may not associate with Paris, but who studied and produced great works there, or returned home to do so based on what they learned. I had known, for example, that there was a connection with Paris for James Fenimore Cooper, and that he was revered there, but didn't have any feel for the extent of it until reading this book. Balzac said of Cooper that "in his hands the art of the pen has never come closer to the art of the brush". Really? That guy who wrote about Hawkeye and Chingachgook?We follow the painter Samuel Morse, a depressed widower who labors for months to depict a great hallway of paintings in his most famous painting, "The Gallery of the Louvre" Does his name sound familiar? Yes, that's "the Morse code guy". Noticing a semaphore system of communication in France, he became determined to create an electronic version.Mary Cassatt, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Thoreau, and many others, make their appearances, making the long journey across the ocean by boat. McCullough managed to get me quite interested in the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the son of a shoemaker who ended up creating famous public sculptures, many commemorating the Civil War. The period detail McCullough supplies often is eye-opening. We can laugh now about the widely shared belief that the barbaric industrial Eiffel Tower, in the process of completion, would be the ruin of Paris, but it was the end of the world for some Parisians of the time.I was particularly struck by the section on the many American medical students who came to study in Paris because its doctors were so far ahead of the rest of the world. The idea of studying cadavers was routine in Paris but unpracticed in the U.S. American students could watch France's finest surgeons operate, and follow its doctors on their rounds, and then take back what they learned to the needy U.S. As reported by McCullough, some of those French doctors were ridiculously full of themselves and peremptory, starting a tradition we see in this country to this day. (OK, that's my gloss, not McCullough's).McCullough effectively puts us in the middle of climactic events, including the 1870-71 siege of Paris by the Germans (with the stupidity leading to it artfully explained). The level of deprivation is heartbreaking. Due to superior dining value, cats sold for much more than dogs, and rats were reported to taste much like birds - "the flavor of a brewery rat surpassed that of the sewer rat, due to its diet."I was glad to see the (to me) still under-appreciated John Singer Sargent get his due here, as his youthful genius and wide-ranging skills garner him appreciation on both sides of the Atlantic. The struggles to make ends meet for many of these Americans help underscore the wonder of their accomplishments. Paris was favored in part because a decent life was simply cheaper there. Many thanks to Anne (NarratorLady) for recommending this one. It's an entertaining and informative read for anyone interested in this time and place, and the Americans who journeyed there.
    • 4/5
      The theme of this book as stated in the opening chapter states that of the first group of Americans to go overseas to Paris: ?Great as their journey had been by sea, a greater journey had begun . . .and from it they were to learn more, and bring back more, of infinite value to themselves and to their country than they yet knew.?McCullough focuses on the development of American culture, as artists and thinkers such as the painter Mary Cassatt, the future Senator and abolitionist Charles Sumner, who studied at the Sorbonne, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., then a young medical student, and so many others experienced Paris in the 19th century.It was a time and pace of excitement apace in the world of ideas with the expansion of knowledge in medicine, the arts, philosophy, and Paris was a center of this activity. Americans were drawn to this center throughout the century from Samuel F. B. Morse and Nathaniel Willis, painters, to Augustus Saint Gaudens, the sculptor. Writers as diverse as James Fennimore Cooper and Henry James. In fact Henry and his brother William spent some of their youth in Paris while getting a European education. The breadth of those who participated in these journeys was incredible, especially given the dangers of ocean crossing which early in the century before the advent of steamship lines took about a month. "Paris was the medical capital of the world. Our medical training was woefully behind. And this was a chance to perfect their skills and their profession, but also to come back and teach what they had learned, which almost all of them did. And the others were pioneers in launching into careers for which there was no training available here. There were no schools of architecture. There were no schools of art. There were no museums where you could go and look at paintings. It's hard to believe that, but that's how it was. It was the cultural capital of the world." (from an interview with David McCullough on PBS) Harriet Beecher Stowe wondered what was the mysterious allure of Paris. She thought it might be the river Seine, likening it to the Ohio which she knew well. She went beyond to compare art to literature, matching authors with painters. While she questioned the value of French art when she stated ?French life has more pretty pictures and popular lithographs . . . but it produces very little of the deepest and highest style of art.?, the Americans who were beginning an new American tradition learned much from their experiences in Paris.One Frenchman who inspired many of the Americans who journeyed to Paris was the inimitable Marquis de Lafayette. His efforts in the revolutionary war and his return visit to America in 1824 when he received tremendous acclaim led several of the travelers his way on their sojourns in Paris. Primarily this book is a history of lives and ideas. McCullough's book challenges the reader to expand his notion of what education meant and what Americans gained from the French beyond their diplomatic and financial support as the United States grew into a great nation in the nineteenth century.
    • 2/5
      Not one of his better reads...dragged me through the pages...love the subject..the lost generation is one of my fave eras...
    • 3/5
      I held off listening to The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris by David McCullough because is 16 CD long. Last night, I played the last one. I think that the theme was too broad a subject. There were definitely parts that I enjoyed but there were others that seemed too long for my attention span. I already knew about the Americans going abroad in the 19th century. My great grandfather traveled to Great Britain and Paris in the 1890s with a group of artist friends. The author starts with the travelers in the 1820s, why they went to Paris, what they found and their reactions to it.I loved the parts about medicine, especially about Elizabeth Blackwell but felt that there was too much detail about Samuel Morse. Also I appreciated learning what happened to Paris after Napoleon's demise. Those details make me want to read more about the history of that period. However there seems to be too many little stories about people and sometimes it seems that he got stuck on a subject. I am glad that I listened to it but found it a little disappointing.
    • 4/5
      Americas's love affair with Paris in the nineteenth century. Too many historical persons of note to just mention one or two, covers art, music, politics...a great and detailed read about this great place. We used to like each other, America and France.
    • 5/5
      Another hit from the pen of David McCullough. In this current book you are transported back to the 19th century (~1830-1900) to a time when adventurous Americans saw Paris as the center of learning in the arts and science. America was struggling with its provincial heritage and had yet to become a world leader. France on the other hand was at its height of creativity in the arts and science.For example, in 1833 the twelve Paris hospitals treated over 65,000 patients in contrast to the two Boston hospitals that treated fewer than 800. But beyond the volume of patients and thus variety of ailments, Parisian physicians were at the forefront of medical knowledge and warmly welcome the American physicians as students.When it came to the arts, painters and writers found Paris an invigorating and life changing experience. Over and over again, McCullough provides examples of writers and painters that came to Paris to recharge their creative batteries through their career.In summary, David McCullough provides an enjoyable spotlight into the lives of some of our most important Americans and the influence Paris had on their lives. He also illuminates our enduring relationship with the French and Paris in particular.
    • 5/5
      David McCullough writes history better than anybody else, doing a remarkable job of bringing to life people from the past. In THE GREATER JOURNEY, McCullough shows the waves of American artists, doctors, authors, architects and future politicians who went to Paris in the 1800's to experience the wonder of this great city.

      If one wanted an education in art, medicine, architecture or most anything else in the 1800's, Paris was the place to be. Not only did many Americans go there, but also many to-be famous British, Italian and German scholars.

      McCullough brings 19th century Paris to life in a way that thrilled me, page after page, story after story, character after character, location after location. McCullough's book is so inspiring that part of me wishes that I could have been part of that American wave to Paris back in a day when it ws perhaps easier to focus on one's primary ambition.

      If you love history, do yourself a favor and read this book
    • 2/5
      I read this on my Kindle. When I finished the book, the display showed I was at 56% of the total book. The rest consists of footnotes and source material, which makes this feel more like a dissertation than a light non-fiction book.And yet the content is light - often too light. The author is too often led astray by insignificant details that have little or nothing to do with "Americans in Paris". It was hard work getting through the first 100-150 pages, as was the last bit. Only the central piece stands out, when the description of the Americans in Paris during the reign of Napoleon III, the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 and the Paris Commune provides a vivid and riveting grander narrative, upon which the embroidery on the Americans in Paris becomes more than peripheral or self-absorbed. Read just that part if you must read this book; skip the rest.
    • 4/5
      The author describes how 19th century Americans went to Paris to seek culture and an education. As usual anything he writes is easy to read. This was an interesting cast of characters from Oliver Wendell Homes to the artist Sargent.
    • 4/5
      Very evocative of a nearly century long period in Paris (ca. 1820-1900) when American artists, medical students, writers, and others travelled to Paris to learn, live, and bring back. Absolutely fascinating. I wish the entire book had been read by David McCullough but unfortunately he only handled the first chapter. Just as well, hopefully he spent the time writing some more.
    • 1/5
      TBC 1/13 read. Ho-hum. To me, it reads like a college textbook. Here's the dates, here's the players - oh look, here's a quote to interrupt the writing pattern, settle in - oh look, another quote. Couldn't finish it. The Devil in the White City - also a history book - was hugely better written. Off to another bookcrosser, who may have an easier time reading this than I.
    • 3/5
      I have loved many of McCullough's books--Truman, Path Between the Seas--but this wasn't one of them. It seemed to me to be something of a cut-and-paste job, and lacked the author's usual verve.
    • 3/5
      Once I got used to the "drier" style (the author's personality is evident more in the subjects he chooses to focus on than in the style of his prose) of a straight forward history, I enjoyed this look at Americans in Paris from the 1830s-1900. Artists figure prominently among those McCullough foregrounds, particularly painters George P. A. Healy, Samuel F. B. Morse (inventor of the telegraph),John Singer Sargent & Mary Cassatt and sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens.
    • 4/5
      Not my favorite McCullough by a long shot, but very informative in spots. With a backdrop of 19th century Paris, McCullough provides biographies of some of the Americans whose lives were altered by their time there. I had a very rudimentary understanding of 19th century French history, so the backdrop was important to me. Some of the biographies, of Samuel Morse, Elihu Washburne, and James Fenimore Cooper, were very interesting too. The later chapters, dealing over-long with Mary Cassatt and August Saint-Gaudens, bored me.
    • 5/5
      I'll preface by saying I experienced (and it is an experience) McCulloughs's work in audio.Audio presents both advantage and disadvantage.While I enjoyed Edward Hermann, for reference I'll need the book in print.The backdrop is Paris, "La Ville-Lumi?re" ("The City of Light")The Greater Journey chronicles " American artists, writers, doctors, politicians, architects, and others of high aspiration who set off for Paris in the years between 1830 and 1900".It is said:" The longer they stayed, the more they became entranced with a city full of exciting ideas, new horizons, and intriguing possibilities. "Their ventures had a transformational effect on their lives and on the America to which they would return.After risking the hazardous journey across the Atlantic,(most had never been away from home) and seeing the legacy that Paris was offering each of them, they were exhilarated, despite the fact that there was no guarantee of success."At a time when American medical education was fairly primitive, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. and other prospective physicians studied at the Sorbonne?s vast hospitals and lecture halls?with tuition free to foreigners."Paris was at that time the medical capital of the world and the home of surgical prima donnas.There was a different doctor-patient relationship in Paris and I was also intrigued by concept of the keeper of leeches and the thought of 600 medical students gathered together, practicing surgery on a ready supply of cadavers.That is to say, there were just enough medical anecdotes to encourage me to study the period more intensively.McCullough's work was very readable and famous names continually appeared with mini biographies.To be fair, there were also deadly epidemics and bloody revolutions.It's a treasure chest of historical data and well worth reading.? ? ? ? ?
    • 4/5
      McCullough back on stride with a fascinating collection of Americans in Paris
    • 5/5
      Great to listen to on walks. Beginning in the early mid-1800's, many American artists, authors, and physicians went to Paris to study. Famous names included: James Fennimore Cooper, Samuel Morse, John Sargent, Mary Cassett, Oliver Wendall Holmes among others. One interesting person was the ambassador to France, Elihu Washburn.
    • 4/5
      This is the eighth book by David McCullough I have read and while eventually I decided it had much merit and I was glad I read it, often as I was reading I fekt it had lots of trivia in it, and discussed things which were not of high interest. It did get better and the account of Elihu washburne, U.S. minister to France during the momentous days of 1870-1871, was hig in interest. The book dwells a lot on the events in Paris from 1830 to 1900 and that was attention-holding, as were the accounts of James Fennimore Cooper, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Charles Sumner, Samuel F. B. Morse, Augustus St. Gaudens, and John Sargent and their attitudes and events related to Paris.The closing chapters are strong, and make up for some of the less interesting parts of the book. While not as good as other McCullough books I am glad to have read this and do recommend it, though it will help if you have a greater interest in painting than do I.
    • 2/5
      McCullough's gimmick of gathering notables who spent time in Paris in the 18th century provides a structure for mini-biographies. The mini-biographies alone do not make the book worth reading, since the profiles are pretty dry, overly dependent on the principals' own letters, which by their very nature are of course skewed to what the letter-writers wanted the readers to know. What makes the book worthwhile, I guess, is the overall context it provides for what Paris meant to the Americans who visited, so that from now on, when I read of an American of that century visiting Paris, I will have a better idea of how to picture their experience there. Also, the history of Paris that played out as the background to the American visits provided hints to some historical references I have never understood before. Overall, however, I felt this book contained some great material that would have been more enlightening if reframed as the history of Paris through the eyes of Americans, along with additional insights into the experience of Paris, the lasting impact of Paris, to the American visitors. That would have allowed the author to retain the story of Elihu Washburne, witness to the German siege of Paris and the takevoer by the Communards. And much other material could have been retained, with a focus on the Americans' experience of Paris itself, versus a focus on what they happened to be doing while they were there. The medical chapters, for example, which provided as much description of the French physicians as of the Americans, could have been retained in their current format. Meanwhile, entire mini-biographies, which seemed to have nothing to say about the city of Paris itself, could have been dropped or greatly shortened or reframed, so that they had more to say about Paris, and less to say about whatever painting the American happened to be painting at the time. As is, the book was well-organized and well-written research material, devoid of insight and analysis.
    • 4/5
      McCullough...always well researched, always well written, always so interesting...
    • 4/5
      David McCullough is the Thomas Kinkade of non-fiction, a masterful inspirational storyteller. This time, McCullough offers his American readers an introduction to 19th century French history, made enjoyable by presenting it through Yankee eyes. The growing disconnect between Europe and the US is certainly a result of the diminishing impact of New England on the United States. McCullough's men and women who establish and keep up their European connection come mostly from New England. Seeking education and culture, they reverse the journey of their ancestors, traveling from the New World back to the Old one. McCullough's description of the journey from the ships to the gates of Paris (in oversized coaches) is simply a joy to read.Amidst a huge cast of characters, it is the life of three men that stood out for me. Firstly, Samuel Morse who turned from failed painter to successful inventor. Then, minister/ambassador Elihu Washburne whose discovery of and trust in US Grant might have saved the country acted splendidly during the Franco-Prussian War and the dreadful days of the Paris Commune. Finally, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, sculptor of the Robert G. Shaw memorial in Boston, the Sherman statue in New York and the Adams Memorial in Washington, DC. Through their eyes and lives, the reader is supplied with the essentials of the turbulent French history from the 1830s to 1900. Sometimes, McCullough misses obvious connections - scolding Napoleon III for not having achieved the rank of colonel without mentioning that he attended the Swiss military academy and served as a major. (higher than US Grant's rank of captain) An obvious connection would have been his input to the so called Napoleon gun, the workhorse of the US Civil War. Overall, a worthy addition to McCullough's stable of wonderful books.
    • 5/5
      I can't imagine a better combination than history written by David McCullough and read to me by Ed Hermann. This fairly long work has been going in my car since last year, and I came to the end of it yesterday. It was fascinating. It covers the Parisian adventures of several Americans who visited that great city from the 1830's into the early years of the 20th century to study art, medicine, architecture, to serve their country, or just to absorb the culture. Most of the names are familiar--James Fenimore Cooper, John Singer Sargent, Henry James, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Mary Cassat, Augustus St. Gaudens and many more. One I had not known much about, a remarkable player in French affairs, was Elihu Washburne, a former US Congressman and ally of Presidents Lincoln and Grant who served as minister to France during the Franco-Prussian war, and set an example for diplomats and humanitarians that a few more people ought to be following these days. (End of editorial.) McCullough not only tells us about what these people saw and learned in Paris, he gives us mini-biographies of them, an overview of their work and a lot of French history. I loved it all. Highly recommended.January 2016
    • 5/5
      An account of the Americans who went to Paris, France to further their careers in medicine, literature, sculpture and painting during the period 1830-1900. I particularly enjoyed the stories about: Mary Cassatt, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, John Singer Sargent, Samuel F.B. Morse and Elihu B. Washburne.
    • 5/5
      McCollough brings history alive through the characters he writes about, the lives they live and the events they encounter during this amazing time in history. I learned so much, and enjoyed every minute. My only regret was when the book came to an end.
    • 4/5
      Not an easy read, but full of history!
    • 5/5
      Without promoting France as a country, this book does detail the impact of Paris on American architecture, medicine, literature, and art, not to mention technology and communications.
    • 4/5
      I love David McCullough. You can feel his passion for history when reading his works. This book looks at the American presence in Paris during the 19th century. It focuses on the artists, writers, and a cast characters from inventors, to musicians, to politicians. As background, the history of Paris throughout the 19th century is discussed, but the focus always returned to the Americans living there. I think the reason this book is not rated higher by most people (myself included) is that it looks at too many people over too great a time span. It is difficult to follow at times as many of the people discussed are not well known. Another issue is that for someone not used to reading about art history, is it not easy to follow the discussions on art technique and why some art was more appreciated than others. I feel like I learned a lot and would recommend it to people who either love McCullough or this type of history.
    • 4/5
      Fascinating stories of both famous and less famous Americans who went to Paris to study. Many of these Americans who we know by name become fleshed out with their personal stories and idiosyncrasies are told so well by the author. Most interesting were the colonists who made the trip which was both a hardship financially and in physical comfort. The book ended abruptly with Mary Cassette.
    • 4/5
      When I think of American intellectuals in Paris, I think of writers like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein between the world wars. Yet the appeal of Paris to intelligent, creative Americans began long before that, as David McCullough tells us in his 2011 book "The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris." He might have gone back to the likes of Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin in the 18th century, but instead McCullough focuses on the period from the late 1830s to about 1900 when Americans in large numbers flocked to Paris, some remaining for years.These Americans included writers such as James Fenimore Cooper, who wrote some of his best novels in Paris, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry James, but they also included many who traveled to Paris to study art (John Singer Sargent, Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Mary Cassatt among them) or medicine (such as Elizabeth Blackwell, America's first female doctor, and Mason Warren). A few went to Paris to study one thing, then became famous for doing something else. Samuel F.B. Morse was there to study art, then invented the telegraph. Oliver Wendell Holmes went to Paris as a medical student but made his reputation in literature.A few notable Americans in Paris didn't quite fit the usual mold. These included such people as P.T. Barnum, Tom Thumb, White Cloud and Buffalo Bill Cody.McCullough's book proves to be something of a who's who of important Americans of the 19th century, yet at the same time it becomes a history of 19th century Paris from the perspective of those American visitors. These were trying times for Parisians, with a siege by a Prussian army, the brutal Paris Commune and Louis Napoleon's coup d'etat. Americans were there to witness it all, as well as the world's fairs and the construction of the Eiffel Tower.McCullough writes readable history, which is why his books become bestsellers. I'm never disappointed with his books, and "The Greater Journey certainly does not disappoint."