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4.5
Cradle of America gives as detailed a history of Virginia as an author can give in a book this size. It covers over 400 years in under 600 pages and gives new perspectives on many of the prominent figures in Virginia's history, giving new insight into how these men and women rocked America's "cradle," that is, the colony/commonwealth of Virginia. Wallenstein examines major events and themes in the state's history with a true historian's eye, looking at what his sources tell him, rather than simply following the ideas of others. For example, he looks at just when and how the Africans brought to the fledgling colony in 1619 actually became slaves, rather than just accepting the idea that they were slaves as soon as they arrived. He examines why George Mason was so supportive of ending the international slave trade through the Constitution, as well as looking at just how important a now-taken-for-granted interchange was to colonial America. There are simply, too many examples to list...The kind of detail that Wallenstein uses in this book is not the kind of detail that "traditional" history books use. If you are looking for the same old "detailed event/date leading to subsequent detailed event/date" type of history you may want to look elsewhere. However, if you want a history that uses details about people and the world/time in which they lived to engage you in a handshake across the years, then this is the book you want. Using this "handshake across time" Wallenstein gives us new insight into the minds and machinations of the Commonwealth of Virginia and, perhaps most importantly, its people
