With the World's Great Travellers, Volume 2
With the World's Great Travellers, Volume 2
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It covers three acres and a half, and has a frontage of seven hundred and fifty feet. The great dome, with its figure of Liberty, reaches a height of over three hundred and seven feet. Standing on the rising ground among the rich foliage it has an aspect of quiet strength, an impressive assurance of dignity and permanence peculiar to itself among massive buildings in the great cities. Everyone goes, or should go, to see Congress at work, and to explore the corridors trod by generations of the nation's legislators, soldiers, jurists, orators, in short, by all the great makers of the nation since Washington laid its foundation stone. A singular instance of fate thwarting intention is found in the situation of the Capitol. It was planned to face eastward, the White House was to be in the rear, and the city was expected to spread away from the river, eastwardly. But it perversely grew to the northwest, with the result that the Capitol turns its back on the capital. No one would suppose this is so unless told, so
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The book and the different authors are using their own styles. Some write a kind of report of facts, a little bit like a theoretical sketch of the surface of the towns, which they try do describe. Some other recitate kind of prose texts about the city or area they want to describe. You as a reader can feel that some writers are longing for patriotism or americanism, trying to find the proud and rich points of the american landscapes and the beauty of the scenery. Luckely the authors don´t forget to judge and show their own values about what is under the surface. For example, the desription of New York is not restricted to the history of areas or the monuments. There is also pointed out that the social transformation is still in progress and that one explanation of this contrast lies in the fact that New York is not a homogeneous community although (only)
money-making was for many years the dominant consideration. The city, explains the author, was laid out for business, and public comfort had to look out for itself. The workers, the poor, and the helpless were apparently overlooked.
The report about Chicago for example shows the surprise of the writer, that this young town (since 1830) is getting big not by conquering suburbans as a kind of annex but by just growing. There are nice reports about natural monuments like Yellowstone Park and other landscapes, touching the rural heart of America.
For me as a German reader, the book was a little bit like a nice walk through American regions, every chapter not to long and not to short, inviting me to search for details in modern travel books. I got a kind of impression of the overview and idea of the different charakters of american regions and citys. Please excuse my English, I hope that there are no misunderstandings because of my strained English. Uwe Schneider
money-making was for many years the dominant consideration. The city, explains the author, was laid out for business, and public comfort had to look out for itself. The workers, the poor, and the helpless were apparently overlooked.
The report about Chicago for example shows the surprise of the writer, that this young town (since 1830) is getting big not by conquering suburbans as a kind of annex but by just growing. There are nice reports about natural monuments like Yellowstone Park and other landscapes, touching the rural heart of America.
For me as a German reader, the book was a little bit like a nice walk through American regions, every chapter not to long and not to short, inviting me to search for details in modern travel books. I got a kind of impression of the overview and idea of the different charakters of american regions and citys. Please excuse my English, I hope that there are no misunderstandings because of my strained English. Uwe Schneider
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