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(More customer reviews)This is a beautiful art book quality edition of the history of Newport, Rhode Island. I can't think of many small towns that deserve such a lavishly produced volume, especially one with a present-day population of fewer than 30,000 people. However, this small community had a very large impact on the ideas of religious freedom and civil government.
While this book has many beautiful reproductions of paintings of the town, portraits of people who played a part in Newport's history, maps, photographs, and other illustrations, it is also a book of well-written text. The author is Rockwell Stensrud whose background as a novelist and journalist has prepared him well for this project. "Newport - a Lively Experiment" is published by the Redwood Library, which is more than 250 years old and the oldest lending library in the United States. This is a volume to be proud of. Anyone interested in Newport, Rhode Island, Colonial America, and the how this town came through its ups and downs from its founding in 1639 until today should get a copy for their library.
The founding of Newport is fascinating and covered well in this book. The subtitle of the book, a lively experiment, comes from the charter granted by Charles II on July 8, 1663. It refers to its being a living experiment that "a most flourishing civil state may stand and best be maintained, and that among our English subjects, with a full liberty in religious concernments; and that true piety rightly grounded upon gospel principles, will give the best and greatest security to sovereignty, and will lay in the hearts of men the strongest obligations to true loyalty ..."
As noted earlier, Newport was founded in 1639 by nine men who are still well remembered in the history the city today (all the streets and places named after them sure help). There were jealousies, conflicts, and lots of energy. About half of this book covers the colonial and Revolutionary periods. Newport flourished until the destructive activity of the Revolutionary War heavily involved the city. It had recovered by the mid-nineteenth century and near the turn of the twentieth, it had become favored among the ultra wealthy. There are still many beautiful mansions there today. However, the structures of the founding were fast disappearing. There was also a hurricane in 1938.
About this time, Doris Duke and others decided to do what they could to preserve and restore what they considered to be treasures. At the time, not many others did. Now we all enjoy seeing the fruits of their hard work and expenditures.
This is a very richly done, informative, and enjoyable book of American history.
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A narrative history that examines what made Newport an important city starting in the colonial era and leading on to today.
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