About the book
Set in the early 19th century, Edward Everett Hale's short story follows Philip Nolan, a young American officer who becomes a friend of the visiting Aaron Burr. Tried as Burr's accomplice in a treason case, Nolan curses the United States in an angry outburst and wishes never to hear of it again. The court grants the wish: Nolan is sentenced to live out his days aboard Navy warships, never setting foot on American soil, and nobody aboard may speak of his country or give him news from home. Hale first published the story in The Atlantic to strengthen Northern support for the Union during the Civil War, and the tale works as an allegory of that conflict.
Ryan Holiday put it on his list of 24 little-known books that can change a life, saying the story makes readers think a little about patriotism, an idea he feels gets little affection today.
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This book has 1 recommendation
Ryan Holiday (Founder/Brass Check)
Patriotism is not a concept that gets a lot of love today. But this essay/book makes you think a little. Released in 1863 during the height of the Civil War, the plot’s simple: an innocent man caught up in Aaron Burr’s treasonous conspiracy stands trial for his actions. When asked to address the judge, he bitterly remarks that he wishes to be done with the United States forever. So the judge grants his wish as a punishment–he’s sentenced to live the rest of his life in a cabin aboard ships in the US Navy’s foreign fleet, and no sailor is to ever mention the US to him again. He dies many years later, an old man like Rip Van Winkle, unsure of the changing world around him. For those with some understanding of historical, you’ll enjoy the meta-fiction of it, for those that haven’t it is still a very good look into early America.
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