NEWPORT. A Lively Experiment 1639 - 1969.

by Rockwell Stensrud

A narrative history that examines what made Newport an important city starting in the colonial era and leading on to today.

Genres: History

510 pages, Hardcover

First published February 25, 2007

Reviews

[Jarrod Solloway · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was dense and very thorough- an excellent, high-level overview of the history of Newport. Although I believe much of what makes Newport interesting are the stories of its residents, famous parties of the ultra-rich, and recounts of America's Cup races (all of which are well-catalogued in other books like Gilded), this book's massive scope of 300 years of history makes that relatively impossible. Still, I found myself taking it a few pages at a time, putting it down to absorb them, and picking it back up in between other books I was reading. Eight months later, it is done, and I am relieved. 3 stars.

[Laura Hahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Rhode Island and History - and this book is a great mix of both. Written in a lively format, it covers the earliest days of our country -- after 1620 when the puritans came over from England seeking Religious Freedom and then turned around to become the bitchslapping superior race who made everyone else miserable .... prompting a group to relocate to what is now Newport by 1640. And that group made SOUL LIBERTY the most important element of their society. No Church or Clergy in the center of their lives and square. Everyone was free to think and believe what they wanted. A most interesting read - and the rockbed beginning of our constitution.

[Victor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This heavy volume explains Newport's long history in an engaging manner, with many stories of human interest, well illustrated with maps and historical documents. This comprehensiveness is also its weakness in that it may be altogether too much detail than a regular reader could absorb at once. This will probably be the definitive history of Newport for many years to come.