Just the Facts: Book Discussion Recap from January 28th

Ten people braved the winter chill to attend this book discussion. Their presence, as always, was much appreciated.

The book discussed was Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson’s lost Pacific empire: a story of wealth, ambition, and survival by Peter Stark. John Jacob Astor, in the early nineteenth century, was the wealthiest man in the United States, having built his fortune in furs and real estate. In 1806, he conceived of a grand plan to build an outpost in the Pacific Northwest that would be the center of a worldwide trading empire consisting of furs, Chinese goods and European manufactured products. It was to be the largest commercial venture ever attempted. Thomas Jefferson approved the plan, but for different reasons. Jefferson envisioned a sister democracy in the Pacific Northwest. And so, the plan to build Astoria was born. Two expeditions were dispatched for the Pacific, one by sea, led by Jonathan Thorn, and one overland, led by Wilson Price hunt. Both groups suffered incredible hardships, but eventually reached their goal. Once established, the men and women there endured hunger, privations, illness, rivalries and, especially, isolation and loneliness. Eventually, due to pressure and threats from the British, the experiment failed. Our discussion was interesting, covering the nature of courage, people’s ability to endure hardship, the change in human nature from then to today, the meaning of adventure, post-traumatic stress syndrome and much more.

Our next meeting will be on February 25, 2016. The book to be discussed, Atlantic: great sea battled, heroic discoveries, titanic storms, and a vast ocean of a million stories by Simon Winchester, is available at the Circulation Desk. All are welcome.