Status
Available
Call number
Publication
New York : Vintage Books, 2000, c1999.
Description
From historian Charles Royster--winner of the Francis Parkman, Bancroft, and Lincoln prizes--comes the history of one of eighteenth-century America's most fantastic land speculation deals: William Byrd's scheme to develop 900 square miles of swamp on the Virginia-North Carolina border and create fabulous wealth for himself and other shareholders, including George Washington. Royster scrupulously follows the paper trail through the byways of transatlantic deal-cutting, providing a rare view of early American economic culture.nbsp;nbsp;Elegantly written and impressively researched, The Fabulous History of the Dismal Swamp Company is an eye-opening account of greed, folly, and venture capitalism in the revolutionary era.
User reviews
LibraryThing member highlander6022
I started this book expecting to learn some fascinating information about the founding fathers and their business dealings, but I could slog through much more than the first 100 pages of the book. Maybe the book got much much better later on but "so many books, so little time!" syndrome just made
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me finally give it up as a lost cause. Maybe some day I will pick it up and try starting in the middle to see if it is any better. Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1999
Physical description
904 p.; 21 inches
ISBN
0679753052 / 9780679753056
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