Tales of Two Cities

I looked forward to summer reading time when I realized that two of my favorite non-fiction writers were releasing new books. I found both books to be interesting and enlightening. Both authors wrote of a particular time in a great and beautiful city. In each book, the city became one of the main characters.

David McCullough in 'The Greater Journey, Americans in Paris' takes the reader to Paris, France during the years of 1830 to 1900. Americans are traveling east across the ocean to study and learn in this great city known for its academies, salons, and museums. McCullough tells the stories of those who went on to excel in their chosen fields while also exploring their interactions with one another and the relationships which developed, such as that of James Fenimore Cooper and Samuel Morse who became close friends.

One reviewer was disappointed that McCullough was not focusing on historical figures this time, but I found it fascinating to read about those who went to Paris and then proceeded to make American life richer and more meaningful. I loved this quote which comes near the book's end as we are introduced to a great-grandson of John Adams who was our 2nd president and a resident of Paris in the 1700's. Congress dispatched him twice as their representative to France.

"More than a hundred years earlier, alone at a desk in Paris, Adam's great-grandfather, John Adams, had written for those at home a statement of his purpose in life that had come down in the family as a a kind of summons:

I must study politics and war that my sons may have the liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain."

This is a good summation of the premise of McCullough's book, that the beautiful city of Paris helped our nation grow in the sciences and the arts. Through those who studied there, our nation became much more. I also loved this paragraph about a group of students to which I felt a personal attachment.

"A group of aspiring young Mormon painters who called themselves 'art missionaries' arrived from Utah, many to enroll at the Academie Julian. Their expenses were being provided by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in return for work they would later contribute, painting murals in the Temple at Salt Lake City. As one of their leaders, an especially gifted painter named John Hafen, said, their motivation was the belief that 'the highest possible development of talent is the duty we owe to our Creator.'"

A large portion of the book deals with the siege of Paris during the Franco Prussian War during the early 1870's. American Ambassador Elihu Benjamin Washburne's diary provided much of intimate information about this very trying event. He was the only diplomat to remain in Paris. It also gives the reader a positive experience as they read of the great acts of service given by a great man and former congressman.

To learn more about this book and Paris, go here.

Erik Larson's book, 'In the Garden of the Beasts' is about Berlin, Germany, also during a specific time, the rise of Hitler and Nazism in the 1930's. Once again, one can tell that the author is in love with this beautiful city. Once again, we follow Americans to Europe, but this time it is the story of just one family.

William E. Dodd, his wife, and adult son and daughter have come to Berlin because he has been appointed as Ambassador to Germany under the Roosevelt administration. Dodd had studied in Germany in his early years, which was really his only qualification. He was a professor of history who sought the appointment thinking that it might give him time to work on his opus, a history of the southern states. He receives the appointment because wiser candidates have turned it down. He and his family now live in a historical cauldron which will boil over and forever change the world. His children are lacking in morals and the story becomes a bit tawdry as the family interacts with the elite of Berlin.

Uncle Keith and I in his home office this summer

I couldn't help but compare Ambassador Dodd to Washburne as well as to Ambassador Nyborg who is my uncle and a former ambassador to Finland during the Reagan Administration. Keith was an Idaho rancher and farmer whose main qualification was his experience as a Mormon missionary to Finland when he was young. He, too, spoke the language. But he was so much more than Dodd. As he had served his community and his church, he had developed the ability to administrate and organize. His wife was from Finland and as a couple they were hospitable and great hosts. His main goal as Ambassador was to form strong ties between the two countries so that there might be mutual respect and consideration.

Although my uncle and his family were performing their duties during a more peaceful time and within a peaceful country, I feel like their moral convictions and lifestyle were an added plus. They became minor celebrities during their stay, partly because my aunt Raija was one of their own, but also because they associated with everyday people in everyday ways. The Sami of northern Finland were delighted when the rancher, now ambassador was able to lasso a reindeer. Raija was able to incorporate traditions of both countries in her entertaining. They served as hosts when George Shultz came to Helsinki to meet with Soviet ministers during the Cold War. They returned home proud of their service to their country and adopted home.