The Man Without a Country

By Edward E. Hale

PREFACE: This story was written in the summer of 1863. It was meant for the Americans of that day. It has since been introduced as a reading book in schools, and it is largely used in celebrations, especially on the patriotic anniversaries. It came into existence about the time when General Grant was entering Vicksburg, which he had been besieging for many months; and when nearly one hundred thousand men in the Northern army fought with nearly the same number in the Southern Army at Gettysburg.... Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900's and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Duff Press
• Release date: Apr 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781447497783

Reviews for The Man Without a Country

[razinha-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I saw this on a list of"other" books to read this summer and found it on Gutenberg. I remembered the Cliff Robertson movie (TV, 1973), and I'm sure I read it back then, but it was nice to reread. Nice to read a short story after Game of Thrones. Nice to read good writing after Game of Thrones.

A thinker that really needed to be fleshed out.

[mreed61 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a short read, but honestly well worth relating to today. How many people are lost in the system to this day? How many people, when handed down what seemed a simple sentence, discovers that the sentence itself takes away more than it was supposed to take? There are repercussions for everything. This was a story that took place during the War of 1812. A number of things were misunderstood by the prisoner, by the courts, and by the general population of that era. After 50 years, these things were never corrected. Just like the things happening today.

[editormum · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the deeply moving story of naval lieutenant Phillip Nolan, a young man who lived to regret a rash and passionately spoken oath. For when Nolan, who had fallen under the spell of the treasonous conspirator Aaron Burr, was court-martialed for his part in Burr's plot, he cursed the United States and avowed that he wished he might never hear of it again. His judges took him at his word, and for the next fifty years, until his death, he was never allowed to set foot on American soil, nor to see nor hear a single word of news about her and her affairs.The author, Edward Everett Hale, paints a heart-rending portrait of a man who, having abjured his country, comes to regret his rash oath and longs for a home to call his own. Everett Shinn's beautifully executed illustrations grace every page of this edition, with scenes from the book as well as simple motifs of ship and sea.

[andyray_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Edward Everett Hale has earned a place in American fiction (for that is what this story is) with this woeful tale of a man who made a slip of tongue in front of the wrong person and was condemned to sail on a ship where no one could ever refer or allow him to any way sense the existence of the United States. Should the one-world concept triumph (as I'm sure it will), this may diminish the epathetic effectiveness of the book.