{"product_id":"soldiers-of-fortune-9781551116792","title":"Soldiers of Fortune","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eA romance of America’s nascent imperial power, Richard Harding Davis’s \u003cem\u003eSoldiers of Fortune\u003c\/em\u003e recounts the adventures of Robert Clay, a mining engineer and sometime mercenary, and Hope Langham, the daughter of a wealthy American industrialist, as they become caught up in a coup in Olancho, a fictional Latin American republic. When the coup, organized by corrupt politicians and generals, threatens the American-owned Valencia Mining Company, Clay organizes his workers and the handful of Americans visiting the mine into a counter-coup force. Written on the eve of the Spanish-American War, \u003cem\u003eSoldiers of Fortune\u003c\/em\u003e casts the young American as the dashing, hypermasculine hero of the new military and economic. A huge best-seller, the novel did its part to push the nation into war against Spain, and stands as one of the most important texts in the literature of American imperialism. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe appendices, which bring together primary materials by writers and politicians such as Rebecca Harding Davis, Theodore Roosevelt, Jose Martí, Mark Twain, Herbert Spencer, and others, address such issues as social Darwinism, masculinity, and ideas of Anglo-American superiority.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Richard Harding Davis’s \u003cem\u003eSoldiers of Fortune\u003c\/em\u003e was one of the most popular ‘imperial fictions’ of the late nineteenth century, and it remains essential reading for anyone interested in understanding U.S. imperialism at the turn into the twentieth century (and beyond). Brady Harrison’s excellent edition brilliantly situates the novel in relation to the Spanish-American War and the longer history of U.S. imperialism in the southern Americas. The carefully selected primary materials bring to life contemporaneous debate on a range of topics relevant to the novel, and the introduction and annotations illuminate key biographical, literary, and cultural contexts. Whatever one thinks of Davis's politics, his novel is a great read, and this is the best edition of Davis currently in print.” — Robert S. Levine, University of Maryland\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcknowledgements \u003cbr\u003eIntroduction \u003cbr\u003eRichard Harding Davis: A Brief Chronology \u003cbr\u003eA Note on the Text\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSoldiers of Fortune\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAppendix A: Images of Davis\u003c\/p\u003e\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDavis as he looked when he first came to New York in 1890\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Three Gringos\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDavis in his Spanish-American War kit\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDavis and Theodore Roosevelt at the beginning of the Spanish-American War\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\u003cp\u003eAppendix B: How Others Saw Davis\u003c\/p\u003e\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBooth Tarkington, “Richard Harding Davis” (1916)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrom Theodore Roosevelt, letter to James Brander Matthews (6 December 1892)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrom Theodore Roosevelt, letter to James Brander Matthews (30 January 1894)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrom Stephen Crane, letter to Nellie Crouse (26 January 1896)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrom Frank Norris, “Van Bubbles’ Story” (1897)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTheodore Roosevelt, “Davis and the Rough Riders” (1916)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\u003cp\u003eAppendix C: Reviews of \u003cem\u003eSoldiers of Fortune\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e (5 June 1897)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cem\u003eThe Critic\u003c\/em\u003e (5 June 1897)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cem\u003eThe Atlantic Monthly\u003c\/em\u003e (December 1897)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cem\u003eThe Nation\u003c\/em\u003e (20 January 1898)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\u003cp\u003eAppendix D: Social Darwinism, Survival of the Richest, and Other Notions of Anglo-American Superiority\u003c\/p\u003e\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrom Herbert Spencer, \u003cem\u003eSocial Statics\u003c\/em\u003e (1897)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrom Charles Darwin, \u003cem\u003eThe Descent of Man\u003c\/em\u003e (1874)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrom Rebecca Harding Davis, “Life in the Iron-Mills” (1861)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrom Andrew Carnegie, \u003cem\u003eThe Gospel of Wealth\u003c\/em\u003e (1900)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrom Theodore Roosevelt, “The Expansion of the White Races” (18 January 1909)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\u003cp\u003eAppendix E: Davis and Others on American Masculinity\u003c\/p\u003e\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrom Richard Harding Davis, \u003cem\u003eCaptain Macklin\u003c\/em\u003e (1902)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrom Richard Harding Davis, “William Walker, The King of the Filibusters” (1906)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrom Theodore Roosevelt, “The Strenuous Life” (10 April 1899)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrom William James, “Letter on Governor Roosevelt’s Oration” (15 April 1899)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\u003cp\u003eAppendix F: Davis and Others on American Imperialism\u003c\/p\u003e\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrom John L. O’Sullivan, “Annexation” (July 1845)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrom José Martí, “Cuba and the United States” (1889)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrom Richard Harding Davis, \u003cem\u003eThree Gringos in Venezuela and Central America\u003c\/em\u003e (1896)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrom Mark Twain, “To the Person Sitting in Darkness” (1901)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrom Theodore Roosevelt, “The Administration of the Island Possessions” (22 August 1902)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\u003cp\u003eSelect Bibliography\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Broadview Press Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51041305657687,"sku":"9781551116792","price":26.96,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781551116792.jpg?v=1750949741","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/soldiers-of-fortune-9781551116792","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}