Unger does a good job of showing the reader only the good side of Lafayette. As someone coming to the subject knowing only tangential information about Lafayette, this was a pretty good "introduction" to the man. The book is presented in two parts, the first deals with his life in the American revolution and the second deals with his life in Europe and the French revolution. The first half nauseatingly presents Lafayette as so much of a naive-boy-scout-type of man that I considered abandoning this book. It felt as if I was reading a grade school story about Lafayette. The book redeems itself however when the narrative picks up the turmoil of the French revolution. The chaos and brutality of that period is represented well and I found myself simultaneously fascinated and horrified. In the end, Lafayette lived a very full and very fascinating life. He deserves to be better remembered by historians and teachers in the US. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in history or in learning about Lafayette. I will not be seeking out further books by Unger, but I will be seeking more dealing with the French revolution.

This was a MAGICAL read. It was a visionary romp that felt like a heart-pounding, chivalrous reimagining of the three musketeers. It’s not easy to call a dense biographical book a “wild, exciting ride” - but this is.

It’s also not often I pick up a biography about an old dead white guy and come away thinking “Whoa, he was better than I imagined.”

I’ve been a Lafayette fangirl since he had a cameo in a “Dear America” diary book I read in elementary school - and like many, Lin Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton” only fanned the flames.

Unger paints a dashing, swoon-worthy, magnificent portrait of “the hero of two worlds,” digging into Lafayette’s youth, education, family, and the bloody, brutal chaos of his time post-America. I was fairly familiar with his American exploits; but this book gave me a horrific education on many aspects of the French Revolution era - and the constant disappointment Lafayette experienced as he tried to lift his beloved nation towards his cherished ideals.

As much as I enjoyed this love letter to Lafayette, I have to dock it a star - and it’s precisely because it’s such a love letter. I’ve also read Unger’s biography of Monroe, and I had the same issue - Unger is simply too head-over-heels. Not one single bad thing is ever uttered about our dear Marquis, which forces me to adopt some skepticism, as no one is perfect (despite the fact that I want Lafayette to be). I’m also no expert on the French Revolution, but I question Unger’s assessment of it because it is portrayed as so virulently heinous in all respects.

Really rousing historical read, with a touch too much romanticism - but there’s no doubt that Lafayette was an outstanding man; the truest American patriot there ever was.

He’s my favorite founding father.

Thoughts coming tonight...)

Many other reviewers have praised this book, so I won't go on at length. It is a good companion to Chernow's Hamilton, and His Excellency by Joseph Ellis. Also highly recommended for a detailed account of how the Revolutionary War was won at Yorktown (with much additional information about Lafayette's role in bringing French Naval and Army forces into the war) is Washington's Great Gamble by James Nelson. Lafayette was a true friend of the US, and was instrumental in winning the war by bringing in France on the side of America, but he was also a very brave man and a good general.

The book drags a bit in the portion which covers Lafayette's life between the end of the American Revolution and the beginning of the French Revolution, but it runs at galloping pace otherwise. Adrienne's letter to George Washington entrusting Lafayette's and her son to Washington's care at the height of the French Revolutionary terror will bring tears to your eyes.