<<  -- 3 --  Gordon Rumson    UTOPIAN IDEALS

The tale is amazing. The telling in this book very good -- though sometimes I would have wished for a map of the land settled and perhaps a bit more chronological straightforwardness of the narrative. The book also contains a preparatory biography of Bull, much needed as we want to know who this man was. Further, the biography continues, for we wish to know what happened to him after the failure. This too is fascinating and well told.

Rounded out with descriptions of the immigrant families and their descendants, the book is a wonderful contribution to American historical research. It is also a superb contribution to musical history. The author deserves great credit for his vast labours in unearthing this long buried data and for presenting it professionally and above all readably. If either virtuosos in the nineteenth century or Utopian communities interest you then this is the book to have.