Review: What if you could change Revolutionary history?
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 19, 2013
As many reviewers have noted, this book is noble.  This book consists of a family's efforts (through main character, the father, named David Gearns) as they travel from 2006 to 1780, in the midst of the American Revolution, to abolish slavery.I sure learned a lot about the process of manumission, which I found out to mean the freedom of a slave.  The description of the complex legal documents to effect a one-time manumission for one slave in Virginia was very interesting as the documents are detailed one by one.  The author has done his homework!THE GOOD POINTSThe novel is inspiring and asks the reader to imagine acting for the greater good.The author clearly knows his history through his description of the social and political factors of the day, in the 1780's.  He describes with conviction the shelter, food, military strategy, clothing, and geography of the times.The main character, David Gearns, is a main character with whom we can all identify.  He is earnest, resolute, a little hesitant, yet brave when the times require it.  He is devoted to his family.  His two pre-teen daughters humanize the story.  His wife, Monica, is equally pure of heart and bold.I loved the conversations with Thomas Jefferson.  I liked the way he spoke as a leader, even in casual conversation with the main character.  Unlike other books that try to defer to the greatness of famous historical figures by giving them as little stage presence as possible, as if somehow more exposure would diminish them, Jefferson is front and center during the second half of this novel.  He is magnified this way, not belittled.  Another title for this book could have been, "My Conversations with Thomas Jefferson."  It's always fascinating to imagine going back in time and spending days, not a few moments, with one of the greatest figures of American history.  What if we could go back into time to meet and interact with Abraham Lincoln?  John F. Kennedy?  Winston Churchill?  Pablo Picasso?THE OKAY POINTSThis book has too many scenes, especially at the beginning, that do not serve the use that the number of sentences or pages deserves.  I understand at the beginning the author wants to set out David Gearns' background, as a business executive, and his reasons for visiting colonial Williamsburg.  But we all are familiar with corporate executives and colonial Williamsburg in today's time.  Also, David Gearns' time is 2006, which is quite recent, and so we do not need exploration of his usual place in time.  Some major chopping of the story would be helpful in devouring this novel with relish.The concept of a major historical figure enabling the Gearns family to arrive back into Time is intriguing, but raises more questions.  How did she acquire the power to do so?  Why did she drop off the Gearns into 1780 without warning?  I understand there is an explanation that they wouldn't be believing of her at first, but then the story sets out that the family has to survive historical times for several months before they even find out how they got there.  What if plans backfired and they changed history for the worse (which the book tantalizingly offers, then pulls back into the conventional outcome of history.)SOME THOUGHTSThe novel compellingly considers what happens if a small group of determined people go back into history to change it for the better.  This begs the question, what is "better?"  Certainly, the abolition of slavery is an excellent reason.  However, what is there to stop a fanatic, perhaps a Confederacy modern day fan, from going back into history to help the Confederate States win the American Civil War?We do not learn how the Gearns' change of history affects the future in 2006.  This would be interesting.  Would the Gearns even exist if they went back to 2006?  Would the succession of Presidents have been exactly the same?  What happens to the estimated 620,000 Americans who died in the subsequent Civil War, which is presumably cancelled?  And the multiplier effect of lives saved and new families created?OVERALLThis is a great book.  As mentioned, I loved the attention to historical detail, and the conversations with Thomas Jefferson.  You'll enjoy it!